The Manosphere Report

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0:35Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz.

0:38Ben Ferguson with you. And Senator, you're in Washington, D .C.

0:41with a very special guest on a very important piece of legislation.

0:45This is one of those shows that we are promised.

0:48We are going to get to the elections and we're going to get to what's

0:51going on in Iran. We will talk about that in future shows.

0:54But there is an extremely important piece of legislation that you are working on in

0:59Washington, D .C. And there are countless people that listen to the show that may

1:03know victims. And this is a show I hope you will hit pause.

1:07You will share it on social media because it is an important law that we're

1:11talking about right now. Well, that's exactly right.

1:13And this is a special show because we're talking today about child sexual abuse.

1:20And it is an epidemic across this country.

1:22So many children are the victims of sexual abuse.

1:25And we're going to talk about legislation that I introduced today in the Senate to

1:30empower the victims of sexual abuse.

1:33And a very special guest that is joining us today.

1:38And you're going to get a chance to hear about her journey and tragically her

1:44brother's journey as a victim of sexual abuse.

1:47Before we get to that, I want to tell you about our good friends at

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3:02That's 888 -488 -IFCJ. Or give online at ifcj .org.

3:09That's ifcj .org. Senator, I want to be clear for everybody that's going to hear

3:15this show. It's on YouTube.

3:18It's on Facebook. I hope you'll share it and just take the time because there

3:22are people that are out there that need to hear this show that are victims.

3:26And this is one of those important shows where you don't know whose life you're

3:30going to be able to help and affect in a positive way, whose life literally

3:33could be saved because of this show and the information that they're going to hear.

3:39And this legislation, Senator, that you introduced today in Washington, D .C.

3:43is incredible. And your guest, who's with you in D .C.

3:46as well, it's amazing the story that she is telling, but also just how powerful

3:54it is to stand up for so many others that need help.

3:57Well, that's right. This week I introduced legislation in the Senate called Trey's Law.

4:01And it is designed to protect kids, kids who tragically are the victims of sexual

4:08assault. And Trey's Law prohibits nondisclosure agreements binding children who have been victims of sexual

4:16assault. And this is a problem we are seeing nationwide.

4:22A staggering statistic. A child in America is sexually abused every nine minutes.

4:30Yeah. One in four girls in America will be sexually abused before she turns 18.

4:38One in six boys in America will be sexually abused before he turns 18.

4:45And we have been seeing over and over again when their violators are held accountable,

4:54when they're prosecuted, and when there is civil litigation, that it is becoming routine for

5:01the violators to insist upon a nondisclosure agreement, a nondisclosure agreement that binds the children

5:08and forces them to be silent.

5:10And Trey's Law is named for a Texan, Trey Carlock, who horrifically was abused at

5:19a summer camp in Missouri, abused over a number of years.

5:24And, What, is, His abuser was prosecuted, his abuser is serving three consecutive life terms

5:30in prison. And in the course of civil litigation, Trey was convinced to sign a

5:39nondisclosure agreement. And that secret haunted him.

5:47So much so that at 28 years old, he took his own life.

5:54And that is a tragedy in his life and his family's life, but it's a

6:00tragedy nationally. And we have a guest on the podcast tonight who is another Texan,

6:07Elizabeth Phillips. Elizabeth is Trey's sister.

6:11And she has taken the grief and agony of losing her brother and of knowing

6:19what happened to him. Losing her brother.

6:21It's one thing to lose a sibling in a car accident.

6:26My sister died of a drug overdose.

6:30It is always difficult to lose a family member that you love.

6:36But it is particularly gut -wrenching.

6:41Yeah. To lose a family member who you know was the victim of abuse and

6:48was haunted by that. And I will tell you, Elizabeth, she lives in Dallas.

6:53And she has devoted thousands of hours to fighting for Trey's law.

6:59Trey's law has been adopted in a number of states, including Texas.

7:02Texas has adopted Trey's law.

7:05And at the state level.

7:07But today, with a group of seven bipartisan co -sponsors, I've introduced at the federal

7:17level. And we're going to get passed at the federal level.

7:18But I want to start, Elizabeth.

7:20Welcome to Verde. We're glad to have you.

7:22Thank you so much for not just the introduction of Trey's law to U .S.

7:26Congress this morning, but for offering this platform as well.

7:30And I agree. I hope it goes viral.

7:32Every parent needs to understand how this system works.

7:34Because I think there are a lot of assumptions that if your child is sexually

7:38abused, whether it be at a summer camp, which was Trey's story, or a school,

7:43or a faith -based setting, or a sports setting, they're going to come forward immediately.

7:47But there's something called delayed disclosure.

7:49Children that are victimized in this way don't come forward oftentimes for decades, if ever

7:54at all. And we need to be sure that we are protecting children and their

7:59voices so that when they do come forward, survivors are heard, believed, and that we

8:05can respond with action to hold the bad actors accountable.

8:08Yeah. So thank you for the conversation.

8:09Well, thank you for being here.

8:11Let me ask you, could you just tell your brother's story?

8:14Just share with our listeners and viewers.

8:18Tell folks who your brother was and what happened to him.

8:21Yeah, and thank you for going into some of that in your introduction.

