Content Warning: This report describes frank allegations of sexual assault against a child, as described in court papers. In Missouri, those who suspect child abuse or neglect may call the state hotline provided by the Department of Social Services at 1-800-392-3738. For survivors who need support, call 1-800-656-HOPE or chat at online.rainn.org to reach advocates with RAINN, a large nationwide support organization.
Fifteen years after Newman's conviction and sentencing, a 26-year-old Jane Doe plaintiff has come forward seeking civil damages in Taney County courts — for abuse by Peter Newman she says she endured at age 9. She alleges her memories were repressed due to the trauma until late 2024, when she became able to question Newman's conduct and subsequently file suit.
The new civil lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages from Kanakuk Christian sports camp and its owner, Joe White. It's likely the first time that a female victim of convicted sex offender and former camp official Peter Newman has come forward publicly. Prosecutors have previously said Newman's victims may number in the "hundreds."
Advocates hailed the lawsuit, including Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, of Texas. Her brother Trey Carlock died by suicide in 2019 at age 28 after he was abused by Newman while a Kanakuk camper.
"I hope this case helps people wake up to the fact that Pete Newman's abuse of children for over a decade at Kanakuk has been very minimized," Phillips told Ozarks Public Radio on Thursday. "This victim coming forward is a watershed moment that Kanakuk has victims of girls, boys — it has been going on for far too long."
Phillips noted that "this case is within statute only because of the repressed memory loophole in Missouri." State law provides five years for alleged victims to file suits, once they recognize repressed memories. "Otherwise, this victim would not have been able to seek justice through the civil courts since this Jane Doe is 26 years old."
Phillips supports reforms that would allow greater access for victims to sue through civil courts, since many child sex abuse survivors find themselves unable to come to terms with their abuse until midlife or well beyond.
"No victim wants to have to file a civil lawsuit and go through that retraumatizing litigation process," Phillips said. "This Jane Doe is stepping forward boldly with her story in hopes that others feel seen and believed, and I hope there's justice at some point."
Details of the Jane Doe lawsuit filed this week against Kanakuk
The April 14 lawsuit by the Jane Doe plaintiff alleges that in 2008 she attended K-Kountry, one of Kanakuk's network of Christian sports camps in Missouri and elsewhere. The 99-year-old camp, reportedly costing $3,241 for a two-week session, is heavily attended by affluent Evangelical families from locales all over America, including Texas.
Doe and her lawyers report that when she got to K-Kountry, she was placed in a cabin with older girls, by mistake, rather than with girls in her own age group. Doe alleges she faced taunting and bullying from the girls because she felt homesick, and cried tears about it.
Jane Doe was soon introduced to Peter Newman. He had been promoted from camp counselor to K-Kountry director three years earlier. Prior to that promotion, Newman's supervisor had recommended his termination, according to court filings.
The new lawsuit alleges Newman "used his position to gain Plaintiff's trust and isolate her away from other campers."
The suit goes on to allege that "on multiple occasions," Newman touched Doe and forced her to perform oral sex acts. "Plaintiff recalls being scared, choking and feeling like she was suffocating," the lawsuit says.
Doe and her lawyers write that "Newman told Plaintiff that if she didn't do such acts or said anything to anyone she would not get to go home."
The suit alleges that Kanakuk and its owner, White, "did nothing" to supervise Newman's interactions with Doe or otherwise protect her, but White and other leaders knew that Newman held a position of trusted authority and confidence over Doe and other children at Kanakuk, due to his youth-pastor-type role.
Doe and her legal team also allege "The Kanakuk Defendants knew without question that Newman was a serial child molester by the time Newman first sexually abused Plaintiff in 2008 while at K-Kountry."
The suit alleges counts of negligent retention of Newman, negligent supervision of Newman, negligent infliction of emotional distress on the plaintiff, and sexual battery - vicarious liability against the Kanakuk defendants. Doe and her lawyers are seeking compensatory damages, plus court costs.
The lawsuit is just beginning to work its way through Branson-area courts. On Wednesday, Taney County Judge Jeffrey Merrell recused himself from the case, online court records show. Merrell previously served as Taney County prosecuting attorney and filed charges against Kanakuk back in 2009. "To avoid any appearance of conflict," Judge Merrell sent the case to the Missouri Supreme Court for reassignment.
On Thursday morning, Ozarks Public Radio reached out to Kanakuk officials for comment on the Jane Doe suit, using their approved marketing-department email account. The newsroom did not receieve an immediate response.
After a similar lawsuit was filed in summer 2024, the camp's marketing department said in a written statement that their policy "is not to comment on pending litigation" and that they "pray for all who have been affected by Pete Newman's behavior."
Reports of child sex abuse linked to Kanakuk camp go back decades
The Jane Doe lawsuit notes that camp leadership was alerted of sexual misconduct allegations by a parent back in 1999, and that two years later, a camp leader sent Newman a letter warning him to stop sleeping alone with children. Court papers across multiple proceedings have documented numerous instances in which parents alerted the camp of misconduct allegations. Camp officials also advised Newman on behavior that constituted "healthy ministry," intending to "make sure Pete never places himself in a compromising position that his integrity would be in question," in the words of the current lawsuit.
Meanwhile, sexual abuse allegations linked to Kanakuk, Newman and others have been thoroughly aired in news coverage, at least in recent years.
In 2021, conservative news website The Dispatch published an investigative report, accompanied by a series of reports in the Springfield News-Leader and USA Today the following year. Since then KSMU has followed the ongoing story at times, as well.
This spring, these issues regained national prominence when they were covered by The New York Times and Texas-based D Magazine, as anti-abuse advocates push state legislatures — including ones in Missouri and Texas — to ban nondisclosure agreements in child sex abuse lawsuits, which survivors say silence victims but protect abusers and any organizations that may have enabled them.
This week, Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican from Branson, reportedly said on the Missouri House floor, "I'm advocating for these victims to be able to have their voices heard after their innocense has been taken through the criminal actions of others," according to the Columbia Missourian.
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