1 week Ago
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill to protect sexual abuse and trafficking survivors. House Bill 748 would void any nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) made in cases of sexual abuse or sex trafficking. It's known as "Trey's Law," named for Trey Carlock, a Highland Park man who died by suicide after being sexually abused.
State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) said the bill is designed to stop NDAs from being "weaponized to hide the truth." "We have, here in Texas, allowed for sanctioned blood money, for hush money, in these awful cases of abuse.
And today, with the passage of Trey's Law, that practice comes to an end," Leach said. "With the passage of this bill, we will explicitly prohibit these types of agreements and civil settlement agreements. We will render them totally void and unenforceable as a matter of law, to the extent that they would prohibit a victim from speaking out about an act of sexual abuse or any facts related to those acts.
" One person who testified before the House on HB 748 was Cindy Clemishire, the woman who accused Gateway Church founder Robert Morris of sexually abusing her when she was a child. Clemishire claims Morris' attorneys offered her money to pay for therapy, but only if she signed an NDA. She refused and said she's glad she did.
"Because I refused to sign an NDA, my abuser is finally being held accountable for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child," Clemishire said. "Because I refused to sign the NDA at the age of 37, I am able to sit here at the age of 55 and share my story and be the voice of so many people who don't have the courage to come forward, in the hopes that I can help them." Morris was indicted last month in Oklahoma on five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child.
He turned himself in to authorities and resigned from his role as Gateway's lead pastor after Clemishire's allegations were made public. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is set to appear in court on May 9. As for HB 748, it passed the House unanimously and now heads to the Senate.
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