8:24Because it's honestly the hardest part for me to talk about.

8:27I can go over stats and data about child sexual abuse and ways to prevent

8:32it all day long. But it's really hard for me to talk about Trey.

8:37And I didn't know that you also lost a sibling.

8:39So I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm sorry we can relate on that.

8:44That's not a club anyone wants to be a member of.

8:47Exactly. But I think also we understand that you can grieve it and move on,

8:56or you can grieve it and turn that pain into purpose.

9:00And I think what we saw at the press conference this morning was pain turned

9:03into power when there was a 19 -year -old young woman who came forward and

9:07named her abuser for the first time because her voice was protected under Trey's law

9:11since that was passed and put into effect in Missouri last August.

9:15And so that's what we're wanting to expand nationally.

9:18This journey for me began because my brother died by suicide when he was 28,

9:22not only due to the child sexual abuse and what we now believe to be

9:27trafficking at the Hand of Canna Cut Camps based in southwest Missouri.

9:30They had international mission trips.

9:32They were moving kids across state lines.

9:34It was never fully investigated.

9:36The criminal case landed in Taney County, Missouri in the Sheriff's Department.

9:41And at the time of my brother's perpetrator sentencing, there were 57 known victims.

9:47But we now have had many victims come forward since I started a website called

9:52FactsAboutCannaCuck .com with other survivor families to get the facts out there to parents and

9:57warn the public that this is much more widespread than what had been reported upon,

10:02massive cover -up. Which is not unusual in a lot of these situations because of

10:07NDAs. So that's what we're addressing with Trey's law that's now been introduced to Congress.

10:12Very bipartisan. You said, you know, no one you've brought this to has said no

10:17to it. I mean, it's something everyone should get behind and hopefully can get behind.

10:21You know, in Trey's story, he was groomed and then abused by a camp director.

10:26So 7 to 17, this was going on.

10:29So he was 7 when he started going to the camp?

10:31When he started going to the camp.

10:33And that's when the grooming began and then the sexual abuse began.

10:38And then his perpetrator, who, like you said, is now in prison for three life

10:43terms, confessed to his crimes and was sentenced in 2010.

10:48But under the civil statute of limitations in Texas, Trey was forced to file his

10:52civil lawsuit by the age of 20.

10:53And just imagine, you know, go back to when you were 23.

10:57Were you ready to go up against a system and a quote -unquote ministry like

11:03Canacuck that has between $35 and $45 million in annual revenue?

11:07I mean, at 23, you're still a kid.

11:09We call them college kids, right?

11:10You're just trying to get through college and start a job, build a life.

11:13And if someone puts a settlement agreement in front of you and says, sign on

11:17the dotted line, and this can all go away, and you can have restitution and

11:22some money for your healing, for therapy, or for lost income, you're probably going to

11:31do it. And for closure.

11:33And for healing and closure.

11:35Thank you. I say that because I have friends that worked at Canacuck during the

11:40time period you're talking about.

11:41I also know people that were abused at Canacuck.

11:46And this story, when I saw we were doing it, it's, I've lost friends who've

11:51committed suicide because of sexual abuse.

11:52But Canacuck is a place where, I went to Ole Miss, a lot of people

11:57I grew up with from Memphis, from Houston, they went to Canacuck.

12:00And the cover -up word that you use there is, I think, one of the

12:05most sad parts about all this is there was so many of these NDAs, Senator,

12:09I didn't realize, like, how much this was going to just bring up in me,

12:14but when you know people that were abused there, and you've sat with them, and

12:18you hear how the system did not protect them, but I actually think made them

12:22a victim a second time over, by the way that they use these NDAs, it

12:26is infuriating because you realize that, like, everything in this situation worked against them for

12:32years. And that's what came, in the Texas hearings, I was calling this institutional abuse

12:38on top of child sexual abuse.

12:41So you're exactly right. And yes, Memphis is a huge market for Canacuck and Kids

12:47Across America, which is another ministry outside of Branson that Joe White still runs to

12:53this day. There's been no change in leadership.

12:55No one's been held accountable because of these crimes.

12:58And so you were asking about my story and how we got to this point,

13:01and really it was because I learned more about my brother's trauma and his death

13:08than I knew in his life because of the NDA.

13:10So until Trey's Law went into effect in Texas, September of 2025, I never saw

13:16what he signed. He wouldn't talk about it.

13:18He was so terrified, even in therapeutic settings, even trying to get sober in AA,

13:24for example. He was worried Canacuck would come after him if he mentioned all of

13:29the people involved that knew about what Pete was doing and didn't report the crimes

13:33to the authorities or disciplined him internally.

13:37And that allowed this perpetrator to go on and abuse what we now know as

13:43hundreds of more victims. And that's one perpetrator alone.

13:46So victims of Canacuck have asked for three things.

13:49Admit to known failures, release NDAs, and commission an independent investigation.

13:54And since, as I mentioned, the Taney County Sheriff's Department missed a few spots, we

14:00don't need to rabbit hole on that right now.

14:02But that's the three asks of survivors, very common sense steps they could take.

14:06So we've done Canacuck's job for them, and we've found out that we now know

14:10of over 90 perpetrators with allegations against them affiliated with Canacuck and its associated ministries

14:16and programs across the country and world.

