Tom Lane, a former government pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, who first responded to allegations from Cindy Clemishire, 54, that she was sexually abused by the megachurch’s founder, Robert Morris, says he wasn’t conscious that the abuse started when she was 12.
In a press release launched in June, shortly after she went public together with her allegations towards Morris that pressured his abrupt resignation, Clemishire pointed to her communication with Lane in 2005 to bolster her declare that Gateway Church officers have been conscious that Morris had abused her as a toddler starting when she was 12, and lasting for four-and-a-half years after that.
“The leadership at Gateway received actual notice of this crime in 2005 when I sent an email directly to Robert Morris’ Gateway email address. Former Gateway elder, Tom Lane, received and responded to my email, acknowledging that the sexual abuse began on December 25, 1982, when I was 12 years old,” Clemishire stated within the assertion launched by her lawyer Boz Tchividjian.
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“Again in 2007, my then attorney Gentner Drummond (the current Attorney General of Oklahoma) sent a letter to Robert Morris with the hope that he would help reimburse me for the thousands of dollars I had expended in counseling as a result of this abuse. His attorney acknowledged the dates as well and then attempted to blame me for the abuse,” she insisted. “At the very least, both the Gateway pastor and at least one elder had specific notice that I was sexually abused beginning when I was 12 years old. Gateway had the information but intentionally decided to embrace the false narrative Robert Morris wanted to believe.”
Richard Harmer, a spokesperson for Lane, informed The Christian Submit on Monday that the assertion is a bit deceptive, as at no time was it acknowledged in any communication that Lane had with Clemishire that she was 12 when Morris started sexually abusing her.
“The statement in question suggests that the phrase ‘when I was 12’ was included in the email Tom received from Robert Morris’s assistant in 2005. While Tom knew the year and exact date, he had no reference to Cindy’s age in 2005, nor was he aware a crime was committed,” Harmer defined to CP.
“The way this has been written implies that ‘when I was 12 years old’ was in the email, which is not accurate. Although this is how Cindy’s attorney wrote it, we feel strongly about clarifying the statement,” Harmer added.
He stated Lane remains to be being accused of figuring out Clemishire’s age on the time the abuse began however she had reduce him off earlier than he may study these particulars.
“Tom did make an effort to connect with Cindy and perhaps if that happened, her age and the crime would have come up. Unfortunately, Cindy declined to engage further with Tom at that time,” Harmer stated. “Tom is deeply distressed and feels terrible Cindy has endured this pain over the last 35 + years. He profoundly regrets not having more information back then.”
Requested by CP to answer Lane’s clarification of her assertion, Clemishire referred to as it “unacceptable.”
“Any excuse and putting the blame back on me is unacceptable as an elder and overseer of the church,” she informed CP in a press release. “With the information Tom Lane had, he could have easily researched and found my age at the time the abuse started.”
After Clemishire publicly alleged in June that Morris abused her as a preteen lady, Morris, 62, admitted to CP in an earlier assertion that he had engaged in “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” whereas he was a pastor at one other church in his early 20s. However he didn’t identify his accuser or disclose her age on the time.
Of their preliminary response to the allegations towards Morris, elders at Gateway Church informed CP that they believed Morris was absolutely clear about his previous and that he had been biblically restored to ministry after allegedly stepping away for 2 years. He reported in his 2011 ebook, Dream to Future, that he returned to ministry only one month after the “Lord orchestrated the circumstances for me to step out of ministry.” On the time, Morris admitted he was battling delight.
In asserting Morris’ resignation from Gateway Church on June 18, elders admitted they didn’t “have all the facts” after they first defended him from the allegations.
“Regretfully, prior to Friday, June 14, the elders did not have all the facts of the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the length of the abuse. The elders’ prior understanding was that Morris’s extramarital relationship, which he had discussed many times throughout his ministry, was with ‘a young lady’ and not abuse of a 12-year-old child,” the elders defined.
“Even though it occurred many years before Gateway was established, as leaders of the church, we regret that we did not have the information that we now have. We are heartbroken and appalled by what has come to light over the past few days, and we express our deep sympathy to the victim and her family,” the elders added.
Within the announcement of Morris’ resignation, Gateway Church elders stated they’ve retained the legislation agency of Haynes & Boone, LLP to “conduct an independent, thorough, and professional review of the report of past abuse to ensure we have a complete understanding of the events from 1982-1987.”
Tra Willbanks, a longtime Gateway Church elder and father of seven, together with six women, stated in an replace to the church over the weekend that the investigation remained underway as they formally introduced to the congregation that they’d determined to mutually reduce ties with Morris’ son, James, and his spouse, Bridgette.
He additionally issued a second public apology to Clemishire for the way the church first responded to her claims towards Morris.
“Cindy, in case you are watching, we want to again apologize to you on behalf of our entire church for the years of pain that you have endured. We are sorry for our initial communication which was clearly incorrect, you were a child not a young lady,” Willbanks stated.
“Additionally, two weeks ago, Gateway released a statement saying that this was ‘an inappropriate relationship.’ This statement was not correct either. To be clear we believe that this was sexual abuse of a child. Any description falling short of that does not reflect our position. I’m sorry that we got that communication wrong. We are in no way attempting to cover up or minimize this situation. In fact, I would like to say to you, Cindy, thank you for coming forward.”
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