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The inside story of how Kanakuk--one of America's largest Christian camps--enabled horrific abuse.
ImpressionableChildHat RetweetedA Louisiana
@kanakuk
victim came forward today - after 20 years of believing he was the only victim of super predator Pete Newman.
Newman's now in prison for the rest of his life for child abuse with an estimated 'hundreds' of victims.
How did this happen?
A thread. /1
@kanakuk
victim came forward today - after 20 years of believing he was the only victim of super predator Pete Newman.
Newman's now in prison for the rest of his life for child abuse with an estimated 'hundreds' of victims.
How did this happen?
A thread. /1
Link to tweet
After emailing
@Kanakuk
, he googled them. That's when he saw the investigative journalism that
@DavidAFrench
and I did at the
@Dispatch
(edited by
@stephenfhayes
, legal assist by
@Popehat
) and found 'Facts about Kanakuk.'
He wasn't alone. https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/they-arent-who-you-think-they-are?s=w /6
@Kanakuk
, he googled them. That's when he saw the investigative journalism that
@DavidAFrench
and I did at the
@Dispatch
(edited by
@stephenfhayes
, legal assist by
@Popehat
) and found 'Facts about Kanakuk.'
He wasn't alone. https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/they-arent-who-you-think-they-are?s=w /6
frenchpress.thedispatch.com
‘They Aren’t Who You Think They Are’
The inside story of how Kanakuk—one of America’s largest Christian camps—enabled horrific abuse.
‘They Aren’t Who You Think They Are’
The inside story of how Kanakuk—one of America’s largest Christian camps—enabled horrific abuse.
Link to tweet
THE FRENCH PRESS
‘They Aren’t Who You Think They Are’
The inside story of how Kanakuk—one of America’s largest Christian camps—enabled horrific abuse.
David French and Nancy French
Mar 28, 2021
The first thing you need to know about Pete Newman is that people loved him. He has olive skin, dark hair, and thick eyebrows that generated good-natured “unibrow” teasing. Girls wanted to date him, guys wanted to be him, and children wanted to follow him. ... He was a camp director at Kanakuk Kamps, one of the largest Christian camps in the world. Kanakuk is an immense operation. Since its founding in 1926, it claims to have served more than 450,000 campers. Its main campus is located outside of Branson, Missouri, but it has international reach. Every summer approximately 20,000 kids pass through its gates, and the institution is particularly prominent with the Evangelical elite.
Newman was the camp’s rock star. A person who went to Auburn University with Newman said, memorably, “If Jesus and Pete walked into a room, I’m 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. “This guy has a raging love for God and it spills over constantly to the kids at kamp.”
White himself has long been a popular, charismatic figure in American Evangelicalism. (We reached out to White, and he declined to comment.) He has inspired intense devotion from campers, employees, and parents. Outside of camp, he’s known for a particular and vivid public presentation where he builds and carries a cross on stage to illustrate the crucifixion of Christ. The example below comes from a 2015 convocation at Liberty University:
Kanakuk and White promoted Newman relentlessly, both within the organization and to the public at large. Newman rose through the ranks from camp counselor to camp director. It sent him on the road to recruit campers and to raise money. According to former members of the camp community, parents would sometimes compete for a coveted honor—hosting Newman in their home.
He was also a superpredator. He groomed and abused boys in their own homes. He groomed and abused boys at camp. In fact, he abused boys across the world. On June 9, 2010, he pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexually abusing boys. He received a sentence of two life terms, plus 30 years. His guilty plea was but the tip of a terrible iceberg. A civil complaint alleges that there were at least 57 victims, but the prosecutor in his case estimates that the real number could be in the “hundreds.”
{snip}
‘They Aren’t Who You Think They Are’
The inside story of how Kanakuk—one of America’s largest Christian camps—enabled horrific abuse.
David French and Nancy French
Mar 28, 2021
The first thing you need to know about Pete Newman is that people loved him. He has olive skin, dark hair, and thick eyebrows that generated good-natured “unibrow” teasing. Girls wanted to date him, guys wanted to be him, and children wanted to follow him. ... He was a camp director at Kanakuk Kamps, one of the largest Christian camps in the world. Kanakuk is an immense operation. Since its founding in 1926, it claims to have served more than 450,000 campers. Its main campus is located outside of Branson, Missouri, but it has international reach. Every summer approximately 20,000 kids pass through its gates, and the institution is particularly prominent with the Evangelical elite.
Newman was the camp’s rock star. A person who went to Auburn University with Newman said, memorably, “If Jesus and Pete walked into a room, I’m 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. “This guy has a raging love for God and it spills over constantly to the kids at kamp.”
White himself has long been a popular, charismatic figure in American Evangelicalism. (We reached out to White, and he declined to comment.) He has inspired intense devotion from campers, employees, and parents. Outside of camp, he’s known for a particular and vivid public presentation where he builds and carries a cross on stage to illustrate the crucifixion of Christ. The example below comes from a 2015 convocation at Liberty University:
Kanakuk and White promoted Newman relentlessly, both within the organization and to the public at large. Newman rose through the ranks from camp counselor to camp director. It sent him on the road to recruit campers and to raise money. According to former members of the camp community, parents would sometimes compete for a coveted honor—hosting Newman in their home.
He was also a superpredator. He groomed and abused boys in their own homes. He groomed and abused boys at camp. In fact, he abused boys across the world. On June 9, 2010, he pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexually abusing boys. He received a sentence of two life terms, plus 30 years. His guilty plea was but the tip of a terrible iceberg. A civil complaint alleges that there were at least 57 victims, but the prosecutor in his case estimates that the real number could be in the “hundreds.”
{snip}