14:19Ninety. Over 90. Of the 90, how many have been held accountable?

14:25I've got to know that number because, as I was told about this several months

14:29ago, they said that not only are there still people in the 90, as you're

14:33describing, that are affiliated, there are some that are still in major leadership roles.

14:38And around children. Yes. So we're calling it out, again, doing Canacuck's job for them.

14:44I think as parents, we have an expectation that if a child molester or a

14:49sex offender is caught at an institution where your child was attending or enrolled, that

14:56you will be informed if they are ever charged with anything criminal.

15:00That is not what Canacuck has done.

15:02So we've done that job for them.

15:04So factsaboutcanacuck .com, we have a known abusers page where we name 13, and it

15:09might even be more now, that have convictions.

15:13Wow. They are, yeah, they have criminal indictments, convictions, or formal allegations in the media,

15:19corroborated by multiple victims. And then the rest of the perpetrators in our database are

15:26just still out there living their lives.

15:28And a lot of them have never been held accountable.

15:32We know who they are.

15:33We've turned that database over to the authorities, and we are hoping that the FBI

15:38or some sort of law enforcement agency takes action.

15:42But the normal thing to do when you're not covering up for pedophiles as an

15:46institution, using NDAs, and continuing to promote pedophiles within your organization, or moving them around

15:53to associated ministries, which is another thing Canacuck has done.

15:57They have a year -round ministry called K -Life, similar to Young Life, which I

16:00think is better known. They will move someone that has allegations at the camp to

16:05a chapter of K -Life, where they go on to continue harming children.

16:08So our known abusers page is supposed to be a public -facing database for when

16:13we know a Canacuck affiliate has been convicted, indicted, or formally alleged of child sexual

16:20abuse. And the rest of it will come to light over time as more and

16:23more victims come forward. The list continues to grow.

16:25And with exposure like this, we expect even more.

16:28This year marks a critical moment for our country as the opposition grows more aggressive

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18:04So one of the things you described, we did a press conference today announcing Trey's

18:09law in the Senate, and you described the pressure that was on your brother, not

18:15just from the camp, but also from his own lawyer.

18:19Share that story a little bit.

18:21Yeah, so, you know, one of the questions, as we were going state by state,

18:25you know, starting in Texas, because that's my home state, and that's where Trey grew

18:29up. We spent a few years also in Atlanta, Georgia.

18:32Georgia's introduced Trey's law, along with eight other jurisdictions.

18:36But then Missouri passed Trey's law last August.

18:40And, you know, my brother was abused in so many jurisdictions that there were different

18:45options for the venue in his civil case.

18:48Wow. He sued in Texas, as I mentioned.

18:51That ended with a settlement agreement that involved a restrictive NDA, and he was an

18:56adult when he sued for the child sexual abuse that he suffered.

18:59But he hadn't fully realized.

19:00And he was afraid even to talk to his therapist.

19:02Exactly, and, you know, that therapist, after his death, I started doing my own investigation

19:07to understand what just happened to my brother.

19:11And that therapist said that he had made a comment just before he died that

19:17they would always control him, and he would never be free.

19:21And that's what it feels like living under an NDA.

19:24And in America, where we stand on freedom and freedom of speech, and anyone who

19:30studied constitutional law, I mean, that is a right as an American citizen to have

19:36freedom of speech, and we protect it with veracity.

19:39But in this case, there's been a misuse of NDAs, which originally were created to

19:45protect intellectual property, like the Coca -Cola recipe, or trade secrets.

19:52And they've since been misused to silence victims of childhood sexual abuse, trafficking, even adult

20:01sexual assault survivors. That was addressed in the Speak Out Act that passed in 2022

20:05with the co -sponsor of trade laws, Senator Gillibrand.

20:07And, but kids are being put under these NDAs, and kids, they can't consent to

20:13contracts or clauses like this.

20:16And so oftentimes it's a guardian or a parent who is signing this NDA on

20:20behalf of their child. The child grows up, becomes a young man or woman, realizes

20:25what their parents signed, and that they can't own their own story.

20:30And it's just a bond.

20:32Or even feel like they can't heal because they can't talk about it.

20:35Right. Because they're so afraid.

20:37Talking to one person that was a victim of this, they described it to me

20:40this way. They said, Kennecuck basically had enough money to buy silence to protect the

20:47brand, because they knew if we were told our stories, the brand would die and

20:51all the money would stop coming in.

20:53That's a simplistic way. But you mentioned their revenue.

20:57This was, you've got to spend money to save this brand and continue to grow

21:02in sports and all the other activities that they do.

21:06I mean, is that a fair way of putting it?

21:08I think that's, yeah, that's definitely a fair way of putting it.

21:11And to add, the other thing that's a layer of trauma in this is that

21:17their cover -up bought enough time for these victims to be out of statute.

21:20So they can't, now that they know the extent of the cover -up, unless under

21:24a certain discovery rule, which you could speak to as a lawyer, Senator, but they

21:29can't even have access to the civil courts in the jurisdiction where they were abused.

21:34So in Missouri, the civil statute of limitations to sue an institution that's liable for

21:39child sexual abuse or trafficking has been at the age of 26, and that's been

21:43unchanged since 1939. And so we're doing a lot of advocacy work in Missouri.

