Oklahoma Rep. Chris Kannady has filed HB 4227, which includes a version of “Trey’s Law” legislation that aims to ensure survivors of child sexual abuse and trafficking are no longer silenced by nondisclosure agreements in civil settlements. The bill also eliminates the criminal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, in line with other states’ laws.
The new legislation introduced in Oklahoma would prohibit NDAs in civil cases involving child sexual abuse and trafficking in the interest of public safety by ensuring survivors can share their stories without fear of legal recourse.
Chris Kannady
As drafted, the bill would apply to both future and past civil settlement agreements, making the NDA clause void and unenforceable and allowing survivors who already have entered into these agreements retroactive ability to legally share their stories.
Notably, Oklahoma is the home state of sexual abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire, who spoke out in support of Trey’s Law last year in a Texas Senate State Affairs Committee hearing for the bill. “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,” Clemishire testified just one day before her abuser, Robert Morris, first appeared in court in Oklahoma.
Months later, the disgraced former megachurch pastor pled guilty to all five charges of lewd or indecent acts to a child stemming from his abuse of Clemishire in the 1980s.
“Silencing survivors doesn’t just endanger communities — it interferes with healing and prolongs trauma. Trey’s Law is about public safety, accountability and restoring to survivors what was taken from them — their voice. Oklahoma has an opportunity to lead with courage and compassion by making it clear that truth should never be illegal,” Clemishire said.
The campaign for Trey’s Law was launched by Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, who champions this legislation as part of her advocacy on behalf of sexual abuse survivors. It is named for her younger brother, Trey Carlock, who was a victim of child sexual abuse at Kanakuk Kamps.
“With the filing of this bill, Rep. Kannady is standing firmly with survivors and championing a future for Oklahoma where truth, healing and justice can prevail,” Phillips said. “We are grateful for Cindy Clemishire’s advocacy for this legislation in Texas, and we are heartened to see these protections expand to her home state of Oklahoma. We also strongly support the criminal statute of limitations elimination component of HB-4227 and filed separately as HB-4244, which will allow future survivors of child sexual abuse more time to seek justice in Oklahoma’s criminal courts.”
More information and ongoing updates are available at TreysLaw.org.
To learn more about Trey Carlock’s story and about the pattern of child sexual abuse at Kanakuk, listen to BNG’s podcast series.