Texas bill ‘Trey's Law' banning NDAs in sexual abuse cases advances to House

A woman who accused the founder of Gateway Church of sexually abusing her as a child spoke before lawmakers Wednesday in support of a bill aimed at preventing the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in sexual abuse cases.

House Bill 748, also known as Trey’s Law, took a major step forward when the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee voted 10-0 to move it to the House floor. The bill seeks to ban NDAs in civil settlements related to sexual abuse and sex trafficking cases.

"This bill is meant to address what I believe is a major problem under current law," said Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who filed the bill.

Leach said NDAs allow suspected abusers to hide behind confidentiality agreements that force victims to stay silent when cases are settled out of court.

"And as a result, many victims feel trapped, silenced and feel like justice was never truly served," Leach said. "By allowing these types of agreements, often horrific and systemic abuse is hidden from the public eye, resulting in few consequences for the perpetrators and often allowing for more people to be harmed by unknowingly interacting with a bad actor who's hidden behind a non-disclosure agreement."

If the bill becomes law, victims would be able to speak publicly about their alleged abusers.

The bill is named after Trey Carlock, a Highland Park man who died by suicide in 2019.

"Sadly, a lot of truth dies with people because of NDAs, and that only protects bad actors," said Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, Trey’s older sister.

Carlock Phillips has spent the past five years pushing to change the law in her brother’s memory.

During her testimony Wednesday, she shared details about her brother’s decade-long experience of grooming and sexual abuse, which began when he was 7 years old at a summer camp in Missouri.

"I've actually learned more about the extent of my brother's abuse in his death than I knew in his life due to the NDA he was under," Carlock Phillips told lawmakers. "Trey told a therapist, 'They will always control me, and I'll never be free,' before he died by suicide in August 2019. He hesitated even to tell his story in confidential therapeutic settings."

The former director of Kanakuk Kamp, where the abuse took place, is currently serving three life sentences after being convicted of sexually abusing multiple campers.

Carlock Phillips said her brother was forced to file his case before the age of 23 due to Texas' civil statute of limitations. The trauma, she said, led him to suffer in silence.

She recalled that he referred to his settlement as "blood money."

"It's no exaggeration for me to claim this as a matter of life and death," she said. "I think we know what child sexual abuse does to a person's life, does to a kid, and I think we also know how healing happens. It's by sharing your story in safe places, finding support and solidarity."

Cindy Clemishire, an Oklahoma woman who accused Gateway Church founder and former pastor Robert Morris of sexually abusing her beginning at age 12, also testified in support of the bill.

Clemishire said that in 2007, at age 37—20 years after she first told someone—her attorney asked Morris for $50,000 to cover past and future counseling.

"Robert Morris's attorney responded with a letter accusing an innocent 12-year-old Cindy of pursuing Robert, making Robert sound like the victim," Clemishire said. "The letter also offered a $25,000 settlement as long as I would sign an NDA, which I refused. That was 18 years ago. Because I refused to sign that document, giving up the right to freely speak about events in my life."

She believes that decision played a role in Morris’ recent indictment.

Morris resigned from Gateway Church last year after the allegations became public. Last week, he was indicted on multiple counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. He turned himself in and has pleaded not guilty.