Latest news with #Carlock
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
‘We can turn it around,' Pine Bluff officials say that juvenile violence on the decline
PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Juvenile violence is on the decline in Pine Bluff. The Pine Bluff School District (PBSD) shared on Friday that office discipline referrals have nearly halved over the past two school years. Pine Bluff puts park curfews into effect, enforcing zero-tolerance policy Officials said that if one thing could be pointed to as a cause, it would be the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) movement. Jennifer Barbaree became PBSD superintendent shortly before the implementation of GVI in area schools. 'When GVI first started, we had lost nine students to murder in that school year,' Barbaree said. In July, it will be a year and a half since a juvenile homicide in Pine Bluff. PBSD office discipline referrals decreased by 30% this past school year. In elementary schools, discipline referrals have dropped by an average of 50%, with 34th Elementary seeing the most significant decline at 75%. Arkansas Stop the Violence speaks on recent string of homicides in Little Rock On Friday, during the last day of school, GVI hosted a community celebration in the Pine Bluff Convention Center. PBSD Assistant Superintendant Anthony Carlock said students were able to get excused absences for attending. 'This is a celebration, so when we think about, we are not counting youth homicides; we're celebrating how much life we still have in Pine Bluff, and how much life we can impact for our future,' Carlock said. Carlock said GVI helps students through mentoring, outreach, connecting people with resources, and rewarding those who invest in safety throughout the year. Director Kevin Crumpton explained that it also trains police and juvenile justice officers for their role. 'You got to be able to work together to make change in your particular city,' Crumpton said. Jasmine Jones has two children in the district. She just learned of GVI Friday, but she's noticed the effect it's had much sooner. 'It makes me feel better about my kids growing up in this community like we can turn it around,' Jones said. Jefferson County budget vetoed by judge, county remains without 2025 budget A state grant helped fund the formation of GVI. PBSD officials stated a program like this has the potential to improve communities across the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Senate advances 'Trey's Law' to ban NDAs in sex abuse settlements
A bill to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements in sexual abuse cases is one step closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 835 by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, passed the Senate unanimously Thursday. "Trey's Law," as the bill is known, would render nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements unenforceable if they relate to cases of sexual abuse. The proposal will now head to the House, where its companion bill easily passed the lower chamber last month. "While a nondisclosure agreement may have legitimate use for some business agreements, NDAs have also been used to silence sexual abuse victims," Paxton said. "This perverse application protects predators and the entities or institutions whose negligence enabled the abuse, and it facilitates continued abuse by shielding the perpetrator. "Worst of all, perhaps, it takes away the most critical element of a victim's healing — their voice." The bill is named after Trey Carlock, who at age 28 died by suicide in 2019. Carlock suffered 10 years of abuse at the hands of serial pedophile Pete Newman, who was found guilty of molesting at least 57 victims while he was a counselor at Kanakuk Kamps in Branson, Mo. The lingering trauma left Carlock without a lifeline, ultimately leading to his death, his sister Elizabeth Phillips testified in a March House committee hearing. More: Texas House panel advances 'Trey's Law' to ban NDAs in sex abuse settlements Newman was handed two life sentences plus 30 years for abusing six boys at the Christian camp. He was denied parole in October. Carlock signed a nondisclosure agreement as part of a civil settlement with Kanakuk Kamps. "This tool was used by Trey's abuser and Kanakuk Kamps as a tool to silence Trey and to shield their criminal acts, all in exchange for a settlement — truly blood money," Plano Republican Rep. Jeff Leach, who authored the House version of the bill, said as he was laying out the measure April 8. Such an agreement would also have kept Cindy Clemishire from speaking out against her alleged abuser Robert Morris, a former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump who in North Texas founded one of the largest and most influential megachurches in the U.S. Morris was 20 years old in 1982, when Clemishire alleges the abuse began while he stayed at her family's home in Oklahoma. Clemishire at the time was 12. 'The first time he made the premeditated decision to violate and defile my purity, he told me … 'You can never tell anyone, because it will ruin everything,'' Clemishire told the House panel. In 2007, Morris again tried to silence Clemishire during negotiations over a civil settlement. Morris' attorney offered Clemishire $25,000 in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement prohibiting her from speaking out about the abuse that allegedly took place over five years. She refused. Morris, 63, now faces five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child stemming from Clemishire's case. SB 835 will now head to the House. The House will need to vote on the Senate's bill, or the Senate on the House's bill, before the proposal can head to the governor. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Senate advances 'Trey's Law' to ban NDAs in sex abuse settlements