21:48to say survivors need more time.

21:51As I said, when you asked the first question, there is a lot of research

21:55on delayed disclosure. My brother was unfortunately forced into disclosure because he was named as

22:02a victim during the criminal proceedings.

22:05And so he didn't have decades to process what happened to him and then come

22:08forward. But victims that weren't named or who came forward closer to the time of

22:13Pete Newman's arrest to name one of, again, over 90 perpetrators we're aware of to

22:18date. How was he caught?

22:21How was his abuse discovered?

22:24There are a few theories on that.

22:25Kanakuk hasn't really been transparent about what led to his confession.

22:29So I would love to know the answer to that question.

22:32And that's why an independent investigation or some sort of law enforcement agency stepping in

22:36is so necessary in this.

22:37He confessed, allegedly, in March 2009 to abusing seven boys.

22:44And then he wasn't arrested until September 2009 after summer camp season, went uninterrupted.

22:51And then upon arrest, they started investigating him criminally.

22:56And then that led to his sentencing in February 2010.

22:59Here we are in 2026.

23:02And because of facts about Kanakuk, which was created by Coalition of Survivor Families, and

23:08then recent publicity through USA Today published five articles on this.

23:12The Dispatch published it. The New York Times.

23:17I just went on the Sean Ryan show.

23:19And we're getting more and more disclosures, not just about Pete Newman, but other perpetrators

23:24associated with Kanakuk and other leadership who covered this up.

23:28And they're calling attorneys who are saying, I'm sorry, you're 15, 30, 45 years, too

23:35late. So victims don't know they're on the clock when perpetrators know exactly when, and

23:42institutions like Kanakuk know exactly when the deadline is to file a civil lawsuit against

23:46them. So they bought enough time at this point for the cover -up to have

23:50worked. Well, one of the things you talked about at the press conference today is

23:54how your brother's lawyer was pressuring him to sign this NDA.

24:02And the incentives of the current system, look, an abuser has every incentive in the

24:08world to try to cover it up, to try to hide it, to want an

24:11NDA, to not have truth and transparency.

24:15And so we are seeing NDAs demanded by abusers in exchange for compensation.

24:23And the way our legal system works is typically if a victim has a lawyer,

24:28that lawyer will usually be compensated on a contingency basis where they receive a portion

24:36of whatever financial recovery there is.

24:38So the lawyer has every incentive in the world to try to reach a deal,

24:43to try to reach a settlement, to have a financial amount paid, and to discount

24:49the harm of silencing their client.

24:55And so it's one of the real values of Trey's Law is that when this

25:02passes, and I didn't say if, I said when, we will get this passed.

25:06Thank you. When this passes, that incentive will go away.

25:11Look, if you're negotiating a settlement, and I used an example earlier today, there aren't

25:17settlement agreements that say as a condition of the settlement, you have to deal crack

25:23cocaine because dealing crack cocaine is illegal.

25:26and so you can't agree in a settlement to do something that is illegal.

25:30By taking NDAs off the table for forcing victims of child sex abuse to not

25:38be able to disclose what happened to them, that incentive for their lawyers to pressure

25:43them to do this will go away likewise.

25:46And importantly, we drafted Trey's Law so that a victim can still insist on an

25:52NDA for the abuser. If a victim decides, I don't want my story told, that's

25:57your right as well. We're not going to force a victim to tell his story

26:00or her story against their will.

26:02You're protecting the victim in the way you're writing this, which I think is such

26:05an important part of this conversation.

26:07I want people to understand that.

26:08It's a lot of what we talked about with we want to protect victims, for

26:11example, when we're exposing everything with Epstein files.

26:13It's the same mentality here.

26:14If you don't want your name out there, we want to protect it, right?

26:19That's the heart of Trey's Law, is giving survivors ownership of their own stories.

26:23Yes. So that they can decide what they want told about what happened to them.

26:27The trauma alone is enough abuse.

26:30We don't need to pile that on.

26:32And you bring up a good point, Senator, around the incentives and the incentives being

26:36misaligned because this type of case falls under personal injury law.

26:42And so you've been to law school.

26:45And in that area of the law, it's typically your attorneys who are taking auto

26:50accident cases or slip and falls.

26:53Child sexual abuse is a fear.

26:55I like that it's a personal injury claim because it is an injury to the

27:00brain, to the soul. And so it should be a personal injury claim.

27:04But the way personal injury law works is that you are looking to settle.

27:09Keep this from going. I mean, over 96 % of cases, I think, settle outside

27:14of trial when it comes to personal injury.

27:16and get away from it.

27:16And so, you know, the victim doesn't want to have to go to trial and

27:21put themselves through more trauma.

27:22They're incentivized to settle. And a lawyer says this can all be behind you if

27:26you sign on the dotted line.

27:27And then they can take 40%, which is the typical commission on a case like

27:31this, move on to the next, rinse and repeat.

27:34And that doesn't work when we're talking about childhood sexual abuse.

27:37Well, and the U .S.

27:38Supreme Court has described, they've said, other than murder, rape is the most grievous harm

27:45that could be inflicted to a person.

