Published August 20, 2026 8:20 PM CDT
Defamation claims against disgraced NTX pastor dismissed
Defamation claims made against former Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris were dismissed by a Dallas court this week. FOX 4's Casey Stegall has more on why the claims by a woman he admitted he sexually abused when she was 12 were dismissed.
DALLAS - A Dallas-based appeals court has tossed out most of Cindy Clemshire's defamation claims against Robert Morris, the disgraced former pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake.
Gateway defamation claims dismissed
What we know:
Most of the defamation claims against disgraced former Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris, and other former Gateway leaders, have been dismissed by a Dallas appeals court.
The appeals court ruled that First Amendment protections involving religious freedom limit civil courts from interfering with internal church governance.
The defamation claims were filed by Cindy Clemshire, who Morris was found guilty of sexually abusing when she was 12-years-old in the 1980s.
Clemshire's defamation claims stemmed from statements about Morris' misconduct and Gateway's alleged mishandling of its investigation. The civil case is different from Clemshire's criminal case against Morris.
Gateway Church released the following statement after the ruling:
We are pleased that the Court of Appeals has dismissed the case against Gateway and the Independent Elders. As the Court’s opinion confirms, this case was never about Gateway. While Gateway grieves and laments Robert’s child sexual abuse of Cindy, that abuse happened 20 years before Gateway was founded. Its current elders did not know of Robert’s crimes until Cindy told her story, at which point they immediately conducted an investigation and acted to ensure that no one complicit in hiding Robert’s past remained in Church leadership.
Plaintiffs did not sue Gateway over the tragic abuse itself, but over the Church’s statements about Robert’s misconduct. Those statements were made by a Church seeking to shepherd its congregation and, as the Court held, are therefore protected by the First Amendment.
Indeed, the Court rightly recognized that the First Amendment "prohibits civil courts from delving into ecclesiastical matters that are inextricably intertwined with matters of doctrine or church governance." It therefore bars the claim against Gateway, which "questions a church’s investigation into allegations of a pastor’s misconduct, the church’s reporting of its investigation and the allegations, the church’s actions determining the truth of the allegations, and the church’s communications with the public regarding the investigation and allegations."
We are grateful that the Court’s opinion vindicates and safeguards Gateway’s foundational first liberty, and we continue to pray for healing and peace for Cindy and her family.
Robert Morris Sex Abuse Case
The backstory:
In October 2025, the former Southlake mega church pastor admitted guilt on five separate child sexual abuse charges.
His victim, Cindy Clemishire, said the abuse started when she was 12 years old and lasted about four and a half years.
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Morris was a traveling preacher at the time and stayed in her home in Oklahoma at the invitation of her parents. When she was 17, Clemishire finally told her parents what was happening.
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Last year, Gateway Church put out a statement that included a quote from Morris admitting to an online publication that in his early 20s, he had an "inappropriate relationship with a young lady."
Morris went on to tell The Christian Post, "It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong."
The Gateway Church told the Christian publication that after the allegations were brought to light 35 years ago, Morris stepped away from ministry for two years to receive counseling.
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The church said it was unaware that the person he told them about was only 12 at the time of the abuse. Morris resigned as the senior pastor of Gateway Church in June of 2024.
Morris served a six-month sentence in the Osage County jail before being released in March. Court records show he also paid fines as part of his release.
Morris was required to register as a sex offender and will be on probation for the remainder of his 10-year suspended sentence.
What they're saying:
"The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine is rooted in the religion clauses of the First Amendment. So there's a constitutional basis for it," Thomas Leatherbury, Director of SMU's First Amendment Clinic, tells FOX 4's Casey Stegall.
"It doesn't protect the abuse itself. And the abuser can be sued for physical injuries, emotional injuries, and can be criminally prosecuted."
What's next:
Clemshire's attorney, Jeff Leach, says he will appeal the ruling, and that the First Amendment was never intended to shield child sexual abuse.
"We will not stop fighting for that accountability. Religious freedom is sacred. Protecting child rapists is not," Leach said.
At least one of Clemshire's defamation claims against Morris and Gateway was not dismissed.
The Source: Information in this story comes from a Dallas appeals court ruling and previous FOX 4 reporting.
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