Former Kanakuk Kamp Director Pete Newman pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree, three counts of statutory sodomy in the second degree, and three counts of enticement of a child. All of the crimes involved underage boys.
Judge Mark Orr ordered a pre-sentencing investigation and set Newman's sentencing for April 30 in Taney County Circuit Court.
Newman was sworn in and told the court he understood the consequences of pleading guilty and said he was doing so voluntarily.
The allegations against Newman were outlined in Taney Count court documents. From the Sheriff's Department's investigative report:
"Between 2005 and 2008, Pete Newman became a close friend of his by attending family dinners, sleepovers, bible studies, taking vacations together and writing letters. Pete would hold one-on-one sessions with (the boy) in Pete's hot tub (at Pete's residence) and would request they be naked. Pete would discuss life's struggles with (him) and talk about masturbation. Pete would explain that if (the boy) would masturbate with him in his hot tub then there would be no lust and therefore (the boy) would not be sinning."The boy told Roberts he and Newman masturbated together 10 times over a four-year period. The sex went further than masturbation with another teenager, according to the report.
After beginning with the masturbation sessions with the 13-year-old, the report said, "Pete started masturbating (the boy) and (the boy) would then masturbate Pete." That led to oral sex when the boy turned 15.
Newman allegedly used the hot tub trick on a 14-year-old, again resulting in mutual masturbation sessions.
When the Sheriff's Department began contacting former campers from other states, they heard more disturbing stories.
Parents from Tennessee told the deputy their son, who was 14 at the time, reported engaging in the same type of activity with Newman.
Roberts described Newman's tactics, saying Newman became close to boys aged 11 to 15, hung out with them, gained their parents' trust, then beginning slowly with the hot tub and leading to sexual experiences. Roberts referred to it as "the grooming process" used by sexual offenders.
Charges have also been filed against Newman in Durango, Colo. From the Durango Herald:
He is suspected of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust in La Plata County. He faces numerous charges in Missouri for allegedly sexually assaulting boys, and other states are considering similar charges. Newman was employed as a director with Kanakuk Kamps for about 10 years. The incident in La Plata County occurred in September 2008 at Kanakuk's K-Colorado campus near Vallecito. The local children's camp is now under new name and ownership. Kanakuk Kamps hosts a variety of Christian summer camps for boys and girls between ages 7 and 18. The Sheriff's Office declined to say whether the alleged victim in Colorado is a local resident. The agency is trying to determine whether there are more victims, said Investigator Sam Eggleston.Charges are also being considered against Newman in other states, according to published reports.
62 comments:
Randy, in your description of went on with these victims, you insinuate that all of them were victimized in the same manner. While some of them were, indeed, molested and forced to perform horrible acts, others were not. Some were "merely" (even though that is a serious crime) told to sit and watch him do things to himself.
Even that is horrific, but to put the info out there that causes readers to think that every victim was victimized in these most extreme ways is really misleading and not factual.
MY SON WAS A VICTIM, BUT WAS NOT SUBJECTED TO THE ACTS YOU DESCRIBE HERE (BY PULLING PHRASES "HERE AND THERE" FROM CHARGES AND PROBABLE CAUSE STATEMENTS). You need to be very careful here b/c victims and their families are following this very closely, and b/c they are on the inside of this, know way more than you do. And you have looped it all together, making it appear that each and every boy endured the full range of his crimes when they did not.
The public needs to know that this monster is exactly that: a monster.
But the public also needs clarification that not every victim was subjected to oral sex, acts of sodomy, etc. Randy, we appreciate you, but please, you have no idea how you are heaping more unfounded pain and shame onto kids who are already innocent, and very hurt.
Pete Newman is where he needs to be. We need to pray that this judge will give him the full extent of his penalty. He is dangerous, and if he gets out in 20-30 years, he'll be right back at it again. He is 34 now. Just think how many 54 year old or 64 year old perverts are out there destroying young children.
As one commenter has already said in another post, "Let the healing begin."
It's about time Pete...
What's the best guess on the duration of his sentence?
Does MO have mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines in place for these crimes?
Still breaks my heart that this is real. Let the healing begin for all of us. Katie and Riley, we are praying for you.
Pete,
You caused so much pain to so many people....your family did not deserve this. You should have "manned up" when this came out, but instead you have caused your own family incredible financial and emotional burden. You lied to them thru most of this until now they finally know. What you have done to these kids who trusted you is beyond comprehension. In the end God will deal with you but for now I hope you are locked away for a minimum of 50 years. Katie needs to wise up, divorce you and go home to her parents.
Here is a news link that talks of the events and sentencing. I certainly hope that he gets the lengthy end of the sentencing.
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201002191606/BREAKING01/100219033
From the sound of these admissions, he will most likely enjoy his time in the slammer.
4:17, that's exactly right. But, I'm sure his parents only know a tiny bit of his actions. He pleaded to 8 felony counts, when in fact there are scores and scores of victims....The prosecutor had SO MUCH MORE on him, but this was a Plea Deal so it's all his family actually knows for sure. How could they take any more??????????????????? They must be beyond devastated.
Only a monster could knowingly, deliberately put his loved ones in such a position, not to even mention his direct victims. An evil monster.
He needs to pay for the rest of his life. Afterall, he's sentenced all his loved ones, including Katie and Rylie, to a LIFETIME of sorrow and suffering. I personally don't see any justification for giving him less than the maximum sentence.
Let's pray that this judge will be just.
to 4:17, there was NO DEAL! He plead guilty to the charges filed. Yes there are more victims, but Jeff Merrel made it clear there was no deal on the table. Pete just finally did the right thing!
