Six bipartisan U.S. senators came together to announce the federal filing of “Trey’s Law,” introduced to the Senate as the “Terminating Restrictive Enforcement of Youth Settlements Law.”
The bill — similar to versions passed or filed in a number of states — would void nondisclosure agreements entered by child sexual abuse survivors that otherwise silence them. The bill is named in honor of Trey Carlock, a citizen of Dallas who was silenced by an NDA after enduring a retraumatizing civil litigation process against Kanakuk Ministries. He died by suicide at age 28.
The federal filing is led by Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. They are joined by Katie Britt, R-Ala., Peter Welch, D-Vt., Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
As has been the case with state-level proposals of Trey’s Law, the senators expect bipartisan support for the bill, which Cruz and Britt say is a “common sense” piece of legislation.
The senators expect bipartisan support for the bill, which Cruz and Britt say is a “common sense” piece of legislation.
Cruz further explained his support for Trey’s Law and similar bills by emphasizing the moral responsibility lawmakers have to protect children from enduring more trauma than they already have: “No child who has endured sexual abuse should be forced to carry that horror in silence. No child should be forced to walk alone in that pain. And no child should be forced to accept agreements that protect their abusers.”
Cruz also elaborated on how the federal version of Trey’s Law would work, as each state-level version of the bill is slightly different.
“Trey’s Law will protect, defend and support children who are the victims of sexual assault. … At the same time, the bill preserves the confidentiality of settlement amounts and allows victims themselves to insist on privacy, if they so choose. It gives the victims the power. What it does not allow is the forced silencing of victims to protect the abusers.”
He also noted states can add additional protections for child sexual abuse survivors beyond the federal standard: “Trey’s Law establishes a clear national baseline. No NDA may be used to silence the disclosure of child sexual abuse. And importantly, this legislation does not prevent states from going further.”
Elizabeth Carlock Phillips
Trey’s sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, called NDAs “a bribe, your voice in exchange for restitution.” She also referred to them as forms of “lawful hush money” that “only protects bad actors.”
Of her brother’s story, Phillips also explained the bill is not just a morally right thing for senators to get behind, but a pressing matter of public safety. She said Trey “was literally silenced to his grave, and it is no exaggeration for me to proclaim this as a matter of life and death.”
“Every voice of truth matters,” she said. “Transparency matters. … This congress should pass Trey’s Law — and they should with urgency. We will have transformed the legal landscape of this country into a safer place for our children, for survivors to heal and for the lives and deaths of victims like Trey to matter. Let’s break the cycle of codifying shame-induced silence that predators rely on. Let’s choose to act upon victims’ cries for justice and restore their freedom of speech. Their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I stand with the many survivors here today. You are brave and courageous, and you didn’t deserve what happened to you, or the system’s failures. We can right this wrong.”
Kathryn Robb, national director of the Children’s Justice Campaign, said child sexual abuse is “a public health crisis” for which a critical remedy is the passage of Trey’s Law. “Research is very clear. One in eight children will be sexually assaulted before their 18th birthday. If that’s not an epidemic, then I don’t know what is.”
Trey’s story was not the only one told at the press conference.
Nineteen-year-old Jaden Harris shared her story of being pressured into signing an NDA by both her abuser and her own attorney after being abused by a magician in Branson, Mo.
“The criminal justice system has done nothing to remove him from being around children, so I’m going to do something,” she said. “I’m speaking out today, and I’m advocating for the law that protected me to protect victims everywhere.”
Without Trey’s Law being passed in Missouri, she would not be able to tell her story today.
“Despite the bullying from my attorney, and all those involved in my case, in my heart, I knew I had to stand for truth. Not just for myself but for others who feel they have been silenced,” Harris said. “I’m standing here today with my voice because Trey’s Law protected it as a matter of public policy.”
The proposed federal legislation is backed by American Association for Justice, Prevent Together – The National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, Protect Our Children, National Children’s Alliance, Tim Tebow Foundation, Unsilenced, Joyful Heart Foundation Children’s Justice Campaign – Enough Abuse, Zero Abuse Project, Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas and Rights4Girls.