A judge has denied motions to dismiss from two former Gateway Church elders, Steve Dulin and Kevin Grove, allowing Cindy Clemishire's defamation claims against them to proceed in her ongoing lawsuit. This ruling marks another key development in the legal reckoning tied to admitted child sexual abuser and former Gateway founder Robert Morris.
Clemishire first publicly disclosed in June 2024 that Morris sexually abused her repeatedly starting in 1982, when she was 12 years old and he was a 20-year-old traveling evangelist staying with her family in Hominy, Oklahoma. The grooming and abuse continued for about four years across Oklahoma and Texas, ending only when she told her parents as a teenager.
For decades, Morris-a charismatic leader who founded Gateway Church in 2000 and grew it into a Texas megachurch-publicly framed his actions as "inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady," omitting that she was a child. Gateway elders and leaders, including Dulin and Grove, were allegedly aware of the abuse's true nature yet allowed or contributed to statements that minimized it or shifted blame.
In October 2025, Morris pleaded guilty in Osage County, Oklahoma, to multiple felony counts of child sexual abuse (lewd and indecent acts with a minor). He received a 10-year sentence, with all but six months suspended-serving six months in county jail, followed by nearly a decade of probation, sex offender registration, restitution to Clemishire, and payment of incarceration costs. He remains under supervision today.
Clemishire's civil suit targets Morris, Gateway Church, and several former leaders, alleging defamation, concealment, and institutional negligence that enabled Morris's ministry for years. Dulin, a founding elder and executive, and Grove were among those who took leave during a third-party probe into elder knowledge; both left the church in 2024. The court found Clemishire's defamation claims against them sufficiently pled to advance.
"This decision is a vital step toward truth and accountability," said a Clemishire spokesperson. "Robert Morris abused a 12-year-old girl, leaders knew or should have known, and instead of protecting her, they protected his platform. Survivors deserve justice, not defamation or dismissal."
The case underscores urgent questions for megachurches: How do institutions handle pastoral abuse? Why do leaders prioritize image over child safety? Further proceedings, including discovery, are set for later this year.
