Hoffpauir said his mother, who only learned about his abuse experience in early February, "is doing awful. Everyone else said, 'it was so long ago. He and his wife Lois live in Colorado. 2023 www.news-leader.com. But when the summer session ended, she said it was clear her parents hadnt been told the details. 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. But the counselors showered together, too.. It was the largest settlement of its kind in Missouri that year. A portion of Kanakuks attorneys response follows: This is a blatant factual misstatement. More:Former Kanakuk counselor Peter Newman named in new sex-abuse lawsuit. 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. The shame I experienced as a victim is something that I do not wish to bear on anyone. More:Kanakuk camper says she was told to apologize, denied call home after reporting abuse. I talked to Keith.". 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. Webfrom dust we come to dust we return quran. ", 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. 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. No More Victims, whose organizers have not been made public, recently issued an open letter to Kanakuk and its owner, White. (Notably, former KanakukcounselorLee Bradberrywas convictedof second-degree statutory sodomy, sexual misconduct and two counts of child molestation for abusing three underage male campers in 2011. In one testimonial, CEO White described Newman as the most thorough relationship builder with kids in Kanakuk history. "His logic was like, it's OK to masturbate," Hoffpauir explained. Newman was in his mid-20s. At least one Kanakuk counselor Paul Green was investigated by police years before Newman was caught. Hoffpauir said Kanakukis "so prominent in Branson. (Last year, Newman was found liable for more than $5 million in damages in that case, Missouri court records show.) "I don't think I really questioned why, I was just kind of flattered by it. 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. Youre either one of them or youre not, and its such an economic driver.". ", Hoffpauir said he does not know who funded the counseling by Staples. "We took off," Hoffpauir said, referencing himself and his wife, Madison. In the past two years, media coverage of abuse at Kanakuk has included reporting byChristian financial watchdogorganization Ministry Watch,CBS News in Dallas,VICE Newsandconservative online magazineThe Dispatch. More than a decade later, Ringheim volunteered with KLIFE in Orlando. We want to insure [sic]that Pete be involved in a lifetime of ministry.. ", Later, while Newman workedat one of Kanakuk's overnight camps, Dygert visited him on the job. Camp officials reportedly rub elbows with powerful people, and have done so for a long time: In "Pure Excitement," a "righteous" guide to sex, love and dating for teenagers first published in 1996 by camp owner Joe White, White tells ofhis friendship with "an heir to the Coors brewery throne," Shane Coors. He worked there from 1995 until he was fired in2009. So I started going to Youth Life, hanging out with Pete. Newman had other suggestions that same night, Dygert said: Dunking a basketball naked from a gymnastics board, for example. Corbie Dale Grimes, who worked at Kanakuk in the 1970s and 80s, is serving a life sentence for abusing a boy in Texas in 1999. Kamp took their own evaluation of the situation and essentially determined no foul play. The first lawsuit, filed Jan. 31, 2011, in Taney County Circuit Court, charges officials at the Christian sports camp Kanakuk with fraud for allowing Pete Newman to masquerade as a role model at the same time he was molesting scores of underage boys. "They were mostly promoting Youth Life at that time," Dygert said, referencing the religious youth group that Kanakuk now calls "K-Life. Like Hoffpauir, Dygert says he accompanied Newman on speaking engagement trips linked to Kanakuk. Victims say such confidentiality clauses have kept stories of abuse at Kanakuk from reaching a national audience although that is changing. "And the counselor was like, the camp's reaching out to victims, and don't worry about that. I was in a room with the director, and about three other people. 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. I went to California with him. The counselors told us to hang our towels over a bar which didnt cover our bodies. WebDygert, 34, is a Branson resident the News-Leader interviewed Friday night, shortly after Kanakuk posted its new comments on child sex abuse online. Years and years ago, he said, referring to the 1950s when he began attending camp. Dygert and Hoffpauir became friends in middle school, and both said that in the years since, each was often the only other confidant available. I went on many speaking engagements with him. 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. But even after Newmans 2010 conviction, Kanakuk leaders esteem for Newman remained evident. He noted that on one occasion Newman quoted Scripture to justify the activity. ", 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. 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. 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. Sign up! Moreover, the limited scope of the guilty plea concealed the sheer scale of the abuse. This will result in instant dismissal of staff with no chance for rehire and probable legal and parental notification.. WebWarning: strpos(): Empty needle in /var/home/ikvetlvq/meinardadraudze.lv/retro-bowl/index.php on line 1 WebSample Page; ; And they need to suffer the repercussions of that, to show and send a message that you cannot take this lightly. Dygert's family learned about the abuse around 2010, the year Newman was convicted and sentenced to life in state prison. "That was really rough," he said. 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. Newman was able to capitalize on the camps permissive attitudes and the campers desensitization toward nudity as he groomed his victims. She's blaming herself. One of those boys was among the victims when Ringheim was convicted of sex crimes in 2012. No victim should suffer in silence help is available. And it no longer felt likecounseling.". According to documents filed in related court cases, Newman was merely admonished on several occasions. I sure love being on your team!. On that first night of abuse, Dygert said Newman told him, "'This would be one of the best bonding things we could do.' More than 20,000 kids age 7-18 attend each summer. Any victim can reach out to Kanakuk by emailing us at victimsupport@kanakuk.com or access several independent victim advocacy organizations such as ChildHelp.org or Rainn.org, which can provide access to local support services, reporting assistance, and educational resources. Newman was the camps rock star. Everybody looked up to him.. There's no one to blamebut Pete and Kanakuk. That's the No. "We're going to try to renew our vows and do something different because of it. 25 Feb/23. ), 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. He wrote his phone number on my hand and said, 'Hey, let's hang out sometime.' One of its two main campuses sits on 42 acres near Lake Shore Drive, across Lake Taneycomo from the lights of downtown Branson. When she asked what was up, Hoffpauir remembersreplying, "Hang on a second.". White described Coors as a "well-buffed athlete," "tall and as handsome as a model.". Ever since Pete Newmanpleaded guiltyto sexually abusing six boys,Kanakuk has touted itself as a leader in child safety, holding seminars across the nation. Kanakuk leaders also have described convicted child molester Pete Newman as a lone predator but he wasn't the first or last abuser connected to the camp. 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. Whites daughter concluded his problems stemmed from watching rated R movies. It might have been the first time he was abused; he can't remember. He died in a car crashwhile apolice investigation was ongoing. Survivors says Newmans idea of bonding often involved invitations to participate in nude activities. 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