Other prohibitions in the playbook were oddly specific, according to Erin Wood, who worked as a Kanakuk kitchen helper from 1996 to 1998. There were several guidelines in it that my fellow kitchen staff couldn't make heads or tails of, Wood said, citing directives that included No naked zip lining and No naked devotionals., They had to include a rule telling counselors not to disrobe with their entire cabin of children under their supervision to discuss the Bible before bed, she said. We are committed to our vision that todays young adults are the Christian leaders of tomorrow, and we will continue to advocate for their safety as they grow in friendships, faith, and confidence. On that first night of abuse, Dygert said Newman told him, "'This would be one of the best bonding things we could do.' When she asked what was up, Hoffpauir remembersreplying, "Hang on a second.". The bill, H.B. Such awareness was had by Kanakuk years before Newmans actual employment termination. WebI have not seen Kanakuk publicize their knowledge of former camp director Pete Newmans extracurricular nude activity with minors. When Dygert and Hoffpauir's families learned of the abuse, it caused them to be "damaged from the inside," in the words of Dygert's civil lawsuit papers. Satan had won his mind, White wrote, and the only thing the boy knew how to do was masturbate and mentally rape girls.. 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.. Everyone else said, 'it was so long ago. And I told him, 'I don't feel comfortable with that.'". ", Hoffpauir said he's trying to be supportive. So he would sayyou could do things like sing a worship song while you're masturbating, or you could quote Scripture while masturbating, or you could just not think of women. OK, bye.' Texas father Joe Alarcon said he sent his son Ashton to Kanakuk after he heard White promoting the camp at a 1997 Promise Keepers rally. A day later, Fusch told his parents, who alerted police and met with a Dallas detective who specialized in investigating sex crimes. 25 Feb/23. Since it launched its website in April 2021, an advocacy website,Facts About Kanakuk, says it has collected 60 reports of abuse beginning in the 1950s. Though campers were assured counselors were their summer family, some said the forced intimacy was unsettling. So that's how it started out.". Hoffpauir describedthe abuse as "threefold:" physical, sexual and spiritual. Long known as a charismatic director and ambassador for the camp, Newman's abuse of campers and others he met through Kanakuk-affiliated ministries often began with casual nudity and discussions about how to control sexual desires, progressing to mutual masturbation and sodomy. We continue to offer support to victims, including independent counseling services (which are not shared with Kanakuk), and desire to help them in their healing journey. 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. Kanakuks endorsement of Newman carried considerable weight with parents. He was never a Kanakuk camper, but he said he took part in plenty of activities with Newman. Hoffpauirsaid he was in seventh grade when he first encountered Newman. Just really screwed-up stuff., More:Branson men, both 34, describe Kanakuk sex abuse, call for camp to be held accountable. After Newman's trial, civil lawsuit allegations emerged. At K-Kountry, counselors and campers all showered together in a facility with no separate stalls or partitions, said former director Will Cunningham. Fuschs parents met Green when they picked their son up from camp and were impressed. Mr. Dygert's family learned about the abuse around 2010, the year Newman was convicted and sentenced to life in state prison. "'Cool. Webhow to get to quezon avenue mrt station Uncovering hot babes since 1919. 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. Something about a bubble party? she said her parents asked her. Jones said Price left and she continued to watch the movie. Linda Turley represented Joe Alarcon along with his wife, Brandi, and son, Ashton, in a settlement with Kanakuk in April 2013. The letter demands Kanakuk admit thatnumerous allegations of sex abuse by people linked to the camp are true. Through offshoots like Youth Life (now dubbed "K-Life"), Kanakuk reaches even more children and teenagers than those who attend camp. I sure love being on your team!. Evan Hoffpauir, a man from Branson who says he survived sex abuse by former Kanakuk counselor Peter Newman, praised the First Baptist Church in West Plains for its move. The playbook rules were geared toward counselors, however, not senior leadership. ", Hoffpauir said, "For so many years, I knew (the abuse) was wrong, but I looked around, and no one else cared. Like Price and Newman, Green was popular. That camper, who did not want to be identified, said she reported the incident to Kanakuk leadership. In one testimonial, CEO White described Newman as the most thorough relationship builder with kids in Kanakuk history. According to documents filed in related court cases, Newman was merely admonished on several occasions. "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. The fun ended when Caroline felt a male camper slide his hands into her athletic shorts. 