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. "Its big money. Dygert's family learned about the abuse around 2010, the year Newman was convicted and sentenced to life in state prison. 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. Former Kanakuk director Pete Newman went to prison in 2010 for abusing boys. WebIts been over 20 years since the abuse began for me by Pete Newman of Kanakuk Kamps. 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. 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. They went on fall and summer retreats, too. "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. They were outspoken, they were athletic, they were the people you wanted to be, the kids you couldnt be, at least, because I didnt have money growing up. "Sadly, Pete Newman was a master of deception fooling family, friends, neighbors, and us as his former employer. While Caroline was discussing the groping incident with Chancey in 2016, she recalled that hebrought the boy into the meeting. There are people who are suffering in silence, feeling completely alone, to the point of taking their own lives because they don't know how to cope, how to deal with it. 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. Two years later, after further complaints, Cunningham and several other camp leaders confronted Newman, who admitted to being naked with kids. They were unfamiliar with Joe White. 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. Kanakuk, meanwhile, did not directly respond to inquiries from the News-Leader for this report. He saw Newman as a "very popular guy," well-liked, a "powerful, motivated, enthusiastic speaker," a "superstar.". They were spurred by a growing public awareness of controversy linked to Kanakuk that began in early 2021. Branson resident Evan Hoffpauir said that in 2009, former Christian sports camp counselor Peter Newman, now a convicted sexual predator,called himwith a prayer request. 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. Nothing happened to you?' At K-Kountry, counselors and campers all showered together in a facility with no separate stalls or partitions, said former director Will Cunningham. Court filings in multiple lawsuits have alleged that Newmans nudity was reported to camp leaders repeatedly. The attention he got from Newman felt like "you've got this really special thing," Dygert told the News-Leader. ", Kanakuk alsosaid it developed a "comprehensive Child Protection Plan" because of the "tragedy.". They're not getting the help and support they need. OK, talk to you later. Youre either one of them or youre not, and its such an economic driver.". Cunningham, who was Newmans supervisor at the Branson camp, confirmed the practice was in place in the 1980s through at least the early 2000s.. But not everything is cracked up to what it seems, she said. Like, 'This would take our relationship to the next level.' It only stopped, Hoffpauir said, when he and Madison began seriously dating. The stated objective: To help Pete understand what healthy ministry is, and to make sure Pete never places himself in a compromising position that his integrity would be in question. Victim advocates and prosecutors have also said the number of Newman's victimscould be in the "hundreds.". I was trying to avoid him, Fusch said. "That was like a solid eight hours we're in mediation, just like, zero empathy or respect for us from the Kanakuk side, just downplaying everything that happened, lowballing us on the settlement figure.". '", 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. Kanakuk plays a key role in Branson, itself a homespun tourism hub andglobal bastion of American-style conservative Christianity. He was only a summer staff. And she realized, oh no, something had happened. 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. Keith Dygert, another 34-year-old who grew up in Branson and currently lives there, filed a civil lawsuit that was later dismissed when "all parties agreed to a settlement," according to Missouri court records. A reporter attempted calls to four phone numbers linked to Staples in public records databases. They throw all these bubbles on you. The detective suggested having the boy confront Green on a phone call, which police would record. According to documents filed in related court cases, Newman was merely admonished on several occasions. So this isn't sexual. That's the No. And, you know, some of these kids go for a month. "She's not doing well. The Dygertssettled. He knew I knew. The site, which says it is run by victims and their family members,issued an open letter in February demanding that Kanakuk agree to an independent investigation of abuse claims and calling onleaders to release victims from non-disclosure agreements. It wasnt a part of our culture.. When Newman was arrested six months later, the camp issued an alert to camp families that included the sexual abuse allegations. "And the counselor was like, the camp's reaching out to victims, and don't worry about that. Dygert and Hoffpauir said they discussed their abusewith a licensed professional counselor, Branson-based Joey Staples, though not at first. Without success, the News-Leader attempted to reach Staples for comment several times before publication of this report. Why did he leave? With the summer season just days around the corner, I set three criteria by which I expected Pete to live for the remainder of our partnership:, 1.) 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. Former Kanakuk counselor Peter Newman is now serving two life sentences for sexually abusing boys at the camp for many years. After a few moments of silence, Fusch said, Green replied: It was an isolated situation and itll never happen again.. Newman was in his mid-20s. 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.. Webhow to get to quezon avenue mrt station Uncovering hot babes since 1919. 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. Asked whether Kanakuk made a catastrophic mistake by not firing Newman when it first learned of his nude activities, Kanakuk Ministries President Doug Goodwin said Now, looking back, yes., Back then, you know, we were dealing with college kids that kind of stuff was not unusual, Goodwin, the camp's COO, said in a March 2021 interview. '", They talked regularly for nine years, Hoffpauir said, from 2012 until September of 2021. There's no one to blamebut Pete and Kanakuk. And then the dominoes started to fall. The Turner Report: Pete Newman from 2008: Kanakuk kounselors will just suck your kids right up to heaven The Turner Report This blog features observations from At least one Kanakuk counselor Paul Green was investigated by police years before Newman was caught. We will never stop being sorry for the pain inflicted on victims and their families. Years passed before she managed to tell anyone. 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! And I told him, 'I don't feel comfortable with that.'". "Pretty much any chance I could get, I was trying to hang out with him," Dygert said. Hoffpauirsaid he was in seventh grade when he first encountered Newman. In fact, Grimes did not leave voluntarily. And since he's a guy, I mean, that's what he would say, like, 'We're just guys, we're not gay. Dygert and Hoffpauir became friends in middle school, and both said that in the years since, each was often the only other confidant available. At Grimes' trial, aKanakuk directordisclosed that Grimes had been fired from Kanakuk after an incident involving a young male camper. They ziplined naked.It was just a guy thing at Kanakuk to be naked all the time.It was just part of the culture. By 2000, if not earlier, Kanakuks Employee Playbook included specific prohibitions against nudity, according to documents referenced in cases filed by Newman victims. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. he recalled. TWW wrote, in August 2016, Peter Newman, Serving 35 Years for Molestations at Kamp Kanakuk, Was Allegedly Hired by Fellowship Memphis While Awaiting Trial. Home; Features; Services; About; Contact; Login; Get Free Demo; pete newman kanakuk wife After 2005, when he was roughly 18, he no longer participated "in Kanakuk programs on Kanakuk property," according to a court filing. 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. 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. The News-Leaderleft three detailed voicemails on the phone line linked to Staples' Branson-area counseling practice. 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. 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. Administrators response to the violation fell far short of the Kanakuk playbooks threat of instant dismissal, however. Currently, the camp's websiteprices four-week sessions at $4,800 per child. Eventually there was some touching. Growing public awareness of controversy linked to Kanakuk camp began early last year. 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. Apparently unaware of the previous allegations against him, parents sometimes hired Ringheimto escort their children to Kanakuk. For years I tried to forget about it, stuffed it away in the depths of my mind only sharing it with my wife and counselor. And they need to suffer the repercussions of that, to show and send a message that you cannot take this lightly. He was 13. He noted that on one occasion Newman quoted Scripture to justify the activity. 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. Fuschs parents met Green when they picked their son up from camp and were impressed. "That ministry" Kanakuk "should have caught on.". 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. Dygert said he signed a non-disclosure agreement with Kanakuk. Just really screwed-up stuff., More:Branson men, both 34, describe Kanakuk sex abuse, call for camp to be held accountable. 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.
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