In a unanimous and bipartisan vote on Thursday, March 19, the Georgia House Judiciary Committee advanced SB-542, the Clergy Sexual Abuse Accountability Bill, following testimony from survivors, advocates and experts who described the realities of clergy sexual abuse and gaps in Georgia law that allow it to persist.
The proposed legislation aims to criminalize sexual abuse committed by clergy who exploit their position of spiritual authority, particularly in cases involving adult victims.
“This bill addresses an issue we’re all aware of — but that a big part of our community is very uncomfortable discussing.”
Survivors, whistleblowers, expert witnesses and lawmakers offered a consistent and sobering account: Abuse within religious contexts is often not marked by force, but by trust, authority and coercion, and current law does not adequately address these dynamics.
This often leaves victims without a clear path to justice.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Randy Robertson, opened by acknowledging both the prevalence of this issue and the reluctance to confront it.
“This bill addresses an issue we’re all aware of — but that a big part of our community is very uncomfortable discussing,” Robertson said. “As the victims continue to line up — every year, every month — we realize it is a problem within our communities that must be addressed.”
Robertson emphasized the legislation is carefully constructed to define clergy broadly, capturing not only formally ordained leaders but anyone who presents themselves as a spiritual authority in a position of trust.
Robertson underscored the broader consequences for both victims and faith communities, explaining, “Within the spiritual community, there has been a continued erosion of trust based on these individuals being able to conduct themselves this way.”
Hayle Swinson testifies
Hayle Swinson, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse who now advocates for others, has testified in support of the bill since its initial presentation. She says it is important for people to understand that abuse develops gradually within a framework of trust.
Hayle Swinson
“Adult clergy sexual abuse is real,” she said. “It does not begin with force. It begins with trust placed in a spiritual authority figure. … In my experience, what began as spiritual guidance became years of manipulation, isolation and sexual exploitation framed as something I was told to trust as from God. Scripture was twisted from Genesis to Revelation to convince me this is God’s will.”
Swinson also highlighted the lack of legal recourse: “In my case, it took over 35 journalists and publications to shine light on the darkness because there was no clear legal path to justice or accountability.”
She urged lawmakers, saying, “We have a historic opportunity to show that protecting the abused must matter more than protecting bad actors and institutions that choose silence.”
And Swinson was not the only survivor who testified.
Kanakuk survivor testifies
Chuck Wills, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse at Kanakuk Kamps, testified about being targeted by a trusted religious authority.
“The person who abused me didn’t come to me as a stranger,” Wills said. “He came to me as someone I was taught to trust. A spiritual authority. A leader.” He continued, “When someone holds that kind of authority over you, it changes everything.”
“It changes how you understand right and wrong. It changes what you feel allowed to say no to. It changes whether you even recognize what’s happening as abuse. … What happened to me was not just misconduct — it was the abuse of authority.”
Orange whistleblower testifies
Kim Nunes, legislative director for Clergy Law Reform, has spearheaded the grassroots effort around SB-542 over the past year. For the first time, she testified about her own experience exposing abuse within Orange, a Christian organization founded and led by Reggie Joiner until he was exposed in 2024 for having what he called “inappropriate adult relationships.”
Kim Nunes
Nunes says this actually referred to a “decades-long pattern of predatory abuse.”
“I spent 13 years working for a faith-based nonprofit here in Georgia that reached close to 10,000 churches globally,” Nunes said. “While I was not personally abused by clergy, I was directly affected by clergy abuse and the absence of laws protecting those who were.”
After coming forward, Nunes said she encountered institutional resistance and entrenched networks that shielded the abuser because the “networks that were supposed to hold him accountable only helped further protect his false image,” she said.
Nunes also spoke candidly about the personal cost of whistleblowing.
“My early experience as a whistleblower was extremely isolating and deeply depressing, slowly turning my world very small,” she told the committee, citing research showing most whistleblowers experience severe psychological distress.
“Senate Bill 542… clarifies what anyone who has been victimized by clergy abuse will tell you: True consent is impossible with an unequal power dynamic, especially when spiritual language is used to disarm, manipulate and then silence.”
Ravi Zacharias staffer testifies
Ruth Malhotra, the former spokesperson for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and a whistleblower in the Ravi Zacharias abuse scandal, also testified about the difficulty of telling the truth about things an institution is trying to hide.
Ruth Malhotra
“In 2017, when a woman named Lori Anne Thompson came forward alleging abuse, the response was not a formal investigation, but containment and coverup,” Malhotra told the committee. “A financial settlement was reached and a nondisclosure agreement prevented the victim from speaking. I was asked to publicly defend that outcome.”
Malhotra says she faced retaliation after raising concerns internally, and so did Thompson and her husband, including a heavy-handed lawsuit and public vilification. She later became a key witness in a third-party investigation that substantiated a long-term pattern of abuse involving multiple victims.
“This is the reality many victims face,” she argued. “When they come forward or try to come forward, the consequences are often immediate, public and severe. ‘There is a reason we are referred to as survivors,’ Lori Anne once told me. ‘Many don’t make it.’”
“What is relevant for this body is not only what occurred, but why it was able to occur without meaningful legal consequence,” Malhotra contended. “These cases involved adult women. And that is precisely where the legal gap exists under current law.”
The mental cost of abuse
Holly Haynes, who holds a doctorate from Harvard University in human development and psychology, provided scientific context for the harm described by survivors.
“The science is unequivocal: Clergy sexual abuse inflicts a category of harm that Georgia law does not yet recognize, and must.”
Holly Haynes
She explained that trauma fundamentally alters brain function, in part by fragmenting memory, which leads to delayed reporting — a phenomenon she described as “neurobiological inevitability.”
Haynes also described the unique nature of “spiritual harm” by saying: “Survivors are robbed of their relationship with God. They are estranged from the communities and practices that once gave their lives meaning. The power differential here is not just professional. It is perceived as divine.”
“Clergy are believed to speak for God … and to hold authority over the soul itself,” she added. “When that authority is used to exploit, the survivor does not just lose trust in one person — they can lose their entire framework for understanding the world.”
Others who testified in favor of SB-542 included Kelly Bagwell, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse and an ordained minister, and Mike Griffin, public affairs representative of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Supporters say the bill represents a critical step forward in establishing clear legal boundaries, deterring abuse and restoring trust in institutions meant to serve the vulnerable.
The bill now moves to the Rules Committee and then the full Georgia House for a vote. The session is slated to end with Sine Die April 2.
Ongoing updates and resources are available at www.clergylawreform.org
Related articles:
Georgia Senate unanimously approves clergy sexual abuse bill