A leaked email from 2005 confirms that Cindy Clemishire made at least one elder of Gateway Church aware that Pastor Robert Morris had allegedly sexually abused her.
In the email correspondence, Clemishire had requested that Morris cover the cost of the counseling she needed following Morris’ alleged sexual abuse of her. The email was addressed to Morris and the church elder.
Clemishire previously referenced this correspondence in a statement she published last week (June 18). Clemishire first went public with her story on June 14, and she alleges that Morris abused her over a period of several years in the 1980s, starting when she was just 12 years old.
In the leaked 2005 email, Morris told Clemishire that he and his wife cared for her and “sincerely want[ed] God’s best” for her.
Morris further said that God “has poured out” blessings on his life because he was honest and forthright with others about the past sins he committed against her.
RELATED: Robert Morris Resigns as Gateway Church’s Senior Pastor Following Sexual Abuse Allegations
“You see the blessings God has poured out on my life and conclude that it is because I have hidden my past,” Morris told her. “God does not work that way. He will not be mocked by deceit.”
“I confessed my sins to you and your family 18 years ago and I have continued to share it with those who need to know as per the counsel of your father. I did what he asked me to do,” he added. “I thought I obtained your forgiveness as well as your family’s.”
Morris, who had been serving as Gateway Church’s senior pastor for approximately five years when this correspondence took place, said that if Clemishire wished to make her story public, he also was “willing to do so.”
Morris then suggested that Clemishire consult her father first before doing so because Clemishire’s father had asked Morris not to share publicly about what took place between Morris and Clemishire.
RELATED: Gateway Church Learned of Robert Morris’ Crime in 2005, Says Abuse Survivor Cindy Clemishire
“You should talk to your father also about disclosing the matter beyond those who already know since he has your best interest at heart and his counsel should, at the least, be considered, if not honored,” Morris said.
The email that Robert Morris sent to the one he abused, the one he molested. She was 12. She was a sixth grader!!! pic.twitter.com/X8B5n3jWhi
— Julie Meyer (@JulieAMeyer) June 26, 2024
