Missouri Bill Would Extend Statute of Limitations for Sex Abuse Survivors
Kanakuk survivors and their families spoke in favor of the bill.
A proposed Missouri bill would extend the statute of limitations for child victims of sexual abuse to file a civil action for an additional 10 years to age 41. 
According to the bill summary, House Bill 1617 would allow a civil action to be brought “within 20 years of the plaintiff reaching the age of 21 or within three years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that the injury or illness was caused by childhood sexual abuse, whichever is later.”
The current law requires the civil action to be brought within 10 years of reaching age 21.
Bill author Rep. Brian Seitz (R-Branson) said, “Through no fault of their own, children who may have been abused in the past are being victimized again by not being allowed to hold their perpetrators to account in civil actions.”
The legislation passed unanimously out of the Missouri House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 21, according to reporting by the Springfield News-Leader.
Seitz offered the same bill during the 2023 Missouri legislative session, where it passed the House of Representatives but failed to pass out of the Senate.
Missouri is home to Kanakuk Kamps, a Branson-area camp that employed Peter Newman. He was convicted of child sexual abuse in 2009 and is currently serving two life sentences plus 30 years in Missouri state prison.
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Survivors and family members of victims who suffered sexual abuse while attending Kanakuk Kamps testified in support of the bill.
Elizabeth Phillips’ brother Trey Carlock was abused by Newman and died by suicide in 2019.
“Pete wasn’t the only one who abused my brother. Trey was abused again by Kanakuk and its agents, who harassed and gaslit him in a re-traumatizing legal process that ended in a settlement achieved by fraud, which included a restrictive NDA,” Phillips said.
Phillips pointed out that 16 Kanakuk sexual abuse victims have now committed suicide. Extending the statute of limitations might give victims time to process and heal before having to file a civil suit and relive their traumatic experiences, she said.
Keith Dygert is a Kanakuk sexual abuse survivor who says he has endured years of counseling, emotional turmoil, and nightmares.
Dygert took legal action against Kanakuk and testified that it was “grueling, long and difficult.”
“I can easily understand why so many victims never choose to go through with it,” Dygert said.
One father, Joe Alcaron, spoke about his son Ashton who attended Kanakuk Kamps for several years. According to Alcaron, Kanakuk CEO Joe White encouraged Alcaron to allow Ashton to stay a few extra days at the end of camp at Newman’s request.
“I felt like I handed my son over to the devil and [that is] guilt that I still live with today,” he said. “I’m his father, and I allowed Joe White and Pete Newman to fool me, and my son paid the price.”
The tragedy in the Alcaron family continued when Preston, Ashton’s brother, died after becoming anxious and depressed over his brother’s suffering. Alcaron said Preston took a pill to help him sleep, but didn’t wake up because the pill was fentanyl.
Most public testimony supported the legislation, but some who represented the interests of insurance companies spoke in opposition to the bill.
Rich Aubuchon, representing the Missouri Civil Justice Reform Coalition, noted the impact such a change could have on insurance rates for daycares and camps that aren’t employing sexual abusers.
“Not every employer is a bad employer. Please just remember that not every employer is a Kanakuk,” Aubuchon said, after acknowledging the atrocity of the crimes committed against victims and their families who spoke up at the public hearing.
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