I've just received this press release initiated by the Turley Law Firm. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Many prayers for the victims & their families. Kanakuk abuse survivors seek to extend statute of limitations. Logan's family says from age 9 to 13, he was sexually abused by Pete Newman, a Kanakuk counselor, and later, camp director. As I sought out legal action in an effort to hold my enablers accountable, I was crushed to find out I was a few years past Missouris statute of limitations, Hoffpauir said. Hi. Our Kanakuk Child Protection Plan, which contains over 340 identifiable and measurable protective elements, is integrated throughout our organization and has been shared with more than 600 youth-serving organizations across the country. I had heard multiple, conflicting accounts of the events that led to Newmans confession: While that original article was filled with detailed reporting from court records, depositions, dozens of interviews with victims and their advocates, and recorded conversations with individuals involved with the camp and with knowledge of the history of inappropriate conduct, we couldnt provide a corroborated account of what, exactly, led to Newmans confession. Additionally, Joe White and Pete Newmans former supervisors have provided sworn testimony that they did not learn of Mr. Newmans illegal activities until March 2009, when Kanakuk took immediate action. The actions of Pete Newman are devastating to hear and stand counter to Kanakuks values and mission. Each person who spoke with the CBS 11 I-Team says he or she, or a family member of his or hers, was sexually abused at Kanakuk Kamps sometime between 1999 and 2008. And Tom, I stand corrected. Additionally, Kanakuk set out to elevate our safety practices, which resulted in the Kanakuk Child Protection Plan. As a child growing up in Branson, Hoffpauir was involved with Kanakuks youth ministries, and said he was abused by Kanakuk director Pete Newman from 1999 to 2003. White and Cooper were concerned enough to write a corrective action memorandum that outlined a series of limits on Newmans activities, including requiring him to spend considerable time with one of his supervisors, Will Cunningham. Logan Yandell, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, filed the lawsuit Friday in Taney County court against Kanakuk Ministries, Kanakuk CEO Joe White, Kanakuk Heritage Inc. and Westchester Fire Insurance Company. White is still the head of the camp today. 2015 A federal case filed in Texas by John Doe III, originally filed in 2013, is settled because "all matters in controversy between the parties have been resolved." 2012 More to the point is the echoing in church organisations of worldly power structures. OnApril 23, a Kanakuk attorney offered to meet with Taney County officials. Kanakuk has said it learned its lessons from these incidents and now has rigorous child protection policies in place. Kanakuk leadership received reports of Newman engaged in nude activity with campers as early as 1999, according to an affidavit of Newmans former supervisor. Yes, we had background checks and other precautions in place. The stories were republished the next day by USA Today. 25 Feb/23. This scandal has the trappings of interstate trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual exploitation, Bull told me. White, who has written 20 books, is a regular speaker at conservative Christian organizations, including . My biggest mistake was not calling the FBI, because it involved interstate trafficking of children, Neugebauer said, indicating the victim hed sponsored traveled outside of his resident state of Texas to Alabama for the Kanakuk retreat. A different victims parentin a police statement dated July 2, 2009said Newmans supervisor Kris Cooper. Yandell and his parents reached a civil settlement with Kanakuk in 2010 regarding abuse Yandell suffered at the hands of Newman, who is now in prison on two life sentences for sexually abusing multiple children at the evangelical summer camp. To donate, Documentary On Sexual Abuse Allegations At Christian Camp Kanakuk Wins Emmy, GRACE Finds Sex Abuse Allegations Against Chris Rice Credible, Young Life Accused of Ignoring or Covering Up Allegations of Sexual Misconduct, Why Businessman Peter Chung Matters for the Future of The Kings College. While we could never keep up with all of our alumni family, we know the vast majority of them have left Kanakuk and gone on to raise amazing families and serve their communities through careers in full-time ministry, law, medicine, science, civil service, teaching, military service, and professional sports. Phillips said the non-disclosure agreement Carlock had to sign in the settlement left him scared to speak about his abuse even in therapeutic settings, and that a short statute of limitations can cause survivors to be rushed into civil litigation and burdensome settlements, as she said her brother experienced. (Newman later admitted to abusing at least one boy on this trip. A petition asking Kanakuk to release dozens of sexual abuse victims and families from non-disclosure agreements has reached more than 26,000 signatures. The fact is that neither Joe nor Petes supervisors would have allowed Pete around their own kids unsupervised, much less in their own homes, if they suspected him of abusing kids. Attorney Ben Bull, who leads theNational Center on Sexual Exploitations Law Center (which fights child sexual abuse, illegal pornography, sex trafficking, and other forms of sexual abuse and exploitation) agrees the FBI should investigate. I respectfully disagree with that comment. 