SOUTHLAKE — A private investigation into allegations that Gateway Church founder Robert Morris had a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s has uncovered a major fiasco involving previous church leaders.
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The investigation, which the church said now includes law enforcement, revealed that others were aware of Morris’ relationship with the underage girl and failed to ask additional questions.
“We have to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that our culture has allowed this truth to be buried for too long,” Tra Wilbanks, an elder at Gateway Church, said during Saturday’s regularly scheduled worship service.
Four church elders with information about Morris’ relationship — Kevin Groff, Thomas Miller, Jeremy Carrasco, and Gilland Lausch — were removed after the investigation.
Wilbanks called it a “massive failure of governance and accountability.”
“When a church is centered around just one pastor, it loses its way,” Wilbanks said. “Unfortunately, we have come to the realization over the past few months that at some point in the past, the culture at Gateway became 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 costs.”
Morris allegedly had a sexual relationship with a minor between 1982 and 1987, when he was a traveling missionary in his early 20s. On June 14, Cindy Klimshire, whose parents had become friends with Morris, publicly accused the priest of repeatedly molesting her during that period.
“There was one group that knew without a doubt that Cindy was 12 when the abuse began, and there was a second group that knew about the allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of Robert Morris, and he had enough information that they should have led to that.” “They asked more questions and inquired more, but they didn’t do it,” Wilbanks said.
Wilbanks said he could not release additional details due to the ongoing criminal investigation and ongoing litigation against Gateway Church, including what he said were financial demands from Robert Morris.
“But I can share with you that the church and its current leadership are not the subject of this criminal investigation,” Wilbanks said.
Wilbanks said Heinz Bohn’s investigation included 680 gigabytes of data, a review of thousands of pages of documents and emails, and interviews with more than two dozen people.
Wilbanks said six individuals, including Robert Morris, refused to meet with Hines Boone.
The law firm’s findings were presented to a three-member subcommittee, Wilbanks said.
“What happened to Cindy (Klimshire) was heartbreaking and despicable, and we condemn any sexual assault in all its forms,” Wilbanks said. “We are deeply saddened by those who have been victims of such despicable acts.”
Wilbanks praised Clemshire for coming forward, bringing out others who had not come forward before sharing their stories.
The investigation came after the seniors initially claimed they did not have all the facts regarding the alleged sexual assault, including Klimshire’s age at the time and the duration of the assault.
Wilbanks said Robert Morris shared a version of his story that he was unfaithful in his marriage in his early 20s and that others who knew covered it up.
Wilbanks said the investigation concluded that there were no other victims of Robert Morris other than Klimshire.
According to Wilbanks, anyone involved in the failure is no longer part of the church.
Since the Clemshire allegations in June, Robert Morris has resigned from his key position at Gateway. Morris’s son James Morris and his wife Bridget also stepped down from leadership roles within the church over the summer.
Meanwhile, Wilbanks urged anyone with additional information to come forward, assuring them that their allegations would remain “strictly confidential.”
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