TX Passes ‘Trey’s Law’

Texas law bans NDAs in sexual assault, trafficking, and child sexual abuse cases

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill (SB) 835, also known as “Trey’s Law,” over the weekend. It will take effect on September 1.

Trey Carlock’s sister Elizabeth Carlock Phillips testifying before Texas Congress / Video screenshot

SB 835 by Texas Senator Angela Paxton bans the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in civil cases of sexual assault, including child sexual abuse and human trafficking cases, regardless of when the underlying claims occurred.

Trey’s Law is so named for Trey Carlock, a sexual abuse victim of Kanakuk Kamps’ employee Peter Newman. Carlock died by suicide after suffering in silence due to an NDA.

His sister Elizabeth Carlock Phillips has advocated for the bill and testified in support of it before a committee in the Texas Legislature. She shared how her brother endured a decade of abuse, then suffered a different kind of anguish after signing a restrictive NDA that caused him to even question whether he should discuss details of his abuse with his therapist.

She explained during her testimony that healing happens by “sharing your story in safe places, finding support, and solidarity.”

NDAs that take away a sexual abuse survivor’s voice and ability to tell their story are taking away their “path to healing,” she added.

“As Trey’s sister, it’s been a sacred honor to work alongside [survivors], and it honors my late brother and our family’s loss to know that pain can have purpose,” Phillips told MinistryWatch about the bill being signed into law.

“But this came at a very high cost. People need to know that this is a matter of life and death, and we hope to see versions of Trey’s Law passed in other jurisdictions soon. We hope that Trey’s Law will bring justice and healing for survivors of sexual assault by protecting victims’ voices and exposing bad actors,” Phillips added.

Cindy Clemishire, who has publicly shared how Gateway’s founding pastor Robert Morris began abusing her when she was 12 years old, told the committee that Morris offered her a settlement in 2007 with an NDA attached.

“Because I refused to sign that document giving up the right to freely speak about events in my life…almost 43 years after my abuse began, Robert Morris was indicted in Oklahoma on five acts of lewd acts with a child,” Clemishire said.

Her attorney who sought the settlement with Morris in 2007 was Gentner Drummond, who is now the attorney general of Oklahoma and who secured the indictment against Morris.

“Because I refused to sign an NDA, my abuser is finally being held accountable for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child,” Clemishire said, adding that she is now able to share her story and “be the voice for so many people who don’t have the courage to come forward.”

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SB 835 unanimously passed both the Texas Senate and House of Representatives, even garnering the rare vote of presiding officer, Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows.

The bill originally was only written to apply to child sexual abuse cases, but was expanded after witness testimony showed support for it to apply to sexual assault and human trafficking victims.

On June 10, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed that state’s bill voiding NDAs signed after August 28, 2025, making them unenforceable in childhood sexual abuse claims.

Until this summer, Tennessee had been the only state to have passed a law — in 2018 — specifically prohibiting NDAs in civil child sexual abuse settlements, rendering them “void and unenforceable.”

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