SOUTHLAKE, Texas — After Gateway Church founder Robert Morris pleaded guilty to five charges of child sexual abuse stemming from allegations by Cindy Clemishire, Morris and his wife are asking a judge to dismiss claims in a civil lawsuit from Clemishire and her father accusing him of defamation.

Morris, who founded Gateway Church with his wife, Debbie, in 2000, resigned from his role as lead pastor of the church last summer following allegations that he sexually abused Clemishire at her Oklahoma home starting on Christmas Day in 1982 , when she was 12 and continuing over the next four years.

In a civil lawsuit filed in June, Clemishire and her father allege Morris and Gateway Church leaders made defamatory statements after her allegations against Morris became public. The lawsuit

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