After a wave of lawsuits involving sex crimes with boys, a woman has now filed a lawsuit alleging Peter Newman, a convicted former director at the network of Christian sports camps called Kanakuk Kamps, sexually abused her when she was 9.
The woman, identified as “Jane Doe” in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Circuit Court of Taney County, Missouri, names as defendants: Kanakuk Ministries based in Branson; Kanakuk’s CEO and Board Chair Joe T. White; Kanakuk Heritage, Inc.; and KUKORP, LLC.
Jane Doe is the first known female victim of Newman to come forward with a lawsuit, according to her attorneys, David Mayer, Bobby Thrasher, Reed Martens and Ryan Frazier of Monsees & Mayer, based in Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri.
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She alleges Newman sexually abused her in 2008 while she attended K-Kountry, Kanakuk’s residential summer camp for elementary-aged children.
“On multiple occasions, Newman inappropriately touched Plaintiff and forced Plaintiff to perform oral sex on him. Plaintiff recalls being scared, choking, and feeling like she was suffocating when Newman forced her to perform oral sex,” the lawsuit alleges. “Newman told Plaintiff that if she didn’t do such acts or said anything to anyone she would not get to go home.”
Doe’s lawsuit further alleges that despite numerous reports about Newman’s misconduct with children dating back to 1999, he remained employed and was promoted by the defendants until 2009, when he confessed to crimes against children. Newman was found guilty of molesting at least 57 victims while he was a counselor at Kanakuk Kamps. He was also given two life sentences plus 30 years for abusing six boys at the Christian camp. Last October he was denied parole.
Defendant Joe White, president of Kanakuk Kamps, which has welcomed more than 450,000 campers since 1926, was sued in 2015 for being aware of Newman’s abuse.
One of Newman’s victims, Trey Carlock, died by suicide just before his 29th birthday in 2019 after signing a non-disclosure agreement to settle a child sex abuse claim against Kanakuk Kamps. Texas House Bill 748, also known as Trey’s Law, which will protect child sex abuse survivors from nondisclosure agreements if it’s eventually signed into law, was named in his honor.
In a statement shared with The Christian Post by her attorneys, Doe, whose memory of the alleged sexual abuse was repressed until late 2024, said she has finally found her voice and is now speaking up for her childhood self.
“Immediately upon arrival at camp, I felt homesick, vulnerable, and afraid. Pete Newman took advantage of that, and I endured unspeakable things,” she said. “Now that I’ve found my voice, I am speaking out for my nine-year-old self and others who have been harmed by the negligence of Kanakuk,” the lawsuit states.
Doe’s lawsuit is seeking damages for negligent retention, negligent supervision, negligent infliction of emotional distress and vicarious liability for sexual battery.
“Kanakuk had a responsibility to prioritize the protection of their campers over maintaining the employment of a serial sex offender,” Martens, one of Doe’s attorneys, noted in a statement provided to CP. “Instead, Kanakuk disregarded reports and failed to protect children in its care, including Jane Doe, a vulnerable nine-year-old girl.”
Elizabeth Phillips, a certified crime victim advocate and spokesperson for Facts About Kanakuk which chronicles the history of abuse at the Christian camp, praised Jane Doe for stepping forward.
“We applaud this brave woman for coming forward publicly to hold Kanakuk accountable for Newman’s crimes against her and countless other boys and girls,” Phillips said. “Her story will help so many others to finally feel seen, heard and believed.”
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