27:47And I've spent a lot of my career fighting against child sexual abuse.

27:53So when I was the Solicitor General of Texas, I argued in front of the

28:00U .S. Supreme Court defending Louisiana's law that provided for capital punishment, the death penalty

28:06for the most egregious child rapist.

28:09Unfortunately, the Supreme Court 5 -4 struck that down, so we did not prevail in

28:12that case. Texas's law was also struck down when Louisiana's law was struck down.

28:17I also defended Texas has a Texas sexually violent predator civil commitment law that gives

28:24the courts the ability to take a sexually violent predator and put them in civil

28:29commitment, take them off the streets to protect people.

28:32And a state court of appeals had struck that law down.

28:35It concluded it was unconstitutional.

28:37And I argued the case in front of the Texas Supreme Court defending that law.

28:42And we won unanimously. The law was reinstated, and it's now a tool that you

28:47have to go after sexual predators.

28:49And, you know, we mentioned before, so this bill, my lead co -sponsor is Kirsten

28:55Gillibrand, Democrat from New York.

28:58And then we have on this bill as well, we have Katie Britt, Republican from

29:02Alabama, who's a dear friend.

29:04We have Eric Schmidt, Republican from Missouri, another very good friend.

29:08And then we also have Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota.

29:11We have Peter Welch, Democrat from Vermont, and then Gene Shaheen, a Democrat from New

29:17Hampshire. And I think we will get very widespread bipartisan support.

29:23To be honest, those six are the only six I asked.

29:26I started with them. I've worked – all of them I've worked with on previous

29:30legislation. But, you know, I'll tell you, Gillibrand and I started working on this issue

29:37more than a decade ago because she was a leader in going after sexual assault

29:42in the military. And there's been a real problem with sexual assault in the military.

29:45And the way it used to work is the decision about whether to prosecute a

29:52rapist was made by the commander.

29:56And the commander frequently knew the violator, often was close to the violator.

30:02And victims of sexual assault in the military were afraid to report the rapes because

30:08they didn't believe the commander would be fair.

30:11They believed the commander would be biased in favor of the violator.

30:15And so Gillibrand, and this is back 2013 when I was a brand -new baby

30:20senator, had just been elected.

30:23Kirsten was leading the charge saying this doesn't make any sense and the decision of

30:28whether to prosecute should not be made by the commanding officer but rather should be

30:32made by a career military prosecutor.

30:36So in the military but not in the chain of command, so not connected to

30:42the alleged violator. And I will tell you the Pentagon fought tooth and nail.

30:48They hated that provision. And I was on the Senate Armed Services Committee with Kirsten

30:53at the time, and I heard her make the argument, make the argument passionately for

30:57changing the prosecuting decision to a career prosecutor.

31:03And it was one of those instances where sometimes you say hearings don't, you know,

31:08are kind of performance. They don't necessarily change anyone's mind.

31:11Well, I listened to her arguments, and I was persuaded.

31:13And I went up to her and I said, Kirsten, I want to team up

31:15with you, and let's get this done.

31:17And we did. It took nearly a decade to get it done because Barack Obama

31:23wouldn't do it, by the way.

31:24Obama was president. He could have done it unilaterally, and he wouldn't do it.

31:28And it took – we ultimately got the legislation passed, but it was a decade

31:32-long battle. This is one I'm confident will be faster.

31:36I don't think this will take a decade to make happen.

31:40You know, you mentioned at the press conference also that we had another victim of

31:45sexual abuse share her story.

31:47Her name is Jaden Harris.

31:48And I want to play what she said at the press conference because this was

31:54really powerful and moving. She was sharing about the sexual violence she experienced.

32:02And give a listen. Give a watch.

32:06Good morning. First, I want to thank these co -sponsors for their leadership and infiling

32:14Trey's law at the federal level.

32:18My name is Jaden Harris.

32:20I'm 19 years old, and I'm here today not just as a child sexual abuse

32:25survivor from Branson, Missouri, but as someone whose voice was protected by Trey's law.

32:30It's why I can be here today.

32:35When I came forward about the abuse I experienced, I was prepared for it to

32:40be difficult. What I wasn't prepared for was the – Intimidation, not only from my

32:45abuser, but from my own lawyer to sign a non -disclosure agreement in exchange for

32:51restitution during a mediation process.

32:55I was alone when it came to fighting for my voice.

32:58It was both my abuser and my lawyer that tried to require me to sign

33:05an NDA, a contractual clause that would have restricted my ability to speak about the

33:12details of what happened to me for the rest of my life.

33:16Imagine being told you can never tell your own truth.

33:20Despite the bullying from my attorney and all those involved in the case, in my

33:24heart I knew I had to stand for truth.

33:28Not just for myself, but for others who feel they have been silenced.

33:35I'm standing here today with my voice because Trey's Law protected it as a matter

33:39of public policy and I was able to achieve settlement while preserving my ability to

33:44speak out in hope of protecting others.

33:48Due to learning about Trey's Law in Missouri, I knew something important.

33:52I cannot be legally forced into silence.

33:56No agreement could take away my right to speak about my own experience and those

34:01responsible for the abuse. That legal right changed everything.

34:05It shifted the balance and power.

