After a few minutes we got out of the hot tub, and he took me home. 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. ", 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. By 2000, if not earlier, Kanakuks Employee Playbook included specific prohibitions against nudity, according to documents referenced in cases filed by Newman victims. Satan had won his mind, White wrote, and the only thing the boy knew how to do was masturbate and mentally rape girls.. Hoffpauir isn't the only person who identifies as a Kanakuk child sex abuse survivor to say that the camp, and well-paid camp leaders,should have known about Newman's abuse and taken effective steps to stop him. It might have been the first time he was abused; he can't remember. When Newman was arrested six months later, the camp issued an alert to camp families that included the sexual abuse allegations. He was 13. 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. In a 2021 phone interview recorded by a reporter, KanakukCOO Goodwin was asked if the camp knew of any reports, any misconduct involving Grimes during his employment. 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. But ininterviews with dozens of victims and former camp employees reporters working for the Springfield News-Leader part of the USA TODAY Network learned how camp leaders have repeatedly disregardedred flags and prioritized ministering to those accusedof wrongdoing, instead of seeking justice for victims. ", Hoffpauir characterized this line of thinking as "just kind of a toxic purity culture. Jones said she was laying down to watch the movie when Chuck Price sat next to her and began tickling her foot. 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. 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. White said, Pete Newman is the most thorough relationship builder with kids in Kanakuk history. In 2003, I banned Pete from the Leadership Weekend and advised Kanakuk's executive director to fire Pete, Cunningham said in an emailed comment for this story. More:Kanakuk issues new statement on camp child sex abuse; survivor calls it 'disgusting'. Pete Newman arrived in Kanakuk in 1995 and was there for 14 years before being caught. More than 20,000 Counselors monitored us in the shower while they sat on a bench. More:Kanakuk's statement provided in response to the News-Leader's questions. And so he's like, how big is your circus tent? Apparently unaware of the previous allegations against him, parents sometimes hired Ringheimto escort their children to Kanakuk. The newspaper left a voicemail for Staples at First Baptist Church, of Branson, where Staples serves as family life pastor. Like Hoffpauir, Dygert says he accompanied Newman on speaking engagement trips linked to Kanakuk. 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. 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 But not everything is cracked up to what it seems, she said. 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. Hoffpauir describedthe abuse as "threefold:" physical, sexual and spiritual. When they vacationed in Florida, where Green was living, they invited him along, a common practice among Kanakuk families. I was in a room with the director, and about three other people. "They were mostly promoting Youth Life at that time," Dygert said, referencing the religious youth group that Kanakuk now calls "K-Life. Great. Kanakuk will forever grieve the victims of Pete Newman and their suffering and continue to pray for their healing and restoration. Though campers were assured counselors were their summer family, some said the forced intimacy was unsettling. 25 Feb/23. This guy has a raging love for God and it spills over constantly to the kids at kamp.. TWW wrote, in August 2016, Peter Newman, Serving 35 Years for Molestations at Kamp Kanakuk, Was Allegedly Hired by Fellowship Memphis While Awaiting Trial. 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. Why did he leave? Dygert and Hoffpauir said they discussed their abusewith a licensed professional counselor, Branson-based Joey Staples, though not at first. "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. WebSample Page; ; She accused the boy of lying in the eyes of the Lord.. 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. Survivors says Newmans idea of bonding often involved invitations to participate in nude activities. His parents sent him to what they thought was a group sleepover in a gym known as "Barn 13" on the Kanakuk campus. 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. More than 20,000 He died in a car crashwhile apolice investigation was ongoing. 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. 25 Feb/23. Administrators response to the violation fell far short of the Kanakuk playbooks threat of instant dismissal, however. Not all reports of inappropriate behavior went unpunished. A reporter attempted calls to four phone numbers linked to Staples in public records databases. On Feb 4., a separateanonymous plaintiff sued Newman for the same amount of money. 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. Kanakuk plays a key role in Branson, itself a homespun tourism hub andglobal bastion of American-style conservative Christianity. Thirteen is an impressionable year for any child. I feel like I can tell you anything. One of those boys was among the victims when Ringheim was convicted of sex crimes in 2012. Caroline asked to go home but says she was told that could only happen if she were injured. OK, talk to you later. She's just, she's trying to figure it out. A 2005 edition of the playbook reviewed for this story, for example, specifically forbade nude swimming and nude games, stipulating that bodies should be clothed at all times., It banned [a]ny degree of sexual contact between staff and kamper [i]ncluding verbal harassment or anything with sexual connotations and said [a]ny infraction of the above policy involving even the slightest form of sexual connotation will result in immediate dismissal for the staff with no chances for rehire., The playbook also said We will never, ever, ever in any way display sexual body parts intentionally or touch anothers body parts. Supervisors told her they would alert her parents to the incident. 