KANSAS CITY, MO — It's been more than five years since Elizabeth Carlock Phillips last saw her little brother.
Trey Carlock, a college grad and honor student, planned for a career in neuroscience research.
In 2019, Trey's promising future was cut short.
At nearly 29-years-old, Trey committed suicide.
Trey was sexually abused over the course of several years by Pete Newman, a former counselor at Kanakuk Kamps in Branson, Missouri.
"He was my little brother, and he was groomed from the age of 7," Carlock Phillips said. "And then abused during his adolescent years."
Carlock Phillips had a close relationship with her brother that is now sustained by photographs and memories.
"My little brother, Trey was my buddy," Carlock Philips said. "We enjoyed skiing together, we both loved traveling, learning different languages. He was also a great uncle to my three children."
In 2010, a court sentenced Newman to two life sentences, plus 30 years, for sexually abusing six boys at Kanakuk Kamps.
Since that time, several others have filed John Doe lawsuits against the camp, claiming they too were sexually abused by Newman.
Kanakuk did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
For the past several years, Carlock Phillips has advocated for legislation that would empower survivors of Kanakuk, many of whom have been silenced by non-disclosure agreements and statute of limitations laws that limit their ability to seek justice.
Trey was a high school senior when his family was notified he was on a list of victims abused by Newman. He had a short time frame to file a lawsuit due to a statute of limitations.
"He was forced into civil litigation process by the statute of limitations that demand he file by a certain age and it was before he was ready," Carlock Phillips said.
Carlock Phillips said her brother began to spiral from having to relive his abuse before he was ready.
Trey reached a settlement with Kanakuk, that Carlock Phillips knows little about, due to the fact her brother also signed a non-disclosure agreement.
"It’s a wrong that’s got to be brought to justice," Carlock Phillips said. "We cannot be silencing child sex abuse victims."
Missouri Rep. Brian Seitz agrees.
On Tuesday, he filed three bills in the Missouri Senate that would make it easier for survivors of child sexual abuse to seek justice.
"Some of this, what I call evil activity, which it is, happened in my district," Rep. Seitz said. "I've been speaking to Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, and she gave me the story of her brother who ended up committing suicide because of the actions taken by the perpetrator in this district. So, this really hits home with me."
One of Seitz's bills would make non-disclosure agreements unenforceable in cases involving child sexual abuse. Seitz said all information should be allowed to come out in court.
"This should be wide open, it should be public knowledge," Seitz said. "No more silence, we're done with that. These, now adult victims, need to be protected."
Seitz already filed the bills in the House earlier this month.
Carlock Phillips said her brother suffered in silence due to his non-disclosure agreement that her family knows very little about.
"Four days before he died, he told a therapist that he'd been working with that they would always control him and he'd never be free," Carlock Phillips said. "We believe he was talking about the restrictive NDA."
A separate bill filed by Seitz would remove the statute of limitations in cases of child sexual assault.
Seitz said giving victims of this type of crime a time frame to come forward leaves many of them unable to hold their perpetrator accountable.
"We know that in particular, in cases of males, it takes until on average the age of 55 to come to terms with what happened to them as children," Seitz said. "They may have had drug abuse, alcohol problems, relationship problems, all related to the incident that happened to them as a child. I want to give them time to mentally come to terms with that and come against their accusers."
While Trey is no longer here, his sister honors his memory by fighting for other survivors.
"They hold the truth," Carlock Phillips said. "The public needs to know the truth so they can better protect their children from these horrible abuses."
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