Robert Morris' accuser, Cindy Clemishire, testifies at the Texas Capitol in Austin: "He abused me"

CBS News

19-03-2025

The woman at the center of the abuse case involving former Gateway Church founder Robert Morris testified Wednesday at the Texas Capitol in Austin, days after
Morris turned himself in to Oklahoma authorities
on child sexual abuse charges.
Cindy Clemishire testified on behalf of a bill involving abuse victims and a civil court agreement.
"It wasn't until, even with years of counseling, that I could accept the term abuse," she said during her testimony. "I was 35 the first time I truly accepted and believed that [Morris] abused me and it was criminal."
Clemishire, now 55, said she
was 12 years old when Morris abused her
.
She was joined in Austin by a Dallas-based crime advocate pushing for a bill called Trey's Law. It focuses on non-disclosure agreements and would abolish agreements in cases involving sexual abuse and trafficking civil cases.
Clemishire spent about an hour testifying Wednesday morning, according to a CBS News Texas crew at the hearing. She talked about the ongoing criminal case against Morris as well.
Morris, 63, was booked into the Osage County Sheriff's Office at 7:57 a.m. on Monday. By 8:11 a.m., just 14 minutes later, he had
posted a $50,000 bond
and was released, according to jail records.
Morris, the former founding pastor of
Gateway Church
in Southlake, a Dallas suburb, turned himself in after being charged last week with
five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child
, according to the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office.
CBS News Texas typically does not name individuals who report being sexually assaulted, but Clemishire said she wanted her name included.
The hearing continued through the afternoon hours.