Cindy Cleminshire

“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” ― Martin Luther King, Jr.

Update: I added the story of Stuart Griffin towards the end of the post.

As Rachel Denhollander said to her abuser: “Little girls grow up.” Let me extend that to the boys. They, too, grow up, and many finally report. The average age to report their abuse as children is 52, Yet many of the statutes of limitations(SOL) for reporting abuse do not reflect that reality. Victims are often given just a few years to report. Slowly, some states, demonstrating the reality of this horrendous crime, are beginning to change the SOLs. Some states, such as Missouri, are considering dropping all SOLs for child sex abuse (CSA.)

Time does not dim the memories of that abuse. Victims of CSA from decades in the past can precisely remember the details of that abuse, down to the very clothes they were wearing. It is like their minds took a picture of that trauma, and the picture plays over and over again throughout the decades. It mimics the question,” Do you remember where you were when the Twin Towers were hit by planes?” Trauma does that.

Robert Morris is indicted and has a warrant for his arrest and to turn in his passport.

When Cindy Cleminshire spoke with me, she was discouraged but resolute. She continued the fight for justice that would last for decades, bravely turning down the pittance offered to her from Gateway and an NDA. She continued to endure accusations from Robert Morris’s attorneys that she was the aggressor in the relationship at the ripe age of 12.

“It was your client,” wrote lawyer J. Shelby Sharpe, referring to Clemishire at age 12, “who initiated inappropriate behavior by coming into my client’s bedroom and getting in bed with him, which my client should not have allowed to happen.”

The current Oklahoma Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, was a Republican lawyer in private practice who represented Cindy when she approached Gateway. Notably, he walled himself off from this investigation, allowing his prosecutors to investigate whether a case could be made to indict Morris. And they did. A loophole was found in Oklahoma law. NBC News wrote How Oklahoma’s AG used a frontier-era law to charge Robert Morris in the sex abuse scandal.

The prosecution turns on what Drummond called an “extraordinarily unusual” application of “a very old statute” that is most often used when prosecuting cold cases. More than a century ago, when outlaw cowboys roved the Old West committing crimes as they moved between states, Drummond said Oklahoma and other frontier states implemented a provision that essentially pauses — or tolls — the statute of limitations when someone commits a crime and then flees the state.

…Like the out-of-state marauders who terrorized Oklahoma towns in the early 1900s, Morris did not reside in Oklahoma, so Drummond said his office determined that the statute of limitations did not apply.

“Certainly that will be challenged in a court of law, and we are prepared to meet that challenge,” Drummond said. “I anticipate that there will be, ultimately, case law made on this case.”

Here is the original indictment.

Here is the warrant for his arrest, issued yesterday. He will have to turn in his passport.

Here is the announcement from Oklahoma AG Gentner Drummonds’s office.

“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,” said Attorney General Gentner Drummond. “This case is all the more despicable because the alleged perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for justice to be done.”

How much time could Morris get?

According to an article in the Christian Post

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office told The Christian Post that since the charges against Morris stemmed more than 35 years ago, his punishment would be limited by the law in effect at the time.

“At that time, the range of punishment was 1-20 years in prison. These other restrictions were not in effect in the law that existed at the time of Morris’ alleged crimes,” explained Carrie Burkhart, deputy press secretary for Oklahoma’s Office of the Attorney General.

Although that means he could theoretically get 100 years in prison (20 years for each count), I guess he will get a much shorter sentence with concurrent sentences. Full stop: That is if he is found guilty in the criminal trial. Also, I am sure his attorneys will attempt to get the “frontier law” thrown out, but I think the state sounds mighty confident. I am hoping that he goes “up the river.” Cindy deserves justice.

There is hope here for all victims of child sex abuse.

Many years after her abuse, Cindy called me with little expectation of justice. Who knew there was a loophole since children (both boys and girls) have been seen as disposable and unimportant humans throughout the millennia? The US Department of Justice posted Sexual Molestation of Children: Historical Perspectives.

Abstract
In the ancient period, roughly comprising the time of the Greeks and the Romans, adults used children to relieve their sexual needs; adults seduced and violated their children in an unashamed and socially acceptable manner. The medieval period, extending from the rise of Christianity through the flourishing of the Renaissance, saw curtailment of parents’ abuse of their children. For the first time, guilt became a prominent feature of psychic life, and adults projected their sexual impulses onto the children. In the early modern period — covering the 18th, 19th, and early 20th Centuries — the sense of guilt and shame increased to such a degree that incest could no longer be regarded as an acceptable aspect of culture; it exploded on the pornographic scene and in the underworld while being hidden from “polite” society. In the late modern period, child sexual abuse has become a subject of widespread clinical and governmental concern. Both abused children and the abusive adults are regarded as victims of a pernicious cycle of cruelty and deprivation. Treatment and prevention have become more readily available.

Stuart Griffin, another victim, just experienced a victory.

Recently, I posted the story of Stuart Griffin: Stuart Griffin Can Bring a Civil Lawsuit Against Kevin DeYoung’s Christ Covenant Church (PCA) and Charlotte Christian School. Stuart wrote me a year ago, and his story was one of the most well-written posts in the history of TWW. He authored the story of his abuse. I felt for sure the media would pick this up, but nothing materialized. Like Cindy, he, too, was discouraged. Then, unexpectedly, the NC Supreme Court ruled in his favor, and he will now have his day in court. He wants it to be an actual trial and does not wish to settle out of court. He has excellent representation from Boz Tchividjian and the Lanier Group (Think Duke Lacrosse players fine defense.) I plan to attend that trial in Charlotte when it occurs. I am stunned today that i have seen the possibility for justice with two victims who wrote me. Maybe the world is beginning to turn.

Why we should hope.

I believe we are living in an era in which child sex abuse is considered abhorrent by people on all sides of the political, judicial, and religious spectrum. I have been blogging on this topic (and others) this month for 16 years, and I began to see an increase in interest and concern about CSA approximately 10 years ago. Think about it: After thousands of years, there is concern for those who have been abused as children. There are many other types of abuse, but I am focusing on CSA for this post.

• We are seeing lookback laws being implemented in some states, which allow victims to go after their abuser decades later. Some of these laws get passed unexpectedly with little warning.
• Law enforcement, mental health professionals, attorneys, and legislators are beginning to understand that the average age for victims to discuss their CSA is 52 years old.
• Some states are extending or even eliminating SOL for CSA.
• The law is complex, and sometimes there are loopholes, as seen in Cindy Cleminshire’s search for justice.
• Law enforcement professionals have told some victims to keep an eye on the law since it changes.

When I began blogging, I (along with my husband) was fearful that people would become angry and lash out if I discussed the names of pastors who either committed child sex abuse or covered it up (which is just as bad.) Indeed, that was the case, even in Providence Baptist Church, where I first saw egregious sex abuse of young teen boys. In the early days, I encountered young Calvinist pastors who defended Sovereign Grace Ministries and the many allegations of CSA. I talked to news media in the early days, attempting to get them to look at specific cases of CSA, but was met with silence.

Things are changing in that regard. The news media is watching this story closely. The Oklahoma attorney general says to contact him if one is a victim of CSA in Oklahoma  (Go to 55 mark). Just a few years ago, I would not have imagined that a person in such a powerful position would even address the concerns of those harmed.

Listen to Cindy. She didn’t think anything would happen but persevered through many years of discouragement. Deep down inside, her hope never died, even if the light of hope flickered now and then. May it be for all of you waiting and wondering if it is worth the fight. May your hope become your strength.

Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all… As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength. – G. K Chesterton