Cindy Clemishire grateful after Robert Morris indicted on child sex abuse charges: "Very surreal after all these years"
Cindy Clemishire, who accused North Texas megachurch founder Robert Morris of sexually abusing her at age 12, expressed relief and gratefulness after his indictment on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced Wednesday that a grand jury had indicted Morris on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, stemming from alleged incidents dating back to the 1980s.
Bond for the former Gateway Church pastor has been set at $50,000 and Oklahoma officials said they expect Morris to surrender himself early next week, though they did not specify if that surrender has to happen in Oklahoma or if it will happen in Texas.
Clemishire confirmed she is the unnamed victim in the indictment. She told CBS News Texas that she was in the courtroom when the indictment was read.
"Well, it was very surreal after all these years, and really not believing it would ever happen, and a relief, and just very grateful," said Clemishire. "My family's been very grateful for the diligence of all the law enforcement and everyone involved. That's made this happen."
Clemishire said she's received much support from the community and helpful messages on social media sites.
"Just the strength that it's given myself and my family to continue on this journey, and knowing that it's helping so many other victims, it really, truly means so much to me," said Clemishire.
She decided to publicly share her story months ago but said nothing could have fully prepared her for the response she received.
"I don't think anybody could ever be prepared," Clemishire said. "Even knowing the platform that he had built to speak from, I still don't think anyone could ever truly be prepared. And [I'm] just still so grateful for the response. I know there's negativity out there, but for the most part, it's just been nothing but support."
As for Morris, a date for an initial court appearance has not yet been set. Authorities said he will have to surrender his passport. Currently, court documents do not show that he is represented by an attorney.
Current Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond briefly represented Clemishire; however, his office said that would not be a conflict of interest.
According to Drummond's office, the statute of limitations does not apply to this case because Morris was not a resident or inhabitant of Oklahoma at any time.
