Grimes was terminated by Kanakuk for inappropriate behavior and poor judgment, according to an April 3, 2021 letter attorney Ted Tredennick sent to the Facts About Kanakuk website. According to documents filed in related court cases, Newman was merely admonished on several occasions. Like independent house churches, they have no outside reality check if they go sour And while Kanakuk promised it had changed its policies to prevent future abuse, another counselor, Lee Bradberry, was convicted in 2011 two years after ", Later, while Newman workedat one of Kanakuk's overnight camps, Dygert visited him on the job. Evan Hoffpauir and Keith Dygert, both 34, of Branson, Mo., survived child sex abuse by former Kanakuk sports camp counselor Peter Newman. Goodwin indicated there was nothing unusual about Grimes departure. "Honestly, I kind of remember being bitter about it," Hoffpauir said, recalling how Newman "withdrew" from his life as his relationship with his future wife began to blossom. Years and years ago, he said, referring to the 1950s when he began attending camp. ", 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. Former Kanakuk counselor Peter Newman is now serving two life sentences for sexually abusing boys at the camp for many years. Two years later, after further complaints, Cunningham and several other camp leaders confronted Newman, who admitted to being naked with kids. Currently, the camp's websiteprices four-week sessions at $4,800 per child. Fuschs parents met Green when they picked their son up from camp and were impressed. And then the dominoes started to fall. 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. WebIts been over 20 years since the abuse began for me by Pete Newman of Kanakuk Kamps. "They're going to different tables. Physical Inspection involved all ten campers (from a cabin or group) lining up naked in front of their two counselors, so that each counselor could give a once-over with a flashlight, to make sure the child had no ticks, bug bites, poison ivy, or signs of things like ringworm, etc., former director Cunningham wrote in an email. He worked there from 1995 until he was fired in2009. Its interesting as amazingly gifted and talented as he is, and he certainly is, he mentioned that there isnt a night of the week where there wasnt someone in the hot tub to minister to, White said in the message. On June 9, 2010, Newman, then 34, pleaded guilty in Taney County court to eight charges of sexually abusing six children in connection with his role as a counselor Newmans supervisor recommended he be fired in 2003, after receiving reports that Newman swam and played basketball with children while he Logan Yandell, now 27, filed a lawsuit last week against Kanakuk Kamps alleging he was sexually abused from around 2005 to 2008 by former camp director Peter Newman. "We took off," Hoffpauir said, referencing himself and his wife, Madison. Without success, the News-Leader attempted to reach Staples for comment several times before publication of this report. Caroline said her experience at Kanakuk made it harder to trust. ", More:Kanakuk camp 'abuse survivors' call for independent investigation into sexual assault accusations. But Green would never face charges. After a few minutes we got out of the hot tub, and he took me home. 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. 25 Feb/23. The documents concerning the Jones told a friend about the 1985 incident, who confirmed her account when contacted for this story. And at that point, I was like, OK, this is weird. At least one Kanakuk counselor Paul Green was investigated by police years before Newman was caught. I think that's something you can only understandif you've been groomed and been abused. At a meeting with the detective the next Monday morning, the family was told to expect an arrest that week. In the 1990s, male counselors reportedly held Gold Bond Parties, during which they gathered nude campers into communal showers and applied medicated talc to campers genitals. In at least one instance which he wrote about he asked his young daughter to participate in these conversations. A prosecutor told the News-Leader at the time that Newman admitted to sexual activity with as many as 13 other minors. Kanakuk CEO Joe White also responded to the calls to release victims from NDAs in his first public letter on the issue. In 2003, he was promoted to assistant director of K-Kountry and in 2006 he was promoted to director. Paul Green, another Kanukuk counselor,was investigated before Newmans crimescame to light after allegedly abusing a Texas boy in 1994 whom he had met at camp. You're going to hear some stuff, and I just need prayers. A person who went to Auburn University with Newman said, memorably, If Jesus and Pete walked into a room, Im not sure who the kids would have worshiped. Pete Newman is the most