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 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. As soon as Kanakuk became aware of abuse, we took action, including immediate termination and reporting of this individual. Kind of a step further than that is holding Kanakuk responsible. I was pretty shy around boys when I was younger, so it felt uncomfortable for me., More:Kanakuk camper says she was told to apologize, denied call home after reporting abuse. This is worth fighting for. 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. I couldnt afford to go to Kanakuk even if I wanted to. The shame I experienced as a victim is something that I do not wish to bear on anyone. When we got there, Chuck was up on stage and the entire crowd of kids was cheering, Chuck, Chuck, Chuck! Jones said. He noted that on one occasion Newman quoted Scripture to justify the activity. 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.. () Those are red flags in itself, but for some reason, it was just OK to bring your 13-year-old boy (companion) with you on overnight trips. 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 She said they reported it to their counselor, who arranged a meeting with camp director Keith Chancey. ", He added that the children of Kanakuk managers had, and have, a major role in the community's social life: "They were popular. The more casual attitudes toward nudity at Kanakuk where communal showering and physical inspections of unclothed campers continued into the 1990s and early 2000s, former staff members said made some campers uncomfortable. 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. Kanakuk, meanwhile, did not directly respond to inquiries from the News-Leader for this report. The letter also demands that Kanakuk release all victims from legal non-disclosure agreements, which civil parties often sign when they settle a lawsuit out of court. pete newman kanakuk wife Were going to help him through his problems.. ", 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.". Kanakuk Ministries president Doug Goodwin, who also has been identified as the camps chief operating officer, said in an interview that Newmans case was the first time weve ever dealt with anything like this., In a deposition in a civil suit filed by one of Newmans victims, Kanakuk CEO Joe White said sexual abuse wasn't even on the radar screen. Its a fun event.. Dygert helped out around the camp and eventually served as a Kanakuk counselor himself, for four years. He'd take me out for ice cream, one-on-one. This guy Such awareness was had by Kanakuk years before Newmans actual employment termination. Nobody really reacted, Jones said. I showered at midnight to avoid the crowds and got eaten up by mosquitos., More:Kanakuk issues new statement on camp child sex abuse; survivor calls it 'disgusting', Former camper Mallory Korte, who now lives in Nebraska, said she was told she could not eat dinner in 2007 without having a communal shower in front of camp leadership to save time. Moreover, the limited scope of the guilty plea concealed the sheer scale of the abuse. Dygert said he signed a non-disclosure agreement with Kanakuk. Always it was with my Christian friends , Newman wrote to a former camper., Never was there sexual attraction. So this isn't sexual. '", He added, "Now, looking back, I know no grown man should be hanging out with a little kid like that.". Reporter Gregory Holman was born and raised in Branson, mostly living in Taney County until 2003. Without success, the News-Leader attempted to reach Staples for comment several times before publication of this report. And justice on earth as it is in heaven is something God has called me to. The summer of 2016 wasnt the first timeCaroline attended Christian summer camp in Branson, Missouri but it is the one etched most deeply in her memory. Our Kanakuk Child Protection Plan, which contains over 340 identifiable and measurable protective elements, is integrated throughout the Kanakuk organization and has been shared with more than 600 youth-serving organizations across the country. "Pretty much any chance I could get, I was trying to hang out with him," Dygert said. "Your voice gave me a voice," Hoffpauir said he told journalist Nancy French after reports on Kanakuk by Frenchand her husband, David French, were first published last year by The Dispatch, a conservative-leaning news website. We figured out that system on our own., In addition to the communal showers, campers in past decades were required to stand nude, exposing their genitalia to counselors during regular physical inspections.. Years before, when he was a child, Newman had "wanted me to come to a sleepover event," Dygert said. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson pete newman kanakuk wife. "We're going to try to renew our vows and do something different because of it. Tredennick said Grimes actions did not constitute a reportable offense in a criminal context when Grimes was terminated in 1989. At K-Kountry, counselors and campers all showered together in a facility with no separate stalls or partitions, said former director Will Cunningham. ", Later, while Newman workedat one of Kanakuk's overnight camps, Dygert visited him on the job. He wrote his phone number on my hand and said, 'Hey, let's hang out sometime.' Like independent house churches, they have no outside reality check if they go sour Hoffpauirsaid he was in seventh grade when he first encountered Newman. 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. A day later, Fusch told his parents, who alerted police and met with a Dallas detective who specialized in investigating sex crimes. 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