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.. A prosecutor told the News-Leader at the time that Newman admitted to sexual activity with as many as 13 other minors. Tennessee resident Michael Armentrout, who worked at Kanakuk as a counselor in 1997 and 1998, also found the nudity disconcerting. In March, less than a month after Whites open letter to victims, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation included Kanakuk in its2022 Dirty Dozen list, alleging decades of child sexual abuse at Kanakuk Kamps have been swept under the rug by the organization., When Ed Ringheim was arrested in Florida in 2011 for allegedly abusing several boys including one he had chaperoned to Kanakuk the camp issued a statement noting it had extensive policies in place to protect the health and safety of every child attending Kanakuk., Ringheim had once worked as a counselor at the camp but the statementsought to distance the camp from KLIFE, the youth ministry for which Ringheim volunteered. Two years later, after further complaints, Cunningham and several other camp leaders confronted Newman, who admitted to being naked with kids. A request to interview Chancey and another staff member present at the meeting was declined by a lawyer for Kanakuk. In a 2011 email to one victims father, CEO White admitted that Newmans nudity while running through camp was serious, against kamp policy, and treated with sobriety and frankness.. They were unfamiliar with Joe White. And while vengeance is not mine, and vengeance is the Lord's, we are called to bring about justice on earth, and that's what I'm here for.". 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. 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.". Dygert said he wanted to take the case to the public courts, but the settlement process had taken an "unbelievably enormous toll" on a family member "who was really struggling with her mental health." One night, Kanakuk Kamps counselorspacked every single camper, like 300 kids in a mosh pit type of thing, said Caroline, who was 13. 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. Joe White came into the dining hall at lunch and went on and on about how he was a good man who the Lord would continue to use, said the camper, who asked not to be named publicly. He also told me that his superstar counselor, Pete Newman, was an expert in that topic too and encouraged me to let Ashton be mentored by Pete. 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. DocumentsKanakuk released during civil court proceedings show camp leaders were made aware of Newmans nudity with children and other inappropriate behavior on multiple occasions from 1999 until his confession in 2009. But there was a heavy concentration on what I did sexually.. 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. Excuse you! And I said some mean words, she said. "The resulting civil lawsuits received little attention, and nondisclosure agreements silenced victims and kept evidence under seal. More:Kanakuk issues new statement on camp child sex abuse; survivor calls it 'disgusting'. One of those boys was among the victims when Ringheim was convicted of sex crimes in 2012. She's blaming herself. 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. ", Later, while Newman workedat one of Kanakuk's overnight camps, Dygert visited him on the job. Manybut not all come from wealthy Texas evangelical families. 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. He knew I knew. Before sunrise Green then a graduate student at Louisiana State University had crashed his car into a highway overpass support and died, according to areport in the Baton Rouge Advocate. After a few moments of silence, Fusch said, Green replied: It was an isolated situation and itll never happen again.. "Dorking around" was how he referred to this kind of activity,Dygert and Hoffpauir said. Webfrom dust we come to dust we return quran. "These are the most affluent kids in the country," he said. Craig Heidemann, attorney for the plaintiffs, dubbed John Doe XII and John Doe XIII in court filings, declined to comment on the lawsuits during a brief interviewMonday. But even after Newmans 2010 conviction, Kanakuk leaders esteem for Newman remained evident. That's the No. They left all the time , Goodwin said. 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. 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.. And like, competitive. Newman was in his mid-20s. Former Kanakuk counselor Peter Newman is now serving two life sentences for sexually abusing boys at the camp for many years. Like Hoffpauir, Dygert says he accompanied Newman on speaking engagement trips linked to Kanakuk. In at least one instance which he wrote about he asked his young daughter to participate in these conversations. Courtesy of I think that's something you can only understandif you've been groomed and been abused. The letter-writers called Kanakuk's reporteduse of NDAs one of many "intimidation tactics" thecamp uses to stifle allegations of sexual assault and protect its reputation. ", Kanakuk alsosaid it developed a "comprehensive Child Protection Plan" because of the "tragedy.". Another prohibition, spelled out in Kanakuks 2008 employee handbook, specified Gold Bond powder could only be used for legitimate reasons presumably the purposes listed on its container: relieving itching and controlling odor. One of its two main campuses sits on 42 acres near Lake Shore Drive, across Lake Taneycomo from the lights of downtown Branson. "The sin is what goes on in the mind. More than 20,000 Without success, the News-Leader attempted to reach Staples for comment several times before publication of this report. There was no Im so sorry this happened to you. . Can you make a circus tent? 