34:07It meant that any resolution would not come at the cost of me owning my

34:12story. Not only is having a voice essential to my healing journey, but it's also

34:18how I can warn others.

34:20My abuser is still out in public every day.

34:24He goes by the name Reza.

34:26He is a well -known entertainer in Branson who still has a magic show and

34:31I'm concerned about ongoing victimization.

34:37The criminal justice system has done nothing to remove him from being around children.

34:42So I'm going to do something.

34:44I'm speaking out today and I'm advocating the law that protected me to protect victims

34:51everywhere. Federal action on Trey's Law is critical.

34:58A survivor's freedom of speech should not depend on geography.

35:01I am fortunate that Trey's Law had passed in Missouri and allowed me to keep

35:06my voice. But someone's zip code should not determine whether they can tell the truth

35:10and warn the public about predators.

35:12This needs to be national.

35:17Trey's Law is straightforward but powerful.

35:20It makes non -disclosure agreements in cases of child sexual abuse void and unenforceable.

35:26It ensures that secrecy cannot be purchased when a child has been harmed.

35:31It affirms that survivors can be seen, heard, and believed.

35:35And that's in the best interest of public safety.

35:38What almost happened to me, citing away my voice, should never be an option in

35:43this country. I am grateful to be a part of today's important milestone in making

35:49that happen and setting truth free.

35:51Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

36:18Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

36:27Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

36:40Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

36:50thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

37:02Thank you. Thank you so much.

37:07Absolutely. Thank you so much.

37:20Thank you, Mr. her story or his story there are dozens or hundreds or even

37:26thousands of other victims who never told anybody and one of the horrific things about

37:32this crime in particular listen if you're walking home at night and you get mugged

37:38and beaten up you're not typically embarrassed or ashamed to admit i got mugged and

37:43beaten up someone stole my wallet um sexual assault and particularly sexual assault for kids

37:51uh the the the guilt the the self -loathing the the the fear the the

37:58the shame the shame uh so many victims are trapped in silence and never report

38:09their crimes uh And so there is a power not just for the survivor, but

38:17for everyone else who's been a victim who has not been able to own their

38:27truth. And, you know, I don't like language like that.

38:29Own their truth sounds a little new agey for me.

38:32It's not the way I normally speak.

38:34Survivors hold the truth. And here it is right.

38:39I don't think someone has their truth on whether two plus two is four.

38:44But your life and your experience, no one should take away, particularly from a child,

38:53the ability to tell your story.

38:57And I'll tell you, look, Trey's law would not have been a law in Missouri,

39:04Elizabeth, without your leadership. It would not have been a law in Texas.

39:08It would not have been a law.

39:09I mean, you have devoted a lot of time to fighting for this nationwide.

39:14Yeah. And I hope to get back to my day job eventually.

39:19I'm a mother of three.

39:20I've got other things to do.

39:21This is not something I want to carry.

39:24It's always encouraging when legislators like yourself step up and say, we're going to champion

39:30this on behalf of survivors so that Trey's outcome doesn't happen again.

39:36And I just want to comment on Jaden and what she did today, because that

39:41was heroic. It will inspire others to come forward.

39:45And as she stated in her testimony, she just doesn't want other people to continue

39:50to be victimized by her abuser.

39:53Today was the first time she named her abuser.

39:55Wow. And I am so honored.

39:59I didn't realize that when she said that.

40:01I assumed she had said it previously.

40:04I did not realize she had not.

40:05That's when a press conference becomes holy, sacred space, because she was sharing the truth

40:13about a predator who's still out there.

40:16And I am amazed by her courage because she achieved settlement last year and she

40:25wanted this opportunity. It was healing for her as hard as it was to be

40:30able to stand on truth.

40:31And that's one of our slogans with the Trey's Law campaign is every voice of

40:36truth matters, because I agree with you.

40:38I don't like this language around their truth.

40:42There is absolute truth. And Jaden stood on that today in her remarks, and we

40:50got to stand beside her.

40:52And that was so powerful.

40:53And like you said, not a dry eye in the room, because if you're not

40:57personally affected by child sexual abuse, you sure know someone who is or will come

41:03forward eventually about that. The numbers are staggering.

41:06Yeah, and we have studied this.

41:09Only one in seven victims will ever come forward.

41:13And the delayed disclosure issue I was bringing up earlier, especially with male victims, they

41:18often don't disclose until between the age of 50 and 70.

41:21And so it's important parents understand that, because again, I think they think if someone

41:27experiences this, that child's going to come home and tell mom and dad immediately.

41:32But to your point, it's not like an injury you would endure on the streets

41:38or in some sort of other accident.

41:41This does have an element of shame.

41:43And what Jaden did today is she put the shame back where it belongs, on

41:47the person who abused her.

41:49It was never her fault.

41:50And let me say to anyone listening to this, if you've been a victim, it's

41:54not your fault. And that's one of the lies these abusers try to convince children

42:00that it is your fault, that you invited this, that the blame is with you.

42:05And that is a total and complete lie.

42:08Yeah, and that's what grooming does.

42:10And what grooming is, is it creates secrecy.

42:13If you ever tell anyone I'm going to hurt your loved one, or if you

42:18ever tell anyone it's going to ruin everything.

