Verdict with Ted Cruz: Trey's Law — Protecting the Victims of Child Sex Abuse

Trey’s Law: Ending the Silence Around Child Sexual Abuse A Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz Podcast Special In one of the most important and emotionally powerful episodes of Verdict with Ted Cruz, Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson dedicate the program to confronting what they describe as a national epidemic: child sexual abuse and the systemic silencing of its victims. The episode centers on newly introduced federal legislation—Trey’s Law—and features the courageous testimony of survivors and advocates who are fighting to ensure that children are never again forced into silence through legally binding non‑disclosure agreements (NDAs). This is not a theoretical discussion. It is a deeply personal, urgent conversation about real lives, real trauma, and a legal system that, for too long, has allowed abusers and institutions to protect themselves at the expense of children. As Senator Cruz makes clear throughout the episode, Trey’s Law is about stopping the second victimization of children who have already endured the unimaginable. The Scope of the Crisis: Child Sexual Abuse in America Early in the episode, Senator Cruz lays out sobering statistics that frame the urgency of the legislation. A child in America is sexually abused every nine minutes. One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before the age of eighteen. These are not isolated incidents—they represent a widespread and deeply entrenched crisis. Yet despite the scale of the problem, many victims never come forward. The episode repeatedly highlights the phenomenon of delayed disclosure, explaining that children often do not report abuse for years—or even decades—because of fear, shame, and manipulation by their abusers. This silence is not accidental; it is frequently enforced through legal mechanisms that benefit perpetrators and the institutions that shield them. What Is Trey’s Law? Trey’s Law is a federal bill introduced by Senator Ted Cruz with broad bipartisan support. Its purpose is straightforward but powerful: to prohibit non‑disclosure agreements that bind victims of child sexual abuse and force them into silence. NDAs were originally designed to protect intellectual property—trade secrets like formulas or proprietary business information. Over time, however, they have been misused to silence victims of abuse, including children who cannot legally consent to such agreements. Trey’s Law establishes that this practice is unacceptable as a matter of public policy. Importantly, the bill is written to protect victims—not to compel them to speak. Survivors may still choose confidentiality if that is what they want. What Trey’s Law eliminates is the ability of abusers, institutions, or even legal representatives to force silence as a condition of settlement. Ownership of the story belongs to the survivor. The Story Behind the Law: Trey’s Tragic Legacy Trey’s Law is named after Trey Carlock, a Texan who was sexually abused as a child at a summer camp in Missouri. Trey’s abuser was ultimately convicted and sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison. But the damage did not end there. During subsequent civil litigation, Trey was pressured into signing a non‑disclosure agreement that prevented him from speaking openly about what had happened to him. According to his family, that enforced silence haunted him for years. At the age of twenty‑eight, Trey died by suicide. Trey’s sister, Elizabeth Phillips, joins the podcast to share his story and explain how NDAs robbed her brother of the ability to heal. She describes how she learned more about Trey’s trauma after his death than she ever knew while he was alive—because the NDA prevented him from speaking, even in therapeutic settings. Her grief became purpose. Since Trey’s death, Elizabeth Phillips has devoted thousands of hours to advocating for Trey’s Law, helping it pass in multiple states, including Texas and Missouri, and now pushing for federal adoption. Institutional Abuse and the Role of NDAs A central theme of the episode is what Elizabeth Phillips describes as institutional abuse—the compounding harm that occurs when organizations prioritize reputation and revenue over accountability and child safety. NDAs have been used not only to silence individual victims but to enable long‑term cover‑ups that allow predators to continue abusing children. The discussion also exposes how civil settlements, particularly in personal injury law, create perverse incentives. Attorneys working on contingency fees may pressure victims to settle quickly and quietly, minimizing public exposure while maximizing financial resolution. Trey’s Law removes NDAs from the negotiating table entirely, eliminating those incentives. As Senator Cruz explains, settlements cannot require illegal conduct—and once NDAs in child sexual abuse cases are deemed unlawful, they can no longer be demanded as a condition of compensation. A Survivor’s ...