Robert Morris’ Alleged Victim Urges Texas Lawmakers to Pass Law Nullifying NDAs for Child Sex Abuse

“My life seemed to attract more shame, while Robert’s attracted fame,” Clemishire testified  at a hearing of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, which is considering House Bill 748, known as Trey’s Law. If enacted, the bill would render NDAs for child sex abuse void and unenforceable in Texas.

Clemishire testified that 18 years ago, Morris’ lawyer tried to get her to sign an NDA. But because she refused, “my abuser is finally being held accountable for the horrific crimes he committed against me as a child.”

Last week, Morris was indicted by an Oklahoma grand jury on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, as previously reported by The Roys Report (TRR).

Following Clemishire’s testimony and that of two other women, the House committee voted unanimously to forward the bill to the Texas House.

The bill is named for Trey Carlock, a victim of sexual abuse at Christian-based Kanakuk Kamp in southwest Missouri. 

To date, more than 200 reports of sex abuse by 65 perpetrators at Kanakuk have been made. These include allegations of abuse by past counselors, staff, and directors. 

Carlock, who took his own life in 2019 at age 28, was never able to share his story publicly due to the NDA he signed years prior with the Christian camp ministry.

Carlock’s sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, spoke on behalf of the family at the hearing.

“My brother had many layers to his journey of injustice,” said Phillips. “. . . Trey endured a decade of grooming and child sexual abuse by (Kanakuk’s) popular director, Pete Newman, followed by a retraumatizing civil litigation process that ended with a restrictive NDA.” 

She added: “Sadly, a lot of truth dies with people because of NDAs, and that only protects bad actors, which is contrary to public interest.”

Attorney and recently-elected State Rep. Mitch Little, who represented alleged abuse victims of former megachurch pastor Bill Hybels, called sexual abuse “soul murder.” 

Little recounted that church leaders often want to settle an abuse claim by silencing the victim, which just perpetuates abuse.

“There’s a nondisclosure agreement,” said Little. “Then that pastor, teacher, or volunteer moves on to another church, and they continue their acts of abuse. So, the incomplete flow of information in our society about who the abusers are and what they have done perpetuates the abuse.” 

Pastor found fame, victim shamed

Last June, after Clemishire went public with her story, Morris resigned from Dallas-based Gateway Church, a multi-site megachurch with nine campuses in Texas and one in Wyoming.

In the hearing, Clemishire recounted how her sexual abuse began in 1982, when Morris was staying at her family’s home. It continued for several years before Clemishire finally told her parents what was happening.

“The first time (Morris) made the premeditated decision to violate and defile my purity, he told me, and I quote, ‘You can never tell anyone because it will ruin everything,’” she said. “This abuse continued over and over and over until I finally told someone in 1987 at the age of 17.”

As a result of Clemishire’s report, Morris reportedly stepped down from ministry for two years. But the abuse remained private until Clemishire spoke publicly about the abuse last summer.

At today’s hearing, Clemishire recounted the decades of her life spent in counseling with Morris’ meteoric rise as a conference speaker, TV personality, and founder of Gateway Church.

Later in the hearing, she added: “I was 35 the first time I truly accepted and believed that he abused me, that it was criminal, and I understood what grooming was. And that changed the course of my journey to more healing.” 

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