42:20That is a grooming tactic to keep the victim quiet, and they often don't come

42:24out of that brainwashing for many, many years.

42:26So that's why research shows all of this around delayed disclosure.

42:31Jaden, she was able to move from victimization to survivor and now survivor advocate in

42:37a matter of months. And that's what we got to witness today, thanks to you

42:42introducing Trey's Law federally, along with Senator Gillibrand and other co -sponsors.

42:46And I thought Senator Britt had some really poignant remarks as well.

42:48Yeah, she was fantastic. Oh, and it was very clear that the group you mentioned

42:54earlier, the ones you've asked so far, they are behind survivors.

42:57They want to protect survivors' voices, and that's what Trey's Law will do.

43:01And it does need to be national, because going state by state creates an imbalance,

43:07protects the people in power, the predators, and the institutions that harbor these predators over

43:13a child having ownership of their story.

43:16And that's the core of our mission here, and thank you for taking time out

43:21of not a slow news day to make this a priority, to hear from people

43:25like Jaden and others who spoke.

43:27Look, this is important to happen, and to go to the really corrosive power of

43:32shame. Last year, and we talked about this earlier today, a law that I authored

43:38and we passed it. law was the take it down act and the take take

43:42it down act makes it a crime to post non -consensual intimate imagery either real

43:49pictures and you see um so -called revenge porn of explicit photographs or videos that

43:55a couple breaks up and and one decides okay i'm gonna hurt uh my my

44:01former lover and and and publicist and no one has the right to make that

44:05public and to do that to someone else but we've also seen with ai the

44:10rise of deep fakes and and this problem has increased more than 3 000 in

44:16the last year and and more than 90 of the victims are either women or

44:20teenage girls and when we were pushing to pass it and building the coalition to

44:25pass it one of the things we did uh the first lady became very actively

44:30involved in this legislation and i appreciated she i i hosted the first lady on

44:34capitol hill and she was at a round table where she met with a number

44:39of the victims and to give you a sense there there was one person who

44:44testified who is who is a a state legislator in south carolina whose son had

44:52received it was online and he was a teenager and he thought he was talking

44:59with a cute teenage girl and the supposed cute teenage girl was flirting with him

45:06and and teenage boys uh this this cute girl convinced him to take uh revealing

45:20and naked pictures of himself and to send those pictures uh it turned out that

45:26the cute girl was not a cute girl but rather was a predator um a

45:33predator a foreign predator who then began blackmailing him and saying i'm going to take

45:39this picture that you just took you just took a naked picture of yourself and

45:43sent it to me i'm going to send this picture to your family i'm going

45:47to send it to your parents i'm going to send it to your friends i'm

45:50going to send it to everyone unless you give me money sextortion and tragically this

45:56teenage boy took his life the entire exchange from the first interaction to when he

46:04took his own life was 90 minutes and his father shared that story but that's

46:10the power of shame of the of this teenager who had taken a picture thinking

46:14he was flirting and then the terror of if i get exposed for that which

46:20look compared to being a victim of sexual assault taking a picture of yourself is

46:27not nearly as severe and yet that shame was so powerful that that teenage boy

46:34took his own life i mean this is the pressures on our kids i i

46:39they're enormous and they face things that that technology amplifies all of this yeah it's

46:46really an epidemic yeah and as a mom of three i know you have two

46:53girls um the threats are different than they were in our childhoods and very different

46:58very different we were one in three kids mario one in three kids will be

47:02propositioned sexually online yeah one in three and so again thank you for championing the

47:09take it down act and and your co -sponsors and the survivors and sadly the

47:13families victimized in that situation the national center on missing expletive children just put out

47:18a very powerful video on that issue in particular and when i was the board

47:22chair of an anti -trafficking organization the fbi put out their notice on sextortion we

47:27uh had something come through a case around girls being trafficked on venmo so it's

47:31sometimes often these apps parents aren't even thinking about um but roblox especially atrocious so

47:40many examples of uh abuse happening on discord and then what they do is they

47:45take it live so in in my brother's story it was an institution that covered

47:50up abuse now it's these tech companies covering up abuse and the bad actors are

47:56a step ahead of us um and the legislation can't continue to be reactive uh

48:02what i think trey's law does is it removes that barrier because the shame is

48:06already inherent in the crime itself um and it removes that barrier so that victims

48:11come forward quicker we can catch the bad guys faster and the truth comes to

48:16light a lot sooner than uh when the power imbalance is in such a way

48:21that lawyers even plaintiffs attorneys as we've discussed um or others are keeping that victim

48:28from speaking out so ndas are one barrier but the shame is real um and

48:34the gap in parental education is real and that's why conversations like this really matter

48:38yeah well elizabeth thank you for taking your pain i know you miss your brother

48:46i know you feel the pain every day but thank you for taking that and

48:52saying i'm not just going to to grieve i'm not just going to weep i'm

48:56going to use the pain to make a difference and help others because your courage

49:01matters uh it has already changed the law in a number of states across the

49:06country and it's going change the law nationally and and and your leadership is why

49:10this is happening and so so i just want to say thank you it's a

49:13sacred honor final question i want to bring up real quick one will you give

49:19the website one more time for people that may have been affected at kanakukwa the