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Yahoo
KC teens get prom-send off from community after mother is killed
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City community came together Saturday to show support for two teens who recently lost their mother. A special prom send-off was held for Roger and Zymire Johnson. Their mother, Janette Johnson, was murdered on April 4. 'Several businesses came together and pulled this off within a matter of days, and just to see a smile on the kids' faces is more important to me than anything else,' said Keisha Henson Shaw, the owner of CreativeKei event rentals. KCPD officer seriously injured in assault while investigating crash Donations poured in from local barbers, florists, clothing stores, photographers, and others, providing Zymire and Roger with everything they would need for prom. From custom suits to transportation, and special boutonnieres with a picture of their mother, Janette Johnson. 'Shelle and her team ensured that everything was very specific and intentional. It was a dream come true, and I'm just so happy that the boys were able to get what they wanted,' said Kendric Carlock, the brothers' school counselor. The send-off was organized by the non-profit Show Me You Care KC. Shelle West founded the non-profit. Show Me You Care KC works to ensure that every individual has the resources, opportunities, and support they deserve through innovative programs, heartfelt initiatives, and collaborative partnerships. 'A post was made on Facebook, and, so I reached out to someone who I already knew and I asked them what support they needed, and It was just being able to be a backbone for children who just lost their mother,' West said 'We want to be able to make sure we're the village and we can be a support for these children.' Carlock helped with the event and says the outpouring of support from the community was overwhelming. Man searches for answers in daughter's murder: 'A part of me is gone' 'Kansas City has a network. A network of Black businesses came together to put together a moment for these kids to never forget. From artists to vendors to props, decor, suits, photographers, everything was to the tee,' Carlock said. Carlock said it's also a testament to the Kansas City community and how people support each other through difficult times. 'Kansas City is the place where we're building community. People from all different places can come together. So it's a dream come true, and I'm glad that today shows that that is possible,' Carlock said. Carlock shared that Roger is a junior in high school and Zymire is a senior headed to play college football in the fall. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
08-04-2025
- New York Times
A New Push to Open the Doors on Childhood Sexual Abuse
Like the children of many affluent evangelical families in Dallas, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips and her younger brother Trey Carlock spent their summers at a Christian sports camp in Missouri. After Mr. Carlock suffered years of sexual abuse by one of the camp's directors, he reached a financial settlement to compensate him for his trauma, but at a suffocating price: He could never tell anyone about what had happened. Mr. Carlock, a neuroscience researcher, cycled in and out of more than a dozen hospitals and treatment centers, and tried electroconvulsive therapy. He became increasingly detached from family and friends, and took his own life in August 2019. He was 28. 'Trey told a therapist, 'They will always control me, and I'll never be free,'' said Ms. Phillips, who added that the family still had no idea what his nondisclosure agreement had dictated, or what truly had happened to him. 'He called his settlement dollars blood money, because taking that money in exchange for an NDA felt like a bribe.' She added, 'He was silenced to his grave.' Thanks to the efforts of Ms. Phillips and other victims' relatives, Texas and Missouri are among several states now aiming to ban such nondisclosure agreements in cases of childhood sexual assault. To critics, the agreements impose a lifetime gag order and deny survivors the ability to heal by sharing their trauma. They also shield perpetrators and the institutions that effectively protect them, allowing abusers to prey upon more unknowing children. Companies have long used nondisclosure agreements in different contexts to protect trade secrets, confidential data and intellectual property. In civil cases, confidential settlements can resolve matters that might have taken years to go to trial, by allowing those accused of wrongdoing to minimize any publicity. In recent years, many companies and institutions have used nondisclosure agreements when settling workplace claims of sexual harassment and assault, especially those involving high-profile figures. Yet few such agreements are as potentially fraught as those tied to childhood sexual abuse, involving victims struggling with self-doubt who may have needed decades to come forward. Statute of limitations provisions act as another barrier to victims of childhood sexual abuse, with the legal window for filing claims often closing by the time victims reach adulthood and truly understand the damage done. The extent of the potential liability became clear last week, with a proposed $4 billion legal settlement in California for plaintiffs who said they were sexually abused as children in Los Angeles County's juvenile detention and foster care systems, in cases dating to the late 1950s. This year, lawmakers in Texas and Missouri, led by a number of conservative Republicans, have introduced more than 20 bills related to childhood sexual abuse. Some seek to void existing NDAs and outlaw future ones, allowing victims past and present to disclose what happened and who was responsible. Others aim to loosen the statute of limitations to give survivors more time to file civil lawsuits. 