Kanakuk Kamps Sued by Female Victim of Peter Newman
Abuse survivor says her memory was repressed until last year.
Another lawsuit has been filed against Kanakuk Kamps, its affiliated businesses, and its president Joe White, this time by a female who says she was a victim of long-time camp employee Peter Newman.
Two girls on a hammock / Photo by Janko Ferlič / Unsplash
The plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe due to the sensitive nature of the allegations, filed suit on Monday, April 14 against Kanakuk Heritage, Kanakuk Ministries, KUKORP, and Joe White for negligent retention, negligent supervision, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and sexual battery. The lawsuit was filed in Taney County, Missouri, where Kanakuk is located.
This is the first known female victim of Newman to come forward with a lawsuit, according to a press release by Monsees & Mayer, the law firm representing the plaintiff.
“Immediately upon arrival at camp, I felt homesick, vulnerable and afraid. Pete Newman took advantage of that, and I endured unspeakable things,” Doe said. “Now that I’ve found my voice, I am speaking out for my 9-year-old self and others who have been harmed by the negligence of Kanakuk.”
The plaintiff alleges she was sexually molested by Peter Newman in 2008 when she was just 9 years old and attending K-Kountry, one of the summer camp programs for 6- to 11-year-old children.
Upon arrival, Doe was feeling homesick. She said Newman used his position to gain her trust and isolate her. He then “inappropriately touched [Doe] and forced [her] to perform oral sex on him,” the lawsuit alleges.
She claims Newman told her that if she didn’t do as he said, she would not get to go home.
According to the lawsuit, Doe’s memory of the events was repressed until December 2024 when she regained the memories of abuse and began to question Kanakuk’s conduct and responsibility for Newman’s actions.
Missouri’s law allows for a pause of the statute of limitations related to childhood sexual abuse when memory of the abuse was repressed.
The lawsuit recites the various allegations of abuse and misconduct by Newman that had come to Kanakuk’s attention over the years starting in 1999. In 2003, Newman was placed under “Boundaries for Ministry” due to the number of complaints raised about his interaction with children.
Sometime between 2003 and 2006, William Cunningham, the director of K-Kountry, had recommended Newman’s termination, but instead Newman was promoted.
In 2009, Newman confessed to his crimes, and in 2010 was sentenced to two life sentences plus 30 years in prison.
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Despite the warning signs and complaints, Kanakuk “continued to retain Newman as an employee [and] promoted Newman to director of K-Kountry, where he used his position of power, trust, and dominance to continue to sexually abuse minor children over the next several years,” the lawsuit reads.
“Kanakuk had a responsibility to prioritize the protection of their campers over maintaining the employment of a serial sex offender,” attorney Reed Martens said. “Instead, Kanakuk disregarded reports and failed to protect children in its care, including Jane Doe, a vulnerable 9-year-old girl.”
Another lawsuit was filed against Kanakuk in 2024 by Andrew Summersett. It alleges fraud and fraudulent concealment, claiming Kanakuk and its leaders intentionally omitted critical information and made misrepresentations that prevented Summersett from pursuing his claim for bodily injury against them.
Texas and Missouri are both working on laws to prohibit the use of nondisclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases. They are called “Trey’s Law” for Trey Carlock, a victim of Newman’s who died by suicide in 2019.
His sister Elizabeth Carlock Phillips has spoken in support of the bill, sharing how her brother endured a decade of abuse then signed a restrictive NDA that caused him to even question whether he should discuss details of his abuse with his therapist.
The Texas version was passed unanimously by the House on April 8, and the Missouri version was voted favorably out of the Missouri Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, but is still awaiting a vote by the full Senate.
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