A Texas megachurch has removed four church elders from office after the organization hired a law firm to conduct a private investigation into the matter. complaints of sexual abuse against its founder.

On Saturday, November 2, Gateway Church elder Tra Willbanks announced the dismissal of the elders. during a service in Southlakelocated in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

According to points of sale NBCDFW and ABC affiliate WFAAWillbanks informed the congregation of the investigation this weekend. The investigation was conducted by the Haynes Boone law firm after accusations against Gateway’s lead pastor and founder, Robert Morris, surfaced earlier this year.

Morris admitted to engaging in “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a “young woman” in the 1980s after a woman named Cindy Clemishire previously alleged to WFAA that he assaulted her from 1982 to 1987. Morris did not Clemishire did not admit to abuse, but resigned from the church.

Willbanks said three of the four elders kicked out of the church either knew about Morris’ incident with the alleged victim or “did not investigate further.”

“We now know that there were elders and employees at Gateway who knew before June 14, 2024 that Cindy was 12 years old at the time of the abuse. Both groups are fundamentally wrong and simply cannot be tolerated at Gateway Church “Willbanks said. told the congregation, according to media reports.

“We have decided to draw a very clear line here, based on biblical and moral values ​​and the values ​​of our church family, and we can announce to you that to date, no individual in either group serves as an elder, is employed by, or works at Gateway Church. They have been removed,” Willbanks added, which was met with applause from the congregation, NBCDFW said, before adding that the church was cooperating with a criminal investigation.

“To our knowledge, there are no other victims of Robert Morris other than Cindy Clemishire,” he added.

Willbanks also reportedly said the Church was cooperating with an ongoing criminal investigation.

Although Willbanks did not specifically name the elders who were kicked out of the church, both media outlets reported that the names of elders Kevin Grove, Thomas Miller, Jeremy Carrasco and Gayland Lawshe had been removed from Gateway’s website.

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A previous statement from the church in June noted that three elders who served on Gateway’s board of elders from 2005 to 2007 – Grove, Dulin and Lawshe – took voluntary, temporary leaves of absence from the board following the decision. investigation by the law firm.

“These three elders … are men of integrity who have served Gateway Church with distinction, and each of these three elders has clearly stated that they have no knowledge of the true facts of this situation,” it reads partly in the press release.

Clemishire attorney Boz Tchividjian has previously stated NPR that in addition to the ongoing investigation, Clemishire had attempted to settle a civil suit against Morris in 2007 regarding the alleged abuse, but she ultimately backed out because he wanted her to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Morris founded Gateway Church in 2000, according to the the church website. The church now has several locations across the country.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.