Latest news with #Clemishire
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
21-03-2025
- Yahoo
Oklahoma woman testifies before Texas lawmakers on sexual abuse and non-disclosure agreements
AUSTIN, Texas — An Oklahoma woman who accused former disgraced megachurch preacher Robert Morris of sexual abuse testified before the Texas House of Representatives, asking them to ban the use of 'non-disclosure agreements' in sexual abuse cases. Cindy Clemishire publicly accused Robert Morris in 2024 of sexual misconduct ranging from inappropriate touching to rape by instrumentation. Almost two decades after the alleged abuse, Morris's attorneys offered the Oklahoma woman $25,000 if she would sign a non-disclosure agreement and remain silent. She declined. Texas House Bill 748, also called 'Trey's Law,' and Missouri House Bill 709, would make non-disclosure agreements unenforceable in child sex abuse cases. Clemishire waited 43 years for her voice to be heard. Although her voice trembled and she choked back emotion, her words spoke loudly before the Texas House of Representatives, Judiciary, and Civil Jurisprudence Committee members. 'I am a survivor of child sexual abuse.' Cindy Clemishire, Texas House of Representatives Clemishire spoke of the years of abuse she allegedly suffered involving Morris that started on Christmas night in 1982 when a then-married father was a traveling evangelist and stayed at the Clemishire home while holding revival services in Hominy. Morris, the founder of a Texas-based Gateway Church, one of the largest megachurches in the country, is free on $50,000 bail after being charged in Osage County District Court with five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child. Clemishire's accusations of sexual assault continued until Clemishire was 17 years old and, in 1987 told her parents about the abuse. Her father told Morris's pastor that if Morris didn't get out of the ministry, he would report him to the police. It was a losing fight for the family. '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 said. 'When I did finally tell someone, it seemed as though Robert Morris was right,' Clemishire said. 'It ruined everything.' Clemishire testified how all the relationships in her life 'took a shift.' 'At 17 years old in 1987, I felt like it was all my fault. As I began the lifelong journey to sort through these emotional challenges, my life seemed to attract more shame while Robert's attracted fame.' Cindy Clemishire Through decades of off-and-on counseling, Clemishire said she has 'found my way to understand child sexual abuse, forgiveness, and healing.' She said that at age 37, through her attorney, Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond, who was in private practice in 2007, she asked Morris for $50,000 to cover past and future counseling. Morris's attorney responded with a letter accusing 'an innocent 12-year-old Cindy of pursuing Robert and making Robert sound like the victim,' she said. Morris offered a $25,000 settlement as long as Clemishre would sign an NDA. '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 37, I can sit here at 55 and share my story and be the voice of so many people who don't have the courage – hoping I can help them. Trey Carlock was a victim of child sexual abuse at the Branson-based Kanakuk Kamps. As part of his settlement, he was required to sign a 'restricted NDA.' He died by suicide in 2019 and called his settlement 'blood money,' according to his sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, who also testified before Texas legislatures on Wednesday. In addition to Clemishire and Phillips, Kathryn Robb, director of the Children's Justice Campaign, testified. Morris's next court date is May 9, when a preliminary hearing on the allegations will be set. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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
CBS News
19-03-2025
- CBS News
Robert Morris' accuser, Cindy Clemishire, testifies at the Texas Capitol in Austin: "He abused me"
The woman at the center of the abuse case involving former Gateway Church founder Robert Morris testified Wednesday at the Texas Capitol in Austin, days after Morris turned himself in to Oklahoma authorities on child sexual abuse charges. Cindy Clemishire testified on behalf of a bill involving abuse victims and a civil court agreement. "It wasn't until, even with years of counseling, that I could accept the term abuse," she said during her testimony. "I was 35 the first time I truly accepted and believed that [Morris] abused me and it was criminal." Clemishire, now 55, said she was 12 years old when Morris abused her . She was joined in Austin by a Dallas-based crime advocate pushing for a bill called Trey's Law. It focuses on non-disclosure agreements and would abolish agreements in cases involving sexual abuse and trafficking civil cases. Clemishire spent about an hour testifying Wednesday morning, according to a CBS News Texas crew at the hearing. She talked about the ongoing criminal case against Morris as well. Morris, 63, was booked into the Osage County Sheriff's Office at 7:57 a.m. on Monday. By 8:11 a.m., just 14 minutes later, he had posted a $50,000 bond and was released, according to jail records. Morris, the former founding pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, a Dallas suburb, turned himself in after being charged last week with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child , according to the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office. CBS News Texas typically does not name individuals who report being sexually assaulted, but Clemishire said she wanted her name included. The hearing continued through the afternoon hours.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Robert Morris surrenders to Oklahoma authorities in child sex abuse case
PAWHUSKA, Okla. — A former megachurch televangelist accused of sexual misconduct with a 12-year-old girl is free on $50,000 bail after surrendering to Oklahoma authorities on Monday. Gateway Church Founder Robert Preston Morris surrendered to authorities before 8 a.m. at the Osage County Sheriff's office on five counts of lewd molestation that occurred between 1982 and 1987. If convicted, the famed Texas televangelist is facing 100 years in prison. Phone calls left for Mack Martin, Morris's attorney, were not returned. After Morris, 63, surrendered to Osage County deputies, he was whisked to the Osage County Courthouse for a 'special arraignment' before Judge Cindy Pickerell. His next court date is May 9, when a preliminary hearing on the allegations will be set. Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond filed the five-page indictment in Osage County District Court against Morris a year after Cindy Clemishire publicly accused Morris of sexual misconduct ranging from inappropriate touching to rape by instrumentation. The alleged abuse started on Christmas night in 1982 when the woman was 12 years old and continued until Clemishire was 17 years old and told her parents about the years of abuse. Cheshire said when her father found out about the alleged abuse years later, he told Morris's pastor that if Morris didn't get out of the ministry, he would report him to the police. The family's pleas for justice were ignored. Clemishire is now a grandmother, and her viral accusations prompted Morris to step down from the Texas-based church, one of the largest megachurches in the country. Clemishire released a statement addressing the 40-year-old allegations. 'After almost 43 years, the law has finally caught up with Robert Morris for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child. Now, it is time for the legal system to hold him accountable. My family and I are deeply grateful to the authorities who have worked tirelessly to make this day possible and remain hopeful that justice will ultimately prevail.' Cindy Clemishire At the time of Clemishire's accusations, it was thought Morris had dodged any criminal charges because the statute of limitations had expired in this case. However, Drummond addressed those concerns in a statement from his office, saying, 'The statute of limitations is not applicable in this case because Morris was not a resident or inhabitant of Oklahoma at any time.' While in private practice, Drummond was Clemishire's attorney in 2005 and sought to file a civil suit against Morris. Morris's attorneys offered Clemishire $25,000 and wanted her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Clemishire said it was never about the money, but she did want Morris to cover any counseling expenses and admit to his alleged wrongdoing. Shortly before resigning, Morris released a statement to his congregation, admitting that while in his early twenties and for several years, he 'was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying.' Morris described the behavior as 'petting and not intercourse.' In 2024, an outranged Clemishire said she was 'not a young lady' but 'a child.' 'I was an innocent little girl,' Clemishire said. That Christmas night, Clemishire said she was wearing pink pajamas with bloomer pants over her underwear, and she was wearing a snap-up robe when allegedly assaulted by Morris. Robert-Morris-Booking-1Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