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. If a person youd employed to take care of children actually abused them, you would be the one who calls the police on Pete. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. On April 19 , one victims father attempted to obtain this information by officially submitting a Sunshine Law request regarding the contents of Newmans devices. We realize that the complex language of settlement agreements may have silenced some victims. In my experience, a person learning of it [for the first time] wouldve had a different reaction, he said. Since the publication of our first article, I have learned more from sources who have come forward dailyeven hourlywith additional details. We know now that we have added confusion and frustration when we have spoken on this topic. Nobody has resigned as a result of the failure to stop a decade of abuse. Join survivor voices by supporting this open letter to Joe White, Kanakuk Ministries, and all affiliated entities. The three articles published last week identify other questionable and red-flag behaviors that the articles say Kanakuk leaders tolerated both before and after the sex abuse claims against Newman and others became public. Dozens of additional news outlets have carried stories as well. OnApril 15, more than a month after Newmans confession, a caseworkercontactedthe Sheriffs department. I dont think that person called the cops. Represented by a law firm, this group has continued over the past year to post misstatements, carefully edited video content, misleading information, and defamatory statements while harassing campers, families and organizations who associate with Kanakuk. Your breed has created this nightmare in the Catholic Church the non Catholic churches and schools. We took his cell phone, his computer, his files and locked his office.. We are only a small fraction of the Kanakuk survivors, yet our collective abuse experiences span from the 1950s to 2022. Tragically more than 12 years ago, one of our staff members was accused and convicted for abusing Kampers. But he didnt survive past the age of 29, so now I refer to him as a victim, and Im trying to be his voice., Former camper suing Missouri-based Kanakuk claiming fraudulent abuse settlement. A two-week session costs around $2500, but thousands of affluent families gladly pay the fee, and often not just for two weeks. The retreat required travel beginning February 20, 2009. The devil will try to kill & destroy. This termination . There also seems to be a problem with recruitment screening. Furthermore, Kanakuk continues to offer support to victims, including providing independent counseling if desired. 1 priority. Prior to this, no one on Kanakuk staff believed that Pete Newman was abusing or had abused kids. Since 1926, Kanakuk has. He has also provided an open letter to victims who do not prefer to meet face-to-face. Branson-based Kanakuk Kamps and its associated ministries area multi-million-dollar global enterprise that includes the largest evangelical sports camp in the world. I asked Joe White about Neugebauers account on April 12, but neither White nor his attorney were willing to provide information. Though this is one of the worst Christian sex abuse scandals in American history, the story had never garnered much attention. The child she named was the same child Neugebauer helped send on the ill-fated retreat. For them to pursue such actions would be unfortunate, but Kanakuk has been transparent and has nothing to hide, and the perpetrators have long since been imprisoned. It was the summer of 2002 and he was excitedthe Christian sports camp advertised the "best summer ever . The investigation continues. Kanakuk set out to become an industry leader on the issue of abuse when it launched its own child protection program after Newman's case. We rigorously follow our Kanakuk Child Protection Plan, and train our staff and employees on how to help prevent abuse. A documentary made by VICE News about the alleged sexual abuse cases at Kanakuk camps in southwest Missouri won a 2022 Emmy, Allegations that popular Christian singer-songwriter Chris Rice sexually assaulted an older teen are credible, according to a report by leading victim advocacy, Young Lifeone of the nations largest youth ministries, involving more than 400,000 youth and 55,000 staff and volunteersis being accused of ignoring. Newman eventuallyadmittedto fondling campers, having them manually stimulate him, and other behavior related to nudity and hot tub jetting.. Cooper plainly states it: They sent Newman away. We desire to support victims and help them in their healing journey. At least two men have gone to prison for crimes committed while they were Kanakuk counselors. Further, we will not be surprised and are also fully prepared if future publicity stunts by these groups should include protests, lawsuits, podcasts or other efforts to gain media attention or disrupt our ministry operations. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics. In They Arent Who You Think They Are, David and I detailed Kanakuk leaderships awareness of a series of incidents in which Newman was nude with children. The settlements inhibit victims and their families from sharing their stories and as a result, hinder their recovery process. #ProtectChildren, @Kanakuk, release survivors from their NDAs so that they may speak about the childhood sexual abuse they endured at your camp. Martens said Yandell is leading a successful life now but must still deal with the traumatic effects of being sexually abused as a child. Although there have been multiple alleged and known abusers at Kanakuk Kamps dating all the way back to the 1950s, the most publicly known and detailed account of abuse is that committed by Pete Newman. And I believed this narrative for over a decade.. Newman pleaded guilty in 2010 to seven counts of sexual abuse, and the prosecutor said Newmans victim count might be in the hundreds. Opinion: What is Revivaland is it Happening at Asbury? Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Naturally, some victims families worry about what happened with those recordings. We see this is the third article this month youve found worth reading. Abuse happens in many contexts. Im sure Kanakuk was heeding the advice of lawyers and insurance companies, but Im disappointed because Joe hasnt owned his mistakes.. USA Today and their affiliate newspaper based in Kanakuks home region published a series of investigative reports. While there are still calls for Kanakuk to release victims from NDAs so that they can share their story, and accusations that we are silencing victims, Kanakuk has made it clear that we absolutely support the right of victims to share their story in pursuit of their healing. Seven states open the window for two or more years, as this law proposes Missouri do, and two states currently open the window permanently for adult survivors of child sex abuse. Ironically, their Contact page discloses that their information is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up to date. Sadly, in todays 24/7, monetized news industry, copy-paste journalism allows for this type of misinformation to be spread quickly and without merit [Proverbs 17:4]. This article was originally published at Ministry Watch. This lawsuit is being filed to hold Kanakuk accountable, and to give Logan and potentially other victims and survivors their voices back.. Mondays hearing was on legislation that would extend the civil statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. It is so sad! Neugebauers account also lines up with court testimony, which indicates Newman was fired on March 10, 2009, but does not explain why Kanakuk insisted the catalyst for the confession was a letter from an attorney. Following the events of 2009, Kanakuk has continued to work tirelessly to help ensure that this deeply deceptive and abusive behavior does not happen again. By: Clara Bates - February 14, 2023 1:35 pm Our children and nieces have all been as campers. They say they speak for all victims, ignorant of the fact that many victim families continue to support Kanakuk and in some cases, have chosen to work here. She also wrote about vocational education for Democracy Journal. Martens declined to say how much money the Yandells were awarded as part of the 2010 settlement. Our CPP is woven throughout the organization and impacts almost every aspect of our operations. Another camp insider remembered it differently. This guy has a raging love for God and it spills over constantly to the kids at kamp.. This petition makes three simple pleas in line with longstanding best-practices for responding to policy breaches and abuse allegations: 1. You might want to confirm that.. Ye reap what ye sow. John Hobbs, who testified in support of the bill, and said he was abused by a former Boy Scout leader, asked: Is it really worth todays world trying to suppress someones life such as mine simply to save your extremely wealthy company and/or clients money?, This bill, Hobbs later continued, starts the path of holding institutions accountable., by Clara Bates, Missouri Independent February 14, 2023. The timeline below, drawn from court documents, indicates a troubling delay between Neugebauers call to Pete Newman, the camps reporting to authorities, and Newmans arrest. My personal opinion. This time it involves claims of fraud in a sex abuse scandal. Kanakuk is an immense operation. Kanakuk camp 'abuse survivors' call for independent investigation into sexual assault accusations, that were reportedly flagged for Kanakuk leaders in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006, recently issued an open . Reed Martens, another one of Yandell's attorneys with the law firm Monsees and Mayer, said Yandell feels it is important to speak out against Kanakuk's handling of sexual abuse cases despite the 2010 non-disclosure agreement. Jody Jones, who flew from Utah to testify, was a camper at Kanakuk in 1985, when she was 8. In 2010, Newman pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexually abusing boys. The Missouri Independent is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to relentless investigative journalism and daily reporting that sheds light on state government and its impact on the lives of Missourians. This new information adds to the alreadysubstantial body of evidencethat camp leaders sought to downplay evidence of wrongdoing, even if doing so added to the trauma of those whod been abused and made additional camper abuse more likely. A Texas victims father said Kanakuk told him a lawyer representing another victim arrived at the camp and caused Newman to confess. "He's one of the most prolific serial abusers that I've ever heard of," French said during Wednesday's St. Louis on the Air. We support the right of victims to share their stories in pursuit of healing. Weve said it before, and we will say it again, we are forever sorry for the pain inflicted on victims and their families. 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