Cindy Clemishire and her father file a lawsuit; SNAP believes their action will help to protect other children
For immediate release: June 13, 2025
Cindy Clemishire, who accused Robert Morris of child sexual abuse, and her father have filed a lawsuit against the former pastor, his wife and several current and former Gateway church leaders. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, believes that their action will help to protect today's and future children. We stand with Cindy and her father in their fight for justice and accountability.
To us, the fact that Cindy’s father is part of this lawsuit highlights an important element of the sexual abuse of children by religious leaders that is often overlooked: the entire family is harmed, not just the victim. We hope that the elder Clemishire gains a measure of healing by participating in this process.
According to documents that are part of another lawsuit, Mr. Morris acknowledged to church leaders that he knew Cindy was a child when he began assaulting her when she was only 12. It is also clear that there were leaders at Gateway who knew about the assaults long before the accusations became public. We simply do not understand how these church elders could leave Cindy to suffer alone. More importantly, we cannot believe that they could not grasp that they might well be endangering other children by not taking action.
While Cindy’s childhood was forever altered by what happened to her when she was 12, she is now recapturing and using her voice to call out terrible, systemic wrongs. The survivor community greatly appreciates her courage.
We believe that this civil action will help to foster change where it is most needed -- within the ranks of powerful church leaders. In addition, we are sure that the announcement of this lawsuit and the transparency it will inevitably force will help to protect generations of boys and girls in Baptist communities.
CONTACT: Eduardo Lopez de Casa, SNAP Board of Directors, SNAP Houston ([email protected], 832-641-6319); Patti Koo, SNAP San Antonio ([email protected] 956-648-7385); Zac Zepeda, SNAP San Antonio ([email protected] 210-317-7511); Paul Petersen, SNAP Board of Directors, SNAP Dallas ([email protected], 972-569-0995); Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175); Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