'To me it's clear — you either stand with victims, or you stand with the people who harmed them,' said State Representative Jeff Leach of Texas, the chair of the state's House Judiciary Committee, who is sponsoring one of the bills. To date, only Tennessee has enacted similar NDA legislation. But four bills have cleared committees in Texas and Missouri, with the Texas House set to vote on one on Tuesday. Lawmakers in Oklahoma and Oregon have also expressed interest. The push echoes one on the federal level to eliminate workplace NDAs taken on by Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, two former Fox News contributors who sued Roger Ailes, then the network's chairman and chief executive, over sexual harassment and retaliation. New laws have also been passed in New Jersey, Washington and California. For Ms. Phillips and her brother, who grew up in an upscale Dallas suburb, religion was a cornerstone of family life. The children spent their summers at Kanakuk Kamps in Branson, Mo., which is celebrating its centennial this summer. All the while, Pete Newman, a charismatic camp director, was grooming and abusing Mr. Carlock from age 7 to 16, according to court documents. Mr. Newman pleaded guilty in 2010 to sexual abuse, and others were also accused. The prosecutor who handled the case has told reporters there were probably hundreds of victims. A few years later, Mr. Carlock was among dozens of camp attendees who either sued or reached settlements with Mr. Newman and Kanakuk using John Doe pseudonyms, on the condition that they stay mum. Several former Kanakuk campers have died by suicide, according to Ms. Phillips and other advocates for victims of childhood sexual abuse. Ms. Phillips, a 37-year-old Dallas entrepreneur who runs a family foundation, cautioned that people may not always know what drove their loved ones to suicide. But she said that the enforced silence required by the NDA her brother signed had added to his despair. Kanakuk and its lawyers did not respond to requests to discuss the litigation and legislation. But camp officials acknowledged in a statement that 'we were wrong in our understanding of the language of many of these agreements, and we failed to recognize the restrictions — both real and perceived — that many victims are under,' and said that they were 'deeply regretful and apologetic.' Still, Kanakuk said that while they 'support the right of victims to share their stories in pursuit of healing,' insurers may insist that the specific terms of any settlement 'must remain confidential.' One supporter of the proposed new legislation in Texas is State Senator Angela Paxton, a Republican from McKinney, north of Dallas. In an interview at her State Capitol office, she said she had been heartbroken upon learning from Ms. Phillips that a former student from Senator Paxton's days as a high school math teacher had been abused at Kanakuk. He had signed a nondisclosure agreement under duress, he had told Ms. Phillips, and later had become so despondent that he thought about killing himself. 'There are a handful of issues that people really come together over, and I believe this is one that has,' said Senator Paxton, who is the wife of Ken Paxton, Texas' attorney general. Then, she reached for a Bible on her desk, and found a passage in Deuteronomy 30:19 urging people to 'choose life, so that it may go well for you and your children,' as she put it. 'This is why God brought me here — this legislation, this package around protecting children from future sexual abuse,' she said, tearing up. Lawmakers in Missouri have also been supportive and, like their counterparts in Texas, are calling the NDA bill 'Trey's Law' in memory of Mr. Carlock. At a hearing in the Missouri Senate, Senator Brad Hudson, a Republican who represents Branson and is also a pastor, said if the bills were not adopted, 'we are siding with abusers and perpetrators in making Missouri a sanctuary state for pedophiles.' No one at the hearing opposed the NDA bill, though three business lobbyists criticized a statute of limitations bill, wary of the costs. 'If you had an unlimited liability for an unknown amount of years for an unknown amount of money, how would you as a company be able to set that insurance rate?' said Richard AuBuchon, executive director of the Missouri Civil Justice Reform Coalition. Three bills in Missouri, and three in Texas, call for constitutional amendments that, if approved by voters, would allow for retroactive laws for civil actions related to sexual abuse of children. That means victims of past abuse, and not just future ones, could file a claim. State Representative Ann Johnson, a Houston Democrat and a former prosecutor, said she had gotten more traction than during the previous two sessions when she had introduced similar legislation. Indeed, she said, someone she has known for decades recently grabbed her by the arm while they were in the courthouse. 