Kanakuk Survivors Voice Support for Lawsuit Disputing Non-Disclosure Agreement

Several survivors of sexual abuse over decades at Kanakuk camp in southwest Missouri are speaking out in support of a fraud lawsuit filed in November by former camper Logan Yandell, who says he accepted a nondisclosure agreement and settlement in 2010 based on false representations by the camp and its leaders.

Yandell attended Kanakuk camps from 2003, when he was eight years old, until 2009, and was sexually abused by camp employee Peter Newman. Newman was convicted of child sexual abuse in 2009 and is currently serving two life sentences plus 30 years in prison.

Defendants in the current lawsuit include Kanakuk Ministries, Kanakuk Heritage, and , president of Kanakuk, as well as the Westchester Fire Insurance Company, the insurance carrier for the Kanakuk defendants.

Ashton Alarcon, an abuse survivor who has refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement, told the Branson Tri-Lakes News he was pleased to see the lawsuit filed. He said he and his family have spent more than $40,000 in legal fees fighting against Kanakuk.

“It’s time Joe White is driven out of Kanakuk. Stop turning a place that was meant for children to learn about Jesus and be safe into breeding grounds for child molesters led by leaders who are worse than ‘wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain,’“ he said, citing Ezekiel 22:27.

Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, whose brother Trey committed suicide in 2019 after being abused at the camp, said it’s the type of lawsuit she hoped her brother would have filed had he lived.

She said the abuse is more than a public relations problem to be “swept under the rug in the name of preserving a ministry brand.”

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Survivor Evan Hoffpauir said the surrounding community also should care about the lawsuit because the Kanakuk abuse reflects on them.

“The Branson community has always clung to wholesome family values and actively aims to create an enjoyable experience for visitors and locals,” he said.

Keith Dygert, also a victim, said the lawsuit raises questions like why Joe White did not fire and report Pete Newman.

“How many lives could’ve been spared had the right things been done the first time?” he said.

Dygert said he feels “immense pride and appreciation for the boldness, vulnerability, and resolve of the Yandells” in filing the lawsuit.

“…this family has publicly opened the book of the nightmare they’ve been through,” he said. “They’ve suffered harm, betrayal, lies, and unfair silencing; still they choose to put themselves out there in hopes to help one more victim and hopefully prevent another.”

A court date has not yet been set.