Abuse Victims, Advocates Ask Georgia Lawmakers To Limit NDAs
A woman whose story led to the resignation of the president at a prominent Southern Baptist–affiliated university testified Monday at the Georgia State Capitol to urge passage of a bill to protect survivors.
“For me, this issue, it hits really hard,” said Hayle Swinson, a graduate of Truett McConnell University (TMU), a top-ranked SBC-affiliated school in North Georgia. “I’m a survivor of sexual abuse here in Georgia at a university. In my case, leaders used power, authority, fear, grooming, manipulation and spiritual language to control and exploit.”
On Monday, Swinson was among nearly a dozen abuse survivors and advocates who testified before the Georgia House Judiciary Committee in Atlanta. They spoke in support of Trey’s Law, a bill that would prohibit non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of child sexual abuse.
Four states have enacted Trey’s Law so far, as The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported. “We will be the fifth state to pass this law if it moves forward,” said state Rep. Soo Hong, the bill’s lead sponsor.
Legislators in Alabama, Oklahoma and Kansas have also recently introduced similar bills.
The law is named in memory of the late Trey Carlock, an abuse victim of former Kanakuk Ministries counselor Pete Newman, who is serving three life sentences. Carlock’s sister, Elizabeth Phillips, testified immediately after Hong.
“He died by suicide in 2019 because he wasn’t allowed to have a voice,” Phillips said of her brother. She called the passage of the Georgia bill “a matter of life and death.”
The bill unanimously passed out of the House Judiciary Committee at the close of the hearing. Before reaching the House floor, it must clear the House Rules Committee. A companion bill is also being considered in the Georgia Senate.
“It’s great progress,” Phillips said in a video later posted online. “Survivors’ voices were heard, and the committee took action.”
Survivors describe institutional silence
In her testimony, Swinson referenced former TMU Vice President Bradley Reynolds, who allegedly used his position to sexually abuse her while cloaking his actions in spiritual language.
“Abuse like this does not rely on physical force,” Swinson told legislators. “It relies on silence, a power imbalance and the fear of speaking out.”
A TRR investigation, later confirmed by a third-party university-backed report, found that TMU President Emir Caner covered up Reynolds’ actions. Caner was suspended and later dismissed last fall. Last week, the board of Truett McConnell University named Larry Lyon as president, replacing Caner.
“The damage is compounded when institutions prioritize protecting their reputation over protecting people,” Swinson said.
Christopher Eppling, TMU’s former vice president of student services, also testified at the state capitol. He said he lost his job after raising concerns about Reynolds’ alleged behavior, as TRR previously reported.
Eppling said he was fired “with zero severance” after refusing to sign an NDA.
“The idea that a faith-based organization would use an NDA to keep the victim or a whistleblower quiet is unconscionable,” Eppling said. “This is perpetuated, sadly, by those who claim to speak on the behalf of God.”
He urged passage of Trey’s Law, emphasizing the importance of abuse prevention.
“The stakes are the lives of children, mothers, daughters, sons and others that you and I love,” Eppling told legislators.
Whistleblowers recount cost of speaking out
Phillips has helped bring together a broad coalition of survivors, abuse prevention experts and faith leaders in support of Trey’s Law. The range was reflected in the testimony given to state legislatures. Advocates spoke of scandals involving a number of prominent evangelical ministries.
Ruth Malhotra, who managed public relations at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) from 2013 to 2021, described her role as a whistleblower and the personal cost she paid.
“I never imagined that I would have a front row seat to one of the biggest sexual abuse scandals in modern evangelicalism, and what I witnessed still haunts me today,” Malhotra said. (Malhotra is currently on TRR’s board.)
Without mentioning specific names, she recounted how Lori Anne Thompson brought forward allegations and how RZIM leaders sought to prevent the story from becoming public.
“The response was not transparency or investigation,” Malhotra said. “It was containment, a financial settlement paired with a draconian non-disclosure agreement that permanently silenced her.”
Malhotra said she refused to sign an NDA and received no severance.
Similarly, Afton Phillips testified about her 12-year tenure at church curriculum provider Orange and what happened after founder Reggie Joiner disclosed sexual misconduct.
Phillips said she expected the ministry’s board to investigate potential harm.
“Instead, the leaders I trusted were silent or minimized the harm or blamed victims or actively covered up the harm done for the sake of the abuser’s reputation,” she said.
After media reports, the ministry behind Orange conducted an independent investigation. An executive summary posted online included Joiner’s admission of six extramarital sexual relationships, including one with a 19-year-old that he acknowledged was “abuse.”
“Survivors should not be silenced,” Phillips told legislators. “They should be supported by organizational leadership and amplified by legislation.”
Georgia lawmakers move to strengthen bill
Cindy Clemishire also testified, recounting her story of child sex abuse that in 2024 prompted the resignation of Gateway Church founder Robert Morris.
Noting that Morris is currently serving time in prison, Clemishire closed with a pointed question.
“Anyone who doesn’t support Trey’s Law, or waters it down, or prevents it from being passed, or doesn’t want to find a loophole to make it retroactive — my question is, who are you trying to protect and why?” she asked.
State Rep. Stacey Evans took up that challenge, questioning early in the hearing why the Georgia bill did not initially apply retroactively.
At the hearing’s close, Evans said she had reviewed the Texas version of Trey’s Law, which advocates have praised as the strongest. She noted that Georgia’s contract law is similar and explained how she had drafted an amendment to make Trey’s Law apply to past NDAs.
“I think it would work,” Evans said.
“I just want us to do the best we can,” she added. “This is a committee of learned attorneys … and this would be about the best thing that this committee could do to make sure we are protecting as many victims of childhood sexual assault as possible.”
After discussion with lead sponsor Hong, the amended bill passed unanimously.
Phillips later praised the strengthened measure. “We’ll take that as a win!”
This article was originally published at The Roys Report.
osh Shepherd is production editor at The Roys Report and a journalist who writes on faith, culture, and public policy for several media outlets. He and his family live in central Florida.