Gateway Church removes elders, aiding criminal investigation: 'We denounce sexual abuse'

A Texas megachurch has announced the removal of several of its elders following a law firm's independent investigation into child sex abuse allegations against former senior pastor Robert Morris, who publicly admitted to having "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady" 35 years ago.

Tra Willbanks, an elder at Gateway Church, gave the update to members during a livestreamed service on Sunday. He said Haynes and Boone, the law firm hired by the church, delivered the results of their investigation into 54-year-old Cindy Clemishire's allegations against Morris in front of a subcommittee "that was formed to receive and act on this information."

"What happened to Cindy Clemishire was heartbreaking and vile," Willbanks said during his update. "We denounce sexual abuse in all of its forms and we feel deep sorrow for those who have been victimized by such despicable actions."

Willbanks praised Clemishire for her bravery in coming forward and talking about the alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Morris that began in 1982 when she was only 12 years old. The abuse continued until 1987, Clemishire told USA TODAY in June.

"(Clemishire) has impacted countless lives and because of her courage (the elders) have had several people come up to us and tell us that they had their own stories where they were victims," Willbanks said. "We continue to pray for healing not just for her but for those who have been abused and are a part of our family."

Morris and Clemishire could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

Robert Morris admitted to 'sexual affair' in late 1980s, excluded Cindy Clemishire's age

Willbanks discussed Morris' earlier accounts of his actions, including the former senior pastor telling the church that he was unfaithful in his marriage while in his early 20s. Morris also confessed his sin to Apostolic leaders in the late 1980s, many years before Gateway Church was formed, according to Willbanks.

Although Morris stepped down from ministry for two years in the 1980s, he was restored back into ministry by the same Apostolic leaders, Willbanks said.

"We as a church knew what our former senior pastor shared publicly and many people, including myself, simply believed his version of the story," according to the elder. "But on June 14th of this year, Cindy Clemishire shared her story publicly clearly stating that she was the one referred to in Robert Morris' story that he had described as a sexual affair."

Tra Willbanks: 'They have been removed'

During the independent investigation, Haynes and Boone collected 780 gigabytes of data, reviewed thousands of pages of documents and interviewed dozens of individuals, except for Morris and five others who denied sitting down with the law firm, Willbanks said.

The law firm did not learn of any other sexual assault allegations against Morris, according to Willbanks.

"At this time, to our knowledge, there are no other victims to Robert Morris beyond Cindy Clemishire," the elder said, adding that anyone who is a victim of sexual assault at the hands of any Gateway Church elder should report it to police and then share it with him and other leaders.

The investigation did uncover that various Gateway Church elders and employees knew about Morris' alleged actions before June 14, including that Clemishire was 12 when the sexual abuse began, Willbanks said. The elder further explained how there were two groups, a group that knew without a doubt that Clemishire was 12 during the abuse and another that had enough information about Morris' actions but didn't bother to ask more questions.

"Both groups are fundamentally wrong and simply cannot and will not be tolerated at this church," Willbanks said. "We can report to you that as of today, no individual in either group serves as an elder, is employed by or works at Gateway Church. They have been removed."

Gateway Church cooperating in criminal investigation

The elder said he could not go more in-depth about the removal of the elders due to pending litigation against the church, including from Morris who has made "financial demands."

"To be clear, we are rejecting," Willbanks said about Morris' financial demands.

Gateway Church is cooperating with an ongoing criminal investigation, Willbanks confirmed, but he refused to share any more details at this time. He did add that the church nor its current leadership are subject to this investigation.

Willbanks called the entire situation the result of a "massive governance failure" and "an accountability failure" at Gateway Church.

"When the church becomes centered around one pastor alone, it's lost its way," he said. "Unfortunately we have come to the realization over the last few months that at some point in the past the culture here at Gateway had become one where power was centralized and the leader at the top was surrounded by people who wanted to protect him, some of them at all cost."

Gateway Church departures in aftermath of allegations against Robert Morris

Excluding Morris and the removed elders, Gateway Church experienced three other significant departures in the last couple of months.

The church announced James and Bridget Morris' departures in July when it released the following statement to WFAA-TV:

“We as Elders affirm and believe that God has placed a desire in both Pastors James and Bridgette’s hearts to serve as senior pastors of a church at some point in the future," the statement said. "We love Pastors James and Bridgette and their children − we deeply care about them and sincerely thank them for investing their lives here at Gateway Church. They have faithfully and honorably served our congregation and this community through all the years that they have been part of Gateway Church.”

James Morris' resignation came a year before Robert Morris intended to turn over the leadership of the church to his son, according to the TV station.

Willbanks announced executive pastor Kemtal Glasgow's departure the next month through a statement posted on the church's YouTube page.

"It recently came to light that Kemtal Glasgow had a moral failure so we've asked him to step down as a pastor at Gateway and devote time to his marriage and family," the megachurch said. "Although his employment is ending, we are devoted to still caring for Kemtal and his family."

It is unclear if Kemtal Glasgow or James and Bridget Morris spoke to Haynes and Boone during the firm's investigation.