'He told me that he was a victim, and that he had not yet dealt with the issue,' she said. Representative Leach's wife is a survivor as well: She was sexually abused by a family member, and after her emotional testimony in 2019, in front of Representative Leach's committee, the legislature extended, to age 48, the deadline by which future survivors of sexual abuse could sue. Representative Leach, who represents a district north of Dallas, is now sponsoring the Trey's Law bill. 'When Texas leads in areas like this — when we take some risk and we're stepping out into uncharted legislative territory — other states will follow,' he said. 'That's my hope.' He pointed to a sign in his office, which read, 'Do Right and Fear No Man.' He explained: 'When you know this is the right thing to do, then you know what? We just have to do it.' If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or go to for a list of additional resources.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas House panel advances 'Trey's Law' to ban NDAs in sex abuse settlements
Cindy Clemishire was 12 years old when a traveling evangelist began to sexually abuse her in the 1980s. He made her promise not to tell anyone about it. 'The first time he made the premeditated decision to violate and defile my purity, he told me … 'You can never tell anyone, because it will ruin everything,'' Clemishire recounted to a Texas House panel Wednesday morning as the lawmakers heard testimony for a bill proposing to ban nondisclosure agreements in sex abuse cases. Robert Morris, a former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump who in North Texas founded one of the largest and most influential megachurches in the U.S., was 20 years old in 1982, when Clemishire alleges the abuse began while he stayed at her family's home in Oklahoma. Eighteen years ago, Morris again tried to silence Clemishire, she said. During negotiations over a civil settlement in 2007, Morris' attorney offered Clemishire $25,000 in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement prohibiting her from speaking out about the abuse that allegedly took place over five years. She refused. On Monday, Morris, 63, turned himself in to Oklahoma authorities after a grand jury indicted him last week on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child stemming from Clemishire's case. 'My abuser is finally being held accountable for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child because I refused to sign the NDA,' Clemishire said. But Trey Carlock, who was 28 when he died by suicide in 2019, did not refuse to sign his abuser's NDA, and it destroyed him, his sister testified Wednesday to the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence committee. Carlock suffered 10 years of abuse at the hands of serial pedophile Pete Newman, who was found guilty of molesting at least 57 victims while he was a counselor at Kanakuk Kamps in Branson, Mo. The lingering trauma left Carlock without a lifeline, ultimately leading to his death, his sister said. Newman was handed two life sentences plus 30 years for abusing six boys at the Christian camp. He was denied parole in October. Elizbeth Phillips, Carlock's older sister, told the committee that her brother was 'silenced to his grave' by Kanakuk's restrictive NDA. More: Are new religious displays coming to Texas schools? Here's how the Senate is paving a way. 'My brother referred to his settlement as 'blood money,' as if he had betrayed his own soul to keep Kanakuk's secrets — and it killed him,' Phillips said. House Bill 748 by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano — named 'Trey's Law' in Carlock's memory — would render nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements unenforceable if they relate to cases of sexual abuse. In a rare move for the Texas House, the bill passed unanimously out of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on the same day it was introduced. 'The law on NDAs must be clarified, because we cannot trust institutions to do the right thing,' Phillips said. 'It's no exaggeration for me to claim this as a matter of life and death.' Rep. Mitch Little is a co-author of the bill and was invited to testify Wednesday. The freshman Republican lawmaker from Lewisville is an attorney who has often represented sex abuse victims during the civil mediation process. He said NDAs can help perpetuate a cycle of abuse. 'They're faced with the decision of whether to settle their case, to receive some sum of money that is going to help them with their lifetime of therapy and counseling, to help them heal, to compensate them for the 'soul murder,'' Little said. 'There's a nondisclosure agreement, and then that pastor, teacher, volunteer moves on to another church, and they continue their acts of abuse.' The bill's author said it's the Legislature's job to stand with victims and against their abusers. Outlawing NDAs in sex abuse cases will signify that the state backs victims like Carlock and Clemishire, he said. 'We have a duty to protect victims. No victim who chooses to tell their story or to speak out about their experience should ever be silenced,' Leach said. 'You either stand with victims or you stand with people who harm them. There is no middle ground," he said. "So it's time for Texans to pick a side, and as for me and this committee, and I believe this Legislature, we are going to boldly and firmly and strongly stand with victims.' This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Robert Morris accuser Cindy Clemishire backs 'Trey's Law' in Texas
