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The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
January 27, 2026
By Josh Shepherd
Two more states have joined a national movement to “end silence and expose abusers” wishing to silence their victims. State legislators in Oklahoma have filed a bill to ban agreements used to cover up sexual abuse, while the Georgia governor has stated a similar bill will be introduced soon.
Both proposed state laws, which will be known as Trey’s Law, are designed to prohibit non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of child sexual abuse.
Also, on Friday, Alabama legislators, who had previously filed a version of Trey’s Law, voted to unanimously approve bills SB 30 and HB 93 through both chambers.
“We want to continue to give victims of sexual abuse a voice,” said State Rep. Susan DuBose (R–District 45) on the House floor. “Prohibiting these nondisclosure agreements is essential.”
However, because Alabama’s version of Trey’s Law does not apply retroactively, it has been criticized as toothless, as The Roys Report (TRR) reported in December. The Alabama bills now go to a second vote, crossing chambers.
The flurry of activity reflects increasingly broad support for Trey’s Law, now enacted in four states, most recently in Texas and Missouri. Oklahoma, Alabama and Georgia would become the fifth, sixth and seventh states to pass Trey’s Law.
Oklahoma woman testified of pastor’s abuse
In Oklahoma, State Rep. Chris Kannady (R-District 91) filed HB 4227 on Jan. 15.
The bill, if enacted, will nullify any NDA clause in civil agreements related to child sexual abuse. Notably, the bill also eliminates any statute of limitations on criminal claims related to child sexual abuse, which would allow survivors to pursue justice years or decades later.
Last year, Cindy Clemishire, the Oklahoma woman whose account of child sex abuse prompted Dallas-area megachurch pastor Robert Morris to resign, testified twice in support of Trey’s Law. In a press release, Clemishire spoke in support of the proposed Oklahoma state law.
“Silencing survivors doesn’t just endanger communities — it interferes with healing and prolongs trauma,” she said. “Oklahoma has an opportunity to lead with courage and compassion by making it clear that truth should never be illegal.”
In her testimony at the Texas state capitol last March, Clemishire recounted how she refused to sign an NDA presented to her by Morris’ attorney in 2007.
“Because I refused to sign that NDA at 37, I am able to sit here today at 55 years old and share my story in hopes of helping others,” she told Texas legislators.
Advocates have praised the Texas version of Trey’s Law, which applies retroactively to past NDAs and has no age limit on sexual abuse claims in civil cases. Oklahoma’s current proposal is similar, ending any statute of limitations for such crimes.
According to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, charges against Morris proceeded only due to a technicality, as TRR previously reported. “The statute of limitations is not applicable in this case because Morris was not a resident or inhabitant of Oklahoma at any time,” his office stated.
Southern strategy
Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, sister of the late abuse victim Trey Carlock, for whom the initiative is named, has coalesced the national effort, starting in the South.
“Trey and I have close family ties in many southern states, so it made sense to start our advocacy work there,” she told TRR.
While the legislative text of Alabama and Oklahoma bills have been filed, details of Georgia’s proposed bill have not yet been released.
On Jan. 15, in his final State of the State address, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp stated that “his team” — presumably, state legislators aligned with his agenda — will introduce a version of Trey’s Law.
Kemp echoed wording of the coalition, saying the bill “will further protect our children, expose abusers, and save lives by preventing the silence imposed on far too many victims.”
He added, “No child should be a victim of such an evil act.”
Giving victims a voice
Phillips’ brother, Trey, was the victim of such acts.
As a child, Trey attended Kanakuk Kamps in southwest Missouri, the flagship Christian summer camp of a global network. “He was groomed and abused from age 7 to 17 by a serial sex offender,” Phillips testified last year.
His abuser, Pete Newman, a camp counselor, was sentenced to three life terms in 2010 on charges of sexual abuse against 57 victims.
Last week, the Shawn Ryan Show released a four-hour interview featuring Phillips, in which she recounted Newman’s years of criminal sexual abuse as a senior Kanakuk staff member.
“(Newman) had unfettered access, year-round, to children for 14 years,” she said. “While 55 victims were known at his time of sentencing, the prosecutor estimated the true victim count was in the hundreds.”
Because her brother signed a restrictive NDA demanded by Kanakuk for a settlement, Trey Carlock never spoke publicly about the abuse. He took his own life in 2019 at the age of 28.
According to Phillips, his death by suicide was shortly after telling a therapist, “They will always control me, and I’ll never be free.”
Following this latest interview, Kanakuk updated the response statement to abuse allegations on its website. The Christian-based camp stated that the podcast “repeats many of the same misleading claims and harmful, broad allegations previously shared online.”
Over the past decade, Phillips has increasingly devoted herself to advocacy on behalf of child protection laws. She recently formed the No More Victims Alliance as the sponsoring nonprofit for several initiatives including Trey’s Law.
“I’m trying to be a voice for Trey and countless other victims of sexual abuse and trafficking, who are suffering in the shadows due to NDAs,” she said last year. She and her team are working to bring Trey’s Law to all 50 states and at the federal level.