Last week @NancyAFrench and I published a comprehensive report detailing how a huge Christian camp enabled a superpredator named Pete Newman. This week, I describe how it tried to silence a victim who wanted to tell his story (thread): frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/kanakuk-kamp…
The camp claims it has worked cooperatively with the "overwhelming majority" of victims. But that qualification is important. When one victim (and family) balked at signing a non-disparagement agreement. They received a legal threat (/2):
When the parties still failed to agree on the terms of a non-disparagement agreement, the camp twice sought a court order to force them to sign. It even sought to fine the family more than $26,000. The camp failed (/3):
But the fight took its toll on the victim's family. As one parent told me, Kanakuk “beat us down emotionally, mentally, and spiritually with intense pressure to sign the NDA.” The camp’s efforts, she said, “left us crippled by fear and pure exhaustion" (/4):
Moreover, the camp took issue with our claim that it was on notice that Newman was dangerous. Yet we have receipts. The camp CEO testified under oath he knew the Newman engaged in inappropriate nude activities yet did not fire him (/5):
In 2003, the camp issued a disciplinary warning to the Newman. Look at the first four questions. What were they concerned about? (/6):
In 2008, the camp CEO Joe White even laughed when the superpredator bragged about all the time he was spending in hot tubs with campers, but not everyone was so amused (/7):
In 2009, when Newman was finally stopped, emails came in from anguished parents and others detailing how they tried to warn the camp. Here's one example (/8):
Here's another example (/9):
And another (/10):
What should happen? The camp should release victims from nondisclosure agreements (including confidential settlements and nondisparagement agreements), commission an independent investigation, release the results, and hold leaders accountable according to its conclusions. /end
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