thorough relationship builder with kids in Kanakuk history, Kanakuk chief executive officer Joe White once said. Supervisors told her they would alert her parents to the incident. In one testimonial, CEO White described Newman as the most thorough relationship builder with kids in Kanakuk history. Like Hoffpauir, Dygert says he accompanied Newman on speaking engagement trips linked to Kanakuk. "She's not doing well. Those allegations included incidents with Newman that were reportedly flagged for Kanakuk leaders in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006, civil lawsuit court documents show. Everyone else said, 'it was so long ago. "Dorking around" was how he referred to this kind of activity,Dygert and Hoffpauir said. Shower time was weird, he said. All rights reserved. When Newman was arrested six months later, the camp issued an alert to camp families that included the sexual abuse allegations. ", Kanakuk alsosaid it developed a "comprehensive Child Protection Plan" because of the "tragedy.". Great. In a July 6, 2001 message printed on Kanakuk Kamps letterhead, Newmans supervisor, Cunningham, warned Newman to use extreme caution in his alone time with children.. The contract also called on Newman to stop spending a lopsided, inordinate amount of time with kids.. Victims say such confidentiality clauses have kept stories of abuse at Kanakuk from reaching a national audience although that is changing. I went on many speaking engagements with him. I was in a room with the director, and about three other people. pete newman kanakuk wife '", He added, "Now, looking back, I know no grown man should be hanging out with a little kid like that.". Newmans initial arrest and sentencing received little media attention. The negotiations were a bruising experience. His parents sent him to what they thought was a group sleepover in a gym known as "Barn 13" on the Kanakuk campus. Dygert referred Hoffpauir then living overseas to Staples, who talked to Hoffpauir using the Skype app. Dygert's family learned about the abuse around 2010, the year Newman was convicted and sentenced to life in state prison. And justice on earth as it is in heaven is something God has called me to. Satan had won his mind, White wrote, and the only thing the boy knew how to do was masturbate and mentally rape girls.. The next day, Fusch asked to have a friend spend the night so they could sleep in the living room. They've admitted to their negligence in private; we want them to admit it in publicand be held accountable. It might have been the first time he was abused; he can't remember. In his 1996 book Pure Excitement, White describes a conversation with a 15-year-old camper who confessed he frequently masturbated and lusted after girls. Years before, when he was a child, Newman had "wanted me to come to a sleepover event," Dygert said. Home; Features; Services; About; Contact; Login; Get Free Demo; pete newman kanakuk wife A civil lawsuit filed lateragainst Newman stated that Newman abused 57 underage victims linked to Kanakuk. White also testified as a character witness on Morgans behalf, saying,rehabilitation on this side of prison walls is much more healthy for him than rehabilitation behind prison walls.. Former Kanakuk camp counselor Peter Newman is already serving two life sentences, plus 30 years, at the Jefferson City Correctional Center. Joe told me he was a sexual purity expert for teens because he wrote a book about it, said Alarcon, whose family sued White and Kanakuk Ministries in 2011 and settled two years later. He was 13. On Feb 4., a separateanonymous plaintiff sued Newman for the same amount of money. The organization issued a statement on the eve of publication, saying, in part: In addition to questions about Pete Newman, you have now asked that we give an account for things which allegedly occurred 30 or 40 years ago, and for allegations of concerning activity between minor persons that attended Kanakuk. "And I had still been aware of what had gone on, but at that point, I still didn't know that I had been so successfully groomed in this entire process, thatI still didn't realize it was wrong. "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. (Newman, camp owner White and Kanakuk were named as defendants in that case, first filed in 2015; White and Kanakuk were later dropped from the suit. "That was really rough," he said. I remember conversations about virginity on purity nights when they would discuss these topics, said Riggs, the former camper. They gave all the boys rubber bands and told them to snap them every time they were having impure thoughts A girl would walk by and snap! The new suit seeks$5 million in damages from Newman personally and isthe secondlawsuit against Newman to be filed in Christian County courts in the past three months. OK, bye.' Just really screwed-up stuff., More:Branson men, both 34, describe Kanakuk sex abuse, call for camp to be held accountable. Such awareness was had by Kanakuk years before Newmans actual employment termination. I mean, it happened.. Two weeks after Leadership Weekend, I was informed that Pete would be continuing as my assistant director and that I was to play an enhanced mentoring role in Petes life., I suspected immediately that this decision had been handed down from Joe, and I felt incredibly minimized, used, and angry at being forced to work with a man who had broken serious policies, Cunningham said. ", Hoffpauir now says, "I hate it with a passion" that Newman performed the marriage. So this isn't sexual. "He, like, challenged me," Dygert said. 