We have been abused and silenced for far too long and are now joining hands to stand up for accountability and justiceand to stop ongoing and future abuse. 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Victims of sexual abuse by former Kanakuk Kamp staffer Pete Newman (pictured above, currently serving 2 consecutive life sentences plus 30 years) have come forward and are taking legal action. Kanakuk will continue to apply and evaluate our safety practices to help keep Kamp safe and fun for all. Another camp insider remembered it differently. It's been nearly 16 years since Joe Alarcon dropped off his son with Pete Newman, director of Kanakuk Kamps, for an overnight stay. Newman was a camp counselor and director of father-son retreats at Kanakuk Kamps. Kanakuk has been serving kids and families for more than 96 years. Warren Cole Smith is president of MinistryWatch.com, a donor watchdog group. Mondays hearing was on legislation that would extend the civil statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Despite the survivors who have come forward, at least a dozen lawsuits, and the news investigations that have uncovered practices at the camp that enabled the reported abuse to fester. There also seems to be a problem with recruitment screening. Vice News speaks with survivors, who say the camp has used confidentiality clauses to keep them quiet. He was a camp director at Kanakuk Kamps, one of the largest Christian camps in the world. All these fees add up. A series of articles published by the Springfield News-Leader on May 26 tells the stories of previously silent sex abuse victims and others who say Missouri-based Kanakuk Kamps did not do enough to protect them when they were campers there. Power, a platform, money, reputation, money, a wholesome image to protect because that image is the cash cowall these factors combine to make silencing victims very attractive to predators and their minions. "Kanakuk actively concealed what they knew about the sexual abuse being perpetrated by Pete Newman and induced victims and survivors into settlements and NDAs, said Robert Thrasher, one of Yandell's attorneys, in a news release. We have endured child sexual abuse, extortion, silencing, physical abuse, harassment, aggressive legal tactics, public denial of said abuses, and much more, all at the hands of Kanakuk Ministries and its affiliated entities, and all while under your familys leadership. We want victims to know that their voices are heard and that we will never stop being sorry for the pain inflicted upon them by these perpetrators. Kanakuk has said it learned its lessons from these incidents and now has rigorous child protection policies in place. With the release of the new articles, former Kanakuk campers, staff and sexual abuse survivors have come forward from cities that include Dallas and Amarillo, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Nashville, Tenn.; and Fayetteville, Ark. Weve seen over 500,000 campers and more than 50,000 summer staff come through these gates, and our goal is to provide a healthy, positive, and welcoming summer home to generations of families. #ProtectChildren Click To Tweet, @Kanakuk, release survivors from their NDAs so that they may speak about the childhood sexual abuse they endured at your camp. It's not unusual for rich families from Dallas to send their kids to Kanakuk for most of the summer. (KY3) - More legal trouble for a popular kids camp in Taney County. However, no camp leadership has resigned, been fired, or been held accountable for their inaction towards adecade of Newmans nudity and parental complaints, even though they promoted Newman and made him the focal point of promotional materials. In December 2021, The Dispatch published an article that disclosed to the Kanakuk survivor community and general public for the first time that Newman's direct supervisor, Will Cunningham, had, in fact, recommended Newman's termination in 2003 upon receiving more reports of Newman's ongoing sexual abuse of children. We believe that abuse of a child is deplorable and stands counter to our mission and Christian calling. We also realize that we have added confusion and frustration when we have spoken on this topic. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. 11 Springfield News-Leader. "I think that one of the most important parts of this for Logan is to be a representative of not only himself, his story and to get his voice back, but also to be a representative for all the other victims who were induced into these settlement agreements under pretty much false pretenses," Martens said. Retrieved from But by the time new evidence was uncovered through national media investigations, Hoffpauir was too old to file a civil suit against the camp and its leadership. However, we couldnt report with precision why Newman finally confessed to abusing children and said so in that original story. Kanakuk supports any organization that advocates for victims of sexual abuse; however, the decision of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) to include Kanakuk in a list of Dirty Dozen without the benefit of verifying the information, including direct communication with Kanakuk, defies logic and is egregious. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Kanakuk leadership received reports of Newman engaged in nude activity with campers as early as 1999, according to an affidavit of Newmans former supervisor. I had heard multiple, conflicting accounts of the events that led to Newmans confession: While that original article was filled with detailed reporting from court records, depositions, dozens of interviews with victims and their advocates, and recorded conversations with individuals involved with the camp and with knowledge of the history of inappropriate conduct, we couldnt provide a corroborated account of what, exactly, led to Newmans confession. Cunningham is quoted in the stories describing the actions Kanakuk leaders took and did not take after Newman admitted to being naked with children, years before being held accountable for his crimes. Read a more extensive account of what the new investigations expose here. , sponsored by Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, would extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, allowing survivors to file civil action until they turn 55 years old. , Missouri is currently one of 21 states with the age cap set at 34 years old or younger which Child USA ranks as the worst states in terms of statutes of limitations for child sex abuse survivors. Toby Neugebauer is the parent of Kanakuk campers and a longtime supporter of the camp. [Letter From Joe White]. My biggest mistake was not calling the FBI, because it involved interstate trafficking of children, Neugebauer said, indicating the victim hed sponsored traveled outside of his resident state of Texas to Alabama for the Kanakuk retreat. Extensive reporting on Kanakuk published in the News-Leader in May further described how Kanakuk leaders failed to act on knowledge of Newman's inappropriate sexual behavior, while detailing alleged sexual abuse by other former Kanakuk staff. Following the events of 2009, Kanakuk has continued to work tirelessly to help ensure that this deeply deceptive and abusive behavior does not happen again. Pete Newman was a master of deception fooling not only Kanakuk but also his friends, neighbors, and even his own family. Neugebauer noted that White did not have what he perceived to be the normal reactions of a person learning of the abuse for the first time, because White did not want to involve law enforcement. Our desire is to support victims and help them in their healing journey. There was a mom who drove by somebodys house and saw Newman in a hot tub with boys. Would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to help our journalists continue to report the truth and restore the church? Keith Dygert, who said he was abused by Newman, reached a settlement with a non-disclosure agreement at a time when only a small portion of the story was actually known, he testified. In addition to uncovering information about the circumstances of Newmans confession to the camp, Ive also received information indicating that Newman may have created child pornography of nude and sexualized images of Kanakuk kids. By Nancy French and David French Dec 23, 2021 90 Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Despite the survivors who have come forward, at least a dozen lawsuits, and the news investigations that have uncovered practices at the camp that enabled the reported abuse to fester, Kanakuk has continued to minimize the reality that they have allowed abuse to flourish. For this, we are deeply regretful and apologetic. For them to pursue such actions would be unfortunate, but Kanakuk has been transparent and has nothing to hide, and the perpetrators have long since been imprisoned. Pete Newman, who had been a Kanakuk Kamps director, was convicted in 2010 on seven counts of sexually abusing young boys and is now serving two consecutive life sentences plus 30 years. Newmans abuse impacted so many people, Whites former secretary Vicki Morgan said in a phone interview. And excuses were made because as Christians we must forgive. It is possible, considering the large number of Newman victims, that several catalyzing events occurred at generally the same time. Prior to this, no one on Kanakuk staff believed that Pete Newman was abusing or had abused kids. In March of 2022 the NCOSE shockingly included Kanakuk on its Dirty Dozen List, without the benefit of any direct conversation with us. Yandell and his parents reached a civil settlement with Kanakuk in 2010 regarding abuse Yandell suffered at the hands of Newman, who is now in prison on two life sentences for sexually abusing multiple children at the evangelical summer camp. A Texas victims father said Kanakuk told him a lawyer representing another victim arrived at the camp and caused Newman to confess. All I was trying to do was,Hey, lets come up with a solution for you and Joe White for long-term planning, he said. Our primary focus has been to ensure victims have the support they need to heal and recover, and we continue to work tirelessly to ensure this never happens again at Kanakuk. Many lives exposed to the Gospel. It too enjoys a "50 year lease with a 50-year option." According to John Jensen, the Chief Business Officer for Kanakuk Ministries, "All the land tied to this lease [with Kukorp] will revert to Kanakuk upon the death of Joe and Debbie-Jo White." 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