In 2000, when Morgan was awaiting trial and White knew thathe had confessed to hiw wife that he had sodomizedan adolescent female relative, White gave him off-season housing at Kanakuk. I was a young girl, a virgin at the time, she said. Dygert's family learned about the abuse around 2010, the year Newman was convicted and sentenced to life in state prison. They were spurred by a growing public awareness of controversy linked to Kanakuk that began in early 2021. Survivors and family members of victims of sexual abuse at Kanakuk camps testified at a hearing before the Missouri House Judiciary Committee regarding a bill proposed by local state Rep. Brian Seitz to change laws to help survivors of childhood sexual assault. Webfrom dust we come to dust we return quran. Corbie Dale Grimes, who worked at Kanakuk in the 1970s and 80s, is serving a life sentence for abusing a boy in Texas in 1999. They left all the time , Goodwin said. Years passed before she managed to tell anyone. After 2005, when he was roughly 18, he no longer participated "in Kanakuk programs on Kanakuk property," according to a court filing. "The investigation by law enforcement that resulted in the prosecution of Pete Newman did not result in any criminal or civil charges against Kanakuk leadership or staff," they added. "'Dygert, you're one of my best friends. At minimum, this does not look good. On Feb 4., a separateanonymous plaintiff sued Newman for the same amount of money. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. "Sadly, Pete Newman was a master of deception fooling family, friends, neighbors, and us as his former employer. The newspaper also emailed Staples through a general inbox at First Baptist Church and tried to make contact with Staples though the church's Facebook inbox, as well as through an email account linked to Staples in a public records database, and through an email form on a listing of licensed professional counselors published by Psychology Today. "We're getting ready to go to bed and I look over and all of a sudden, he's got an erection under the blanket," Dygert said. Counselors said these parties were a kind of Christian fellowship and dubbed the experience gold bonding time, according to former St. Louis camper Tim Clark, who attended K-Kountry from 1998 to2001 and was at other Kanakuk sitesafter that., Pete Newman bragged about starting these parties, Clark said. Ed Ringheim, a Kanakuk counselor in the 1990s who later volunteered with the Kanakuk-affiliated KLIFE program in Florida, was convicted in2012 of seven sex-related felonies involving underage boys. White wrote, "It's definitely a mess and a last-resort measure not the way it was intended to function, but better than a major explosion.". ", Echoing similar suits filed in the past, Doe XIII's complaint asserts that beforeNewmans 2009 arrest and prosecution in Taney County, there were "at least 57 alleged victims of Newman including Plaintiff.". '", Newman's logic reflects sexual best practices suggested by Kanakuk's owner, Joe White, as White explicitly outlined in the first edition of his teen manual for "sex, love and dating," titled "Pure Excitement. For me it was a trust thing. Newman used similar language in a September 2018 letter he sent from the Jefferson City Correctional Center, where he is serving multiple life sentences for sexually abusing boys he met through Kanakuk. Accusations of sex abuse tied to Newman and Kanakuk have made headlines recently as two journalists with conservative online news site The Dispatch published a report on March 28 that asserted the Newman scandalwas more widespread and systemic than previously understood. He was an instructor at Fuller and Denver seminaries and the U.S. Air Force Academy. White described Coors as a "well-buffed athlete," "tall and as handsome as a model.". She's like, 'Right, Keith? Both men said the Frenches' reporting gave them a sense of validation, even as it "rocked the boat a lot," in Dygert's words: They learned they weren't alone. Former Kanakuk counselor Peter Newman is now serving two life sentences for sexually abusing boys at the camp for many years. He would bring me along to sporting events. A prosecutor told the News-Leader at the time that Newman admitted to sexual activity with as many as 13 other minors. Corbie Dale Grimes, a counselor who held a variety of Kanakuk jobsin the late 1970s and 1980s, was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for sexually abusing a boy in Texas in 1999. Home; Features; Services; About; Contact; Login; Get Free Demo; pete newman kanakuk wife Pete Newman is serving two life sentences plus 30 years. "The resulting civil lawsuits received little attention, and nondisclosure agreements silenced victims and kept evidence under seal. I think that's something you can only understandif you've been groomed and been abused. The negotiations were a bruising experience. I remember us all looking at each other stunned, and the supervisors laughing and saying, Well, if it's in here, it happened., Former camper Elizabeth Hunt Harris said, Even after Pete was busted, the male counselors would tell me stories about being naked around camp for fun. Newman had other suggestions that same night, Dygert said: Dunking a basketball naked from a gymnastics board, for example. Reporters working for theSpringfield News-Leader have confirmed reports of at least four other menaffiliated with Kanakuk who sexually abused children they met through the organization. () I didn't even want to think about my past. More:Former Kanakuk counselor Peter Newman named in new sex-abuse lawsuit. WebWarning: strpos(): Empty needle in /var/home/ikvetlvq/meinardadraudze.lv/retro-bowl/index.php on line 1 One night, Kanakuk Kamps counselorspacked every single camper, like 300 kids in a mosh pit type of thing, said Caroline, who was 13. Everyone else said, 'it was so long ago. For more than a decade following these tragic events, Kanakuk has continued to work tirelessly to help ensure that this deeply deceptive and abusive behavior does not happen again. In 1990, Jones returned to Kanakuk at 13 and saw Price again. She also said she told her counselor and a camp director. We are unable to do so, as these concern people who are no longer employed at Kanakuk and/or concern confidential matters that Kanakuk