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. Everybody looked up to him.. 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. This is worth fighting for. "I'm just saying (to her), you cannot blame other people. Chuck Price, aKanakuk programs director, was fired in 1990, according to a victim, her mother and two former Kanakuk staff members who investigated separate complaints that he inappropriately touched young girls. Kamp took their own evaluation of the situation and essentially determined no foul play. Hoffpauir grew up in Branson. Nothing happened to you?' OK, talk to you later. Tredennick said Grimes actions did not constitute a reportable offense in a criminal context when Grimes was terminated in 1989. Newman was charged with crimes involving six underage victims butadmitted during sentencing to having inappropriate activity with as many as 13 more campers, according to News-Leader coverage of the proceedings. It wasn't until years later that I learned that good man was a pedophile and the people needing the prayers were the countless victims I spent my summers with, not Pete.. Newman had other suggestions that same night, Dygert said: Dunking a basketball naked from a gymnastics board, for example. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson pete newman kanakuk wife. Hoffpauirsaid he was in seventh grade when he first encountered Newman. Filed April 8, the new lawsuit names only Newman. "His logic was like, it's OK to masturbate," Hoffpauir explained. It wasnt sexual or sexualized, the showers and bathrooms were all open, so once you break that barrier, it didnt seem all that odd., More:Survivors, ex-employees say unreported abuse at Kanakuk camps in Branson spans decades, When asked in 2021 if Kanakuk counselors other than Newman were nude with campers, COO Goodwin said, No, and its not common., But incidents occurred often enough to prompt a range of specific rules.. The camp developed its Child Protection Plan in 2009,after one of its directors was arrested and charged with abusing children hed met at camp andthrough related ministries. ", Later, Hoffpauir said the sessions with Staples "deteriorated. "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. And so you cannot blame yourself.". 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. A reporter attempted calls to four phone numbers linked to Staples in public records databases. I was a young girl, a virgin at the time, she said. When my counselor heard about this, he warned me to stay away from Pete., Other counselors followed Newmans lead, Clark said, making the parties a staple for a time.. An anonymous "John Doe" plaintiff who says he suffered sex abusewhile he attended a Christian youth camp based near Branson recentlysued a former counselorfor civil damages. People thought of Paul Green as this God-like figure, said Blake Fusch, who was 14 when he spent a summer in the 30-year-old counselors cabin. The 1999 incident wasnt the last. White said, Pete Newman is the most thorough relationship builder with kids in Kanakuk history. They're not getting the help and support they need. And I just didn't answer. Newman called it a "circus tent," Dygert said. The first time former Kanakuk camp director Pete Newman was reported for being nude with kids was in 1999 the same year he became a full-time employee at the Branson-based Christian athletic camp and a decade before he confessed to abusing multiple underage boys he met through Kanakuk and related ministries. Thats when Caroline, who asked not to be identified by her full name, said she learned first-hand how the camp responded to reported abuse. ), A probationary agreement Newman signed Oct. 22, 2003 specifically prohibited nudity or sexual behavior, as well as further visits from out-of-state kids and sleepovers during which Newman spent the night alone with one or more children. The detective suggested having the boy confront Green on a phone call, which police would record. Most parents dont expect their kids would have such conversations at what was billed as an athletic camp, said Korte. 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