Last Wednesday, Kanakuk survivors and other activists spoke at the Missouri House of Representatives in front of a Judiciary Committee hearing on one of multiple bills currently being considered related to child sexual abuse. The bill under discussion is part of a longer string of legislation recently introduced related to child sex crimes in Missouri and other states.
The hearing was for HB-709, introduced by Rep. Brian Seitz. If voted into law, the bill would prevent the misuse of nondisclosure agreements against child sexual abuse survivors who later wish to seek civil claims.
Historically, NDAs were created to protect sensitive information during business transactions, such as trade secrets or intellectual property. However, they are often used today in settlement agreements with survivors of sexual and other types of abuse as a method of preventing survivors from saying negative things about the institution where the abuse occurred. This method of use aims to protect institutions from having to deal with media backlash when stories of abuse are exposed to the public.
But this often causes survivors to feel silenced as they try to navigate the healing process.
Trey Carlock
The bill is nicknamed “Trey’s Law” in honor of the late Trey Carlock, who died by suicide in 2019 after experiencing severe psychological injury from experiences of child sexual abuse at Kanakuk Kamps. His trauma was exacerbated by his inability to tell his story due to an NDA that was part of his settlement agreement with Kanakuk.
His sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, was one of the speakers at the hearing. She explained that Trey “hesitated to tell his story even in confidential therapeutic settings, for fear that Kanakuk would come after him again, like they did an earlier John Doe.” She later continued, “My brother referred to his settlement cash as ‘blood money,’ as if he had to trade his own soul to keep Kanakuk’s secrets.”
“Sadly, a lot of truth dies with people because of NDAs. And that only protects bad actors,” she said, describing NDAs as “the silent killer.”
Kieth Dygert, another Kanakuk abuse survivor who spoke at the hearing, said he was prepared to go against the camp publicly but entered a settlement agreement for the “sake and sanity” of his mother, who was in psychological agony regarding the situation. “That settlement came with the cost of signing an NDA in which I had to agree not to say anything bad about Kanakuk,” he explained.
“When victims are silenced, the truth is also silenced.”
“This allowed Kanakuk to purport a narrative of innocent and unknowing. … Such fraudulent claims as these chip away at the fractured foundation on which victims stand and attempt to rebuild their lives,” Dygert said. “When victims are silenced, the truth is also silenced.”
He supports the bill to combat the “tyranny and unreasonableness of NDAs in cases of child sexual abuse.”
Part of that tyranny is merely the threat of NDAs, said Joe Alarcon, father of Ashton Alarcon, a Kanakuk abuse survivor.
Because he wanted Ashton to be able to tell his story when he was ready, the family refused to sign an NDA with Kanakuk during the settlement process. That resulted in $40,000 worth of legal intimidation by Kanakuk aimed at the Alarcon family, forcing them to spend months engaging in litigation fighting for their right to tell the truth about Ashton’s experience, he said.
“And all because he said, ‘Dad, I just want to be able to tell my story.’ … So if corporations use NDAs against people who did not even sign an NDA, imagine the tactics they use against victims who are tired and who just want to move on.”
The speakers described the issue of NDAs in child sexual abuse cases as literal matters of life and death, citing the many ways in which psychological torture related to sexual abuse has the potential to harm victims to the point of self-harm and suicide. They all emphasized that psychological, emotional and spiritual healing all happen in community, arguing that restrictive NDAs deprive survivors of this opportunity.
In an earlier description of the bill, Rep. Seitz explained, “Without NDAs, truth can come to light. And truth is in the interest of public safety.”
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