One by one, the speakers walked up to the small table early Wednesday, then sat and faced the panel of lawmakers in front of them. Several came from across the country — Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee and Texas. For some, it was their first time in the Missouri Capitol building.
They came to testify in support of two bills under consideration by Missouri lawmakers dealing with child sexual abuse. One would eliminate the statute of limitations in lawsuits involving child sex abuse. The other would prohibit the use of non-disclosure agreements in child sex abuse settlements.
But the hearing was also a chance to share their stories.
“The child victims of Missouri, including me, ask for your help today in leveling the playing field,” said Tammy Woods, who came forward last year to allege that she was sexually abused by Mike Bickle, founder of the International House of Prayer-Kansas City, in the 1980s starting when she was 14. “Allow us to do what we couldn’t do as children; fight back and pursue justice.”
----------
Wednesday’s hearing marked the entry of IHOPKC survivors and their advocates into the political arena. But many were frustrated when all but the committee chairman left the hearing long before it ended. And even though the hearing was extended by 20 minutes, several of those who planned to speak had to cut their testimony short.
----------
SB 589 calls for abolishing the statute of limitations in civil cases involving child sexual abuse. Under current Missouri law, survivors can only sue their perpetrator up to age 31 or within three years of discovering that their injury was caused by child sexual abuse. And they can only sue an institution up to age 26.
The other measure, SB 590, also known as “Trey’s Law,” would ban the use of nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, in child sexual abuse settlements. Proponents of the measure say NDAs have become standard practice in civil settlements involving child sexual abuse. As a result, they say, perpetrators end up being protected while the survivors are prohibited from telling their stories.
But opponents, including the insurance industry and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said eliminating the statute of limitations could make it difficult to set rates and hurt some businesses by making insurance cost-prohibitive.
“We don’t want to protect the perpetrator,” said Rich AuBuchon, a lobbyist for the Missouri Civil Justice Reform Coalition, a group that advocates for business interests in the face of litigation. “We want to make sure that insurance is affordable to all companies. We also want to make sure that the individuals have the opportunity to bring their claim, no doubt.”
The bills’ sponsor, Sen. Brad Hudson, a Cape Fair Republican, said he proposed the measures because “I want to protect kids.”
“I’m a pastor and in my church, we have families, children, I have the opportunity to visit with folks and talk to families and families go through a lot, they face a lot,” he said. “I believe it’s our responsibility, myself as a pastor, as someone that is a member of the Christian community, to make sure that we speak out and say this stuff cannot be tolerated.”
Among those testifying was Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, whose brother, Trey Carlock, died by suicide in 2019 at age 28 after settling a lawsuit against Kanakuk Kamps. Former camp counselor Pete Newman is serving two life sentences plus 30 years in prison after being convicted in 2010 of sexually abusing multiple boys.
Phillips, of Dallas, said Trey’s settlement included a restrictive non-disclosure agreement. “My brother was forced by the state to file his civil lawsuit against Kanakuk before he was ready in his early 20s, and opposing counsel’s gaslighting and depositions eventually led him to a psychotic break,” she said. “It’s no exaggeration for me to claim that these issues are a matter of life and death. When you survive a childhood crime, you should have the freedom to decide if and when you want to seek justice through the civil courts. Victims should have full control of their own narratives and the pace of their healing journey.”
Deborah Perkins, the original “Jane Doe” whose allegations of sex abuse against Bickle in October 2023 shocked the IHOPKC community, said Bickle was a “renowned Christian figure” who began grooming her when she was 12.
From age 19 to 23, she said, “I endured a dark secret life of sexual abuse that involved my own pastor taking my faith and twisting it and confusing it into belittling and degrading lies that held me in a prison of torment and shame.”
She said Bickle controlled every aspect of her life and coerced her into sexual activity, then made her pray and repent for it.
“I lived a secret horror that no one knew about, while protecting him with my silence, because I believed it all,” she said. “I thought somehow his work for God was more important than what I was enduring.”
