Republican Alabama state Sen. Matt Woods speaks with a colleague in the Alabama Senate in January. The Senate passed a bill backed by Woods that would prohibit civil courts from entering into non-disclosure agreements against survivors of child sexual abuse. (Photo by Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know needs lend a hand, you can reach the U.S. National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling 988 or texting them. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
Cindy Clemishire was 12 years aged on Christmas night 1982 when a traveling evangelist staying with her family abused her for the first time.
According to Clemishire, the sexual abuse continued over the next four years. She eventually told her family and the abuse stopped. But her tormentor, Robert Morris, founded the Gateway Church in Texas, which became one of the largest megachurches in the country.
When Clemishire filed for compensation in 2007, Morris’ lawyer offered her $25,000 if she would sign a nondisclosure agreement that would prevent her from speaking publicly about the abuse. She refused.
“Had I agreed to this nondisclosure agreement, Robert would have continued to have power over me,” Clemishire said told Last May, she urged Texas lawmakers to pass a state law that would ban nondisclosure agreements in civil child sexual abuse cases.
“Because I refused to sign that nondisclosure agreement at age 37,” she said, “I can sit here today at age 55 and share my story in hopes of helping others.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed the law last June. Texas joined other states including California, Missouri And Tennesseeby prohibiting the employ of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in civil settlements involving sexual abuse of children – and in some states, adults.
Morris pleaded guilty to child molestation in October, admit publicly what he did to Clemishire.
Because I refused to sign that confidentiality agreement at age 37, I can sit here today at age 55 and tell my story in hopes of helping others.
– Cindy Clemishire, sexual abuse survivor and state law reform advocate
This year, Clemishire’s home state of Oklahoma, as well as Alabama and Georgia, are considering similar legislation.
love spirit of The bill was introduced this week. Last month, Alabama lawmakers approved unanimously Identical bills in the House and Senate. If one of the bills passes the other chamber, it goes to the governor’s desk. In Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced he would support a version of the law in his final State of the State address last month.
Kemp said the bill would “further protect our children, expose perpetrators and save lives by preventing the silence imposed on far too many victims.”
Many of the novel bills are versions of Trey’s Law, a model law first passed in Missouri and named after Trey Carlock, a survivor of child sexual abuse. Carlock died by suicide in 2019 at the age of 28. Even though his abuser was sentenced Because of the sexual abuse of several boys, Carlock had signed a non-disclosure agreement in a civil settlement that prevented him from talking about his actions Abuse and Kanakuka popular Christian sports camp based in Missouri, and the camp’s role in enabling the abuse.
Elizabeth Phillips, Carlock’s sister, later founded the Trey’s Law movement in his memory. Trey’s Law advocates for the passage of NDA bans at the state and federal levels.
Such bills attempt to address a civil rights issue that gained greater attention during the #MeToo movement. Organizations like Kanakuk that are involved in child abuse allegations sometimes offer financial compensation to abuse survivors in exchange for signing agreements that legally prohibit them from speaking publicly about the abuse or the organization’s role in it.
Critics of this type of nondisclosure agreement say it is a legal tool originally intended to protect confidential corporate information that has been abused to suppress survivor stories and shield organizations that enable abuse.
“Non-disclosure agreements may be presented as legal formalities, but in cases like mine, they are tools that perpetuate abuse,” Clemishire told Texas lawmakers last year. “They protect the abuser and shame the victims. They prevent the children from being protected and they make it harder to prevent abuse from happening again.”
State laws vary in terms of their protection. California passed a law in 2016 banning NDAs for sexual offenses, child sexual abuse, and sexual assault against vulnerable adults such as older adults and people with disabilities. TennesseeThe 2018 law invalidates NDAs in child sexual harassment lawsuits. New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania placed restrictions to NDAs. Various courts have also done this dejected some NDAs that appeared aimed at hiding wrongdoing.
There is currently no federal law equivalent to the Trey Act, although Congress has attempted to address the issue. The federal government 2022 Speak Out Act specifically targets preventative NDAs used in the workplace. It invalidates nondisclosure agreements often signed as a condition of employment. before An argument occurs that involves sexual assault or sexual harassment. However, the law does not apply to NDAs signed after allegations have been raised.
Many of the novel state laws, such as those in Oklahoma and Texas, apply retroactively and invalidate older NDAs. Alabama’s bill would only apply to contracts entered into or modified after the measure is signed.
It is complex to find public critics for such legislation. It is one of the few issues that has so far united both sides of the political spectrum. In the few states that have outlawed NDA bans in sexual assault cases, they passed with unanimous or near-unanimous bipartisan support.
But in Alabama, Republican Sen. Greg Albritton expressed concern last month that a blanket ban could harm churches and institutions like the church Boy Scouts of America who have faced civil allegations that they ignored child abuse or protected perpetrators.
“That NDA is very often a lifeline for the institution to continue its efforts to do good,” Albritton told Senate lawmakers in Alabama, adding that he believes NDAs allow organizations to implement reforms and move forward. “If we pass this, we could harm institutions — including churches, including nonprofits — that do their best to do good in communities.
“I would like to point out that removing this tool from the civil process will do more harm than good to our society.”
The lawmaker who is Alabama’s sponsor The invoice is another Republican, State Senator Matt Woods. The Alabama version of Trey’s Law is his first bill in the Senate after being elected in a special election in June 2025. He said the bill was brought to his attention by some of Carlock’s relatives who live in his home district.
“We must provide healing for the victims of this terrible act,” Woods said said the Alabama Reflector in January.
“The only way they can heal is to disclose what happened to them, talk about it and move forward with the healing process.”
Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by State borderwhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes West Virginia Watch, and is a 501c(3) public charity supported by grants and a coalition of donors.