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. By 2000, if not earlier, Kanakuks Employee Playbook included specific prohibitions against nudity, according to documents referenced in cases filed by Newman victims. At least one Kanakuk counselor Paul Green was investigated by police years before Newman was caught. 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. I still remember it., Missouri native Alison Morrow, who attended Kanakuk in 2007, says leaders dismissed her concerns about modesty., Its not that big of a deal, its just a shower, Morrow said she was told. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism. In an interview published in the News-Leader in April, Keith Dygert said the first time Newman abused him, during a one-on-one sleepover in a Kanakuk gym, the former counselor suggested they dunk basketballs naked., This would be one of the best bonding things we could do.' Kanakuk said in its most recent IRS filing thatrevenues topped $31.6 million in 2019. I mean, it happened.. In a message dictated immediately after the one to Newman, White told Kanakuks executive director, Kris Cooper, to follow up with Newman. This guy has a raging love for God and it spills over constantly to the Fusch said Green packed and left abruptly after hearing Fusch tell his sister about the abuse. 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. This guy has a raging love for God and it spills over constantly to the kids at kamp.. ", Dygert added that his mother thought "she was upfront with Pete and protective, and she thought that's why nothing had ever happened to me. Newman, Hoffpauir said, performed the ceremony. With all those people cheering, I got up the courage.. Camp leaders rebuked the girls, not the boy, she said. In fact, the man who Eventually there was some touching. And she realized, oh no, something had happened. Advocates aligned with No More Victims LLC, a group registered in North Carolina that sponsors a website devoted to publicizing reports of sex abuse allegations and documented crimes linked to the camp, have accused Kanakuk of harboring multiple abusers for decades. 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. ", He added, "One of our main goals is to get the word out there to help find someone who might be listening, so that they can start the healing journey and get the help and support that they need. She said they reported it to their counselor, who arranged a meeting with camp director Keith Chancey. Former Kanakuk director Pete Newman went to prison in 2010 for abusing boys. As soon as Kanakuk became aware of abuse, we took action, including immediate termination and reporting of this individual. 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. The fact that Newman regularly hosted boys in his hot tub was no secret, although his supervisors at the camp maintain they didnt know of the nudity or abuse. We went together, stayed in the cabin together. Growing public awareness of controversy linked to Kanakuk camp began early last year. She's just, she's trying to figure it out. She said the boy admitted he may have groped the girls, but Chancey wanted the girls to apologize to the boy for making the accusation. 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. When they vacationed in Florida, where Green was living, they invited him along, a common practice among Kanakuk families. Like other young Christianswho crossed Newman's path, Hoffpauir described Newman, then roughly 26 years old,as an ideal person for evangelical youth ministry: "Very charismatic," Hoffpauir told the News-Leader in a recent interview. Kanakuk CEO Joe White also responded to the calls to release victims from NDAs in his first public letter on the issue. And while Kanakuk promised it had changed its policies to prevent future abuse, another counselor, Lee Bradberry, was convicted in 2011 two years after After a few minutes we got out of the hot tub, and he took me home. In October 2008, less than a year before Newman confessed, Kanakuk CEO White dictated an email congratulating him for a chapel presentation in which Newman bragged about the hot tub Bible studies., In the email, White told Newman he had a tremendous message, it was very appropriate and well received by all. She's like, 'Right, Keith? And I just didn't answer. 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. "Its big money. No victim should suffer in silence help is available. (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. Hoffpauir said that just after the call ended,hetold his wife for the first time that Newman sexually abused him for five years. Although organized as a separate nonprofit, KLIFE continues to refer to Kanakuk Kamps and other affiliated organizations as sister ministries., Asked in a March 2021 interview whether he was aware of any improper conduct while Ringheim worked at Kanakuk, Goodwin an employee of the camp and related ministries for 36 years said No. This horrific pedophile who molested boys for years at Kamp Kanakuk, is '", They talked regularly for nine years, Hoffpauir said, from 2012 until September of 2021. Kanakuk, meanwhile, did not directly respond to inquiries from the News-Leader for this report. At least two men have gone to prison for crimes committed while they were Kanakuk counselors. Others quickly became accustomed to it, providing fertile ground for a predator like Newman who used nudity and discussions about sexuality to groom his victims. Comprehensive child Protection Plan '' because of the `` tragedy. `` most thorough relationship builder with.! 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