is not authorized to disclose without parental consent., More:Kanakuk's statement provided in response to the News-Leader's questions. Like Price and Newman, Green was popular. Since 1926, a Horn said he informed Chancey, the camp director; Chancey told him he had reported the incident to White, but said they wanted to allow the counselor to stay at Kanakuk. So I did masturbate by hand and he did too, under the water. Kanakuk CEO Joe White also responded to the calls to release victims from NDAs in his first public letter on the issue. WebNewman's guilty plea did not end the problems for Kanakuk officials. Dygert said that night, Newman eventually "wanted to tie a string on each other's penises. But even after Newmans 2010 conviction, Kanakuk leaders esteem for Newman remained evident. He said it would feel good but would not be lusting. No victim should suffer in silence help is available. The group shower stalls at K-Kountry were rooms with four shower heads, and they made us partner up two campers per shower head, said Annie Riggs, a former camper from Denver who attended in the early 2000s. WebKanakuk 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 Yandells attorneys, in a news release. The law firm of Douglas, Haun and Heidemann says it secured the judgment on March 20 after suing Kanakuk Ministries, its president and former summer camp Newman, Hoffpauir said, performed the ceremony. That's the No. Dygert's wife, Chelsea, "is very passionate and has a lot of righteous indignation about what Kanakuk has allowed to happen, and how they've covered it up and continue to cover up their negligence," he said. Excuse you! And I said some mean words, she said. Caroline said her experience at Kanakuk made it harder to trust. While Caroline was discussing the groping incident with Chancey in 2016, she recalled that hebrought the boy into the meeting. ", Newman's call came in 13 years ago, butHoffpauir said he remembers thatwhen the phone rang, he was in bed watching TV with his wife, Madison. This horrific pedophile who molested boys for years at Kamp Kanakuk, is Every time we talk, she cries about it. The executive director has assured me on several occasions since 2003 that he made Joe (White) aware of my report. Newman called it a "circus tent," Dygert said. Former Kanakuk counselor Michael Horn said he was working at the camp in 2002 when he and another counselor witnessed a third counselor sleeping in a closed sleeping bag with a shirtless child straddling thatcounselors bare chest. More than 20,000 kids age 7-18 attend each summer. Administrators response to the violation fell far short of the Kanakuk playbooks threat of instant dismissal, however. Kanakuk also began to do away with mass showering facilities, opting to build individual shower stalls in the cabins in the 90s and early 2000s, according to Cunningham., Counselors were instructed to allow kampers to shower first, he wrote. Kind of a step further than that is holding Kanakuk responsible. Carolineand one other girl gathered the courage to relay what happened. Korte, the former camper from Nebraska, said she was frequently in one-on-one conversations with her counselors about the personal details of her sex life, as they asked her how far she had gone with her boyfriend and whether he pressured her to have sex. We went together, stayed in the cabin together. There's no one to blamebut Pete and Kanakuk. None at all., Robert Shaffer, a Kanakuk counselor from 1991 to 1995, contradicted that claim. "He was very macho, manly, like, tough, in a way. On June 9, 2010, Newman, then 34,pleaded guilty in Taney County court to eight charges of sexually abusing six childrenin connection with his role as a counselor and director at nearbyKanakuk. This guy Nothing happened to you?' It also offers an all-ages family resort, along withday camps in eight states including Missouri, Illinois and Texas. He currently resides in Branson, Missouri, with his wife, Debbie Jo. WebI have not seen Kanakuk publicize their knowledge of former camp director Pete Newmans extracurricular nude activity with minors. "Its big money. All rights reserved. But Green would never face charges. In a message dictated immediately after the one to Newman, White told Kanakuks executive director, Kris Cooper, to follow up with Newman. No More Victims, whose organizers have not been made public, recently issued an open letter to Kanakuk and its owner, White. Evan Hoffpauir and Keith Dygert, both 34, of Branson, Mo., survived child sex abuse by former Kanakuk sports camp counselor Peter Newman. Camp leaders rebuked the girls, not the boy, she said. But only he and Newman were present, he now recalls. ", In a statement on the camp's website, Kanakuk noted that "no charges for failure to report were ever filed against any Kanakuk staff" in connection with the Newman case and that "we were devastated by the deceptive practices of this individual, and continue to grieve with the victims and their families. Since the 1970s, under the leadership of White and his wife Debbie-Jo, Kanakuk has become one of the largest Christian camps in the world. WebNewman pleaded guilty in 2010 to seven counts of sexual abuse, and the prosecutor said Newmans victim count might be in the hundreds. He was sentenced to prison for two life sentences, with an additional 30 years. He also hung out with Newman "just in town." The letter, which references Newmans potential promotion to director at K-Kountry, is generally encouraging but notes the need for Newman to develop Directors Judgment and Directors Restraint when spending time with kids. However, those actions were serious enough that former Kanakuk administrator Cooper testifiedat Grimes trial that Grimes was fired after encouraging a camper to pull his pants down, and Mr. Grimes (was)whacking his pee pee with a stick., Cooper characterized this as inappropriate behavior on Corbies part, which the camp deemed inappropriate enough that we let him go.. Since the 1970s, under the leadership of White and his wife Debbie-Jo, Kanakuk has become one of the largest Christian camps in the world. The playbook rules were geared toward counselors, however, not senior leadership. He also abused campers, including Ashton Alarcon, in the hot tub at his home. 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