49:22the place where your brother was and two senator so this doesn't drag on for

49:27a decade to get it passed what can verdict listeners do to help advocate for

49:33this and no matter who their senator is so the whistleblower website on kanakuk is

49:40factsaboutkanakuk .com and then our website for trey's law is treyslaw .org there's a community

49:47page for survivors who want to tell their story in a safe way until we

49:51get this legislation passed and they don't feel safe coming out fully in their identity

49:55we had a survivor testify in missouri just a couple weeks ago and he said

49:59for 25 years i've been a john doe and today i'm coming forward in my

50:02full name because of treyslaw passing in texas that's the power of treyslaw in texas

50:07and you know we heard about missouri today at the press conference and just replayed

50:11jayden's remarks so this needs to be national the other way to support this effort

50:17is through the no more victims alliance and that website is nmvalliance .org and we

50:24have a lot of advocates and allies who want to help support this and senator

50:28i'm curious your thoughts as far as what are the most effective calls to action

50:34for people that want to jump in so let me say one thing the press

50:38conference we had we had probably about 50 people who came it was packed many

50:43of whom were were themselves victims or they were the families of victims and the

50:49emotions the tears in the room it was i actually think that the tv cameras

50:55did not pick up on on the folks that were there that were supporting what

50:59we were doing but it was really powerful look what can you do uh one

51:03thing i would encourage you to do share this podcast send this podcast to your

51:06friends uh send them the youtube link send them the the audio link uh encourage

51:13people to to learn about treyslaw and and and then pick up the phone and

51:20make a phone call call your senator call your house member and and urge them

51:25pass treyslaw look those phone calls people wonder do those phone calls matter do they

51:31make a difference and i'll tell you they do i i get a report every

51:34day uh and i think this is true for for most members of congress i

51:38get a report of how many calls we got uh and what the topics were

51:41what the people were urging and and you notice if there's a surge on a

51:45topic um it it makes a difference and it and it focuses the mind and

51:51so speaking out urging your elected representatives to support this law as we've got broad

51:57bipartisan support i we're going to get this done uh and also speak out you

52:01know speak out on social media put put up a post on facebook put up

52:04a post on x or or true social or instagram or whatever whatever platform you

52:10use but but speak out uh and advocate it uh because the more people hear

52:17about this i i think it is basic common sense there is no reason a

52:22child lacks the emotional maturity to make a decision to bind themselves by an nda

52:30and and treyslaw is going to say we're not going to allow children to be

52:34taken advantage of first when they're abused but they're they're taken advantage of a second

52:38time yeah when when they are pressured into signing an nda and muzzled for the

52:45rest of their life and and look we can't necessarily stop every instance of of

52:53abuse of kids in the first instance although obviously we want to but every predator

52:58we take off the street stops that predator for victimizing another child another victim but

53:05we can't stop the second victimization we can say we are not going to allow

53:09as a matter of law for children who have experienced this violence to be silenced

53:15and and and that's what we're trying to do and elizabeth that's what your leadership

53:19is producing well and and that's why we call this a public safety bill and

53:23you know nothing will bring my brother back and thank you for acknowledging that like

53:27this is happening out of heartbreak yeah and i see it as um you know

53:33grief can be love in action so i'm taking action because of what my brother's

53:39life and death has taught me so bigger picture you know encourage people to not

53:45let these hard -earned lessons um die in vain yeah we won't let this be

53:50in vain and thank you for taking action uh with me with all the survivors

53:54in the room today who flew in from across the country they'd been advocating in

53:58georgia and alabama and missouri and texas and they showed up in that room and

54:03it was yes full of tears but also full of hope yes yes and there

54:07are some other bills right now that need support like the renewed hope act and

54:11the defiance act which is a complement to the take it down act and so

54:15this congress can achieve a lot to protect victims and um if if people do

54:21call their elected uh legislators then we can get this done and i love hearing

54:26you say that over and over that it's not an if it's a win yes

54:30and um you know with this kind of thing there's never win.

54:35It is a lose -lose in my family's case.

54:38But we can, like you said, we can prevent this from happening.

54:42We can catch it sooner.

54:43And this era can end.

54:46Amen. Don't forget, we do this show three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

54:50I ask you, if you get to see this, please share the video, YouTube video

54:55on Facebook as well. You can share it on X and share this podcast.

55:00You can hit that little forward button and share it wherever you are on social

55:03media. Hopefully, you can help others and victims come forward and understand what's happening with

55:07the laws and how they're changing.

55:09Also, be an advocate. Talk to your senator and call their offices and let them

55:13know about this law. They may not know what's going on with it.

55:15Let them know why you're in favor of it and why they should get behind

55:18it so it doesn't take 10 years to get this passed.

55:21And the senator and I will see you back here in a couple of days.

55:26ABC Wednesdays, the Emmy -winning comedy Scrubs is all new.

55:29This is a whole new chapter for me.

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55:36You two idiots are perfect for each other.

55:37From executive producers of Ted Lasso and Shrinking.

55:40We were all a part of this victory.

55:42Now get those nachos out of the preemie warmer.

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55:49The new season of Scrubs.

55:51Wednesdays, 8, 7 central on ABC and stream on Hulu.

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