Overview

• Cindy Clemishire and her father filed the lawsuit in Dallas County, alleging Morris sexually abused her from age 12 to 17 in the 1980s.
• The complaint names Morris’s wife, church elders and former spokesperson Lawrence Swicegood for allegedly coordinating false statements that framed the abuse as a consensual relationship.
• Plaintiffs claim church officials concealed evidence of her age and issued defamatory narratives to protect Morris’s reputation and financial interests.
• They seek over $1 million in damages and a jury trial for claims including defamation, libel, slander, civil conspiracy, emotional distress and unjust enrichment.
• Morris, indicted in March on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child and currently out on bond, has separately sued Gateway Church for unpaid severance and retirement benefits.