Maybe there was "no deal," but several charges had been dropped in order to get him to plead guilty. There could have been WAY MORE. The public needs to remember this, b/c the 8 counts he plead guilty to were just a small fraction of what he COULD have had to face in a trial. He knew it, too.
He got off way too easy. He should be glad. Hopefully, he'll get the full maximum penalty...171 years.
He still faces charges in Colorado in addition to the charges he plead guilty to in Missouri. After sentencing he will be extradited to Colorado where hopefully he will plead guilty their as well. It is my assumption he will do his jail time in Missouri as sentenced on April 30. What will happen in Colorado still remains to be seen.
...oops..."there"
Hey 9:19 why don't you give a little grace to 9;18 for the little grammar mishap.....I hate when bloggers do this....you know they meant - can easily happen to anyone- why point it out and make them feel bad.?....ridiculous.....
Does anyone know how Katie and Riley are? Are they still married?
katie and riley are doing ok...katie told riley that her daddy was in a time out for a long time for something he did that was really wrong. I can't imagine having to have that conversation. What pete did was wrong and my family was directly involved; however, pete's punishment will be horrible. We just want healing for everyone involved....pete and his family and all the kids and their family involved.
11:42...thanks for having my back...but, actually it was me correcting myself!! I posted at 9:18 and then immediately again correcting my own mistake!
To the first blogger on this page, I can't help but comment. A lot of us who read these reports/blogs are parents of victims and it is quite obvious that we all have different feelings than the next. We all have anger, but some of us are trying to show some grace. I find it interesting that you are so worried about what victims might be reading, but not worried at all about what Katie or the Newman brothers or parents might be reading. Perhaps none of them are looking at this, but what if they are---I just feel like it's time to stop the angry comments. It has been questioned somewhere else, if Pete really is a child of God....well I can tell you that in my faith, Yes I believe he is a child of God. My children would also agree, since he is the one who led them to Jesus. This takes nothing away from the fact that he is guilty and punishible for his crime, but to say he doesn't know the Lord goes against everything I know to be true in my faith. It isn't up to us to know...Jesus died for our sins, every sin, including Pete's and everything in me, tells me that by the Grace of God we could all be in heaven together, including Pete, someday.
To the 8:37 commenter:
Not sure which comment you were addressing, but I don't think there is a victim, or a family member of a victim, or anyone in the Kanakuk family, or anyone in the prosecutor's office WHO DOES NOT GRIEVE FOR THE NEWMAN FAMILY. Everyone knows they are the finest people and no one faults them in any way. Perhaps some find it difficult to understand how they could have stood by him as he lied, or how they continued to drain their finances to bail out a guilty liar, or etc.........but in the end, they love him and that is natural. They now know just a WEE BIT of what he has done. They'll never know all of it. It's just too extensive for the mind to comprehend.
But we all pray for them, and hurt for them in this. They must be enduring the most intense pain and all our hearts break for them.
As to whether Pete was a child of God...that depends on what you mean. Did he know Him as his personal savior? Only God knows for sure. But, when you are saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your heart, convicting you of sin. An occasional sin happens to us daily. But for those of us WHO REALLY KNOW KNOW KNOW Jesus, it would be impossible for us to plot out this deliberate, intentional, mode of seducing and molesting numerous children, even if we did have some sort of "illness" (which is another excuse). God's people just don't repeatedly commit such blasphemous debauchery. It just defies the very definition of a changed heart.
In the end, we can debate and debate. The One who knows is the Ancient of Days, seeing the past and the future. It's in His Hands alone. We can all take rest in that.
Newman family: If you ARE reading this, we do not blame you and we pray daily for your healing. Our hearts are broken along with yours. Even those of us who are victims--we don't blame you for our suffering.
I am so sad reading all of these comments. In a way I feel guilty reading them as it is not my battle but Pete's battle with the devil that we are all discussing.
I worked at Kanakuk for two years and worked closely with Pete. After all of this came to the surface, I was extremely hurt and felt so deceived and disgusted and questioned his every intention at camp. In response to these feelings, I did a Beth Moore Bible study about sin and how it hurts us and those around us. One huge thing that I learned is that all sin is the same. So for example of the sin Pete committed is just the same as me telling a white lie, talking behind someone's back or gossiping about others. As much as I hate to say this, I am caught up in those sins like gossiping more often than I would like to be. So I have sinned over the years just as much as Pete. God does not have a gauge for how how bad sins are. He sees them all the same. As hard as that is to understand, that is what God's word says and I believe it to be true.
So to say that God's people don't sin repeatedly in this matter is not true at all. If we look at our lives we would be just as guilty, just in a different way. In the Bible it says that we have to remove the plank out of our own eye before trying to get a splinter from someone else's eye.
I hate this situation as much of the rest of you. I just pray that God works in the mighty way I know He can. I want Pete to overcome this battle with the devil and fall back into the loving and forgiving arms of God that I felt so many times. I also pray that Katie and Riley and all the families and people involved to feel peace and safe in God's arms. These are things I pray for frequently and things that I know my God can do with no problem.
I would HIGHLY recommend the Beth Moore Bible study to everyone, it truly helped me feel healing from all of this and focus on things that God would want me focussing on, which is me not others. The study is called When Godly People Do Ungodly Things. I am praying for peace for all of you.
to 8:37 and 12:55...Thank you. I see the light of a forgiving God shining through you both. We have no reason to not think that Pete Newman can and will repent his sins. It is between him and our father in heaven. The rest of us have personal choices to make as to whether we forgive him for ourselves, but in the end it's only the Lord's forgiveness that he must desire. Perhaps in time Pete will make efforts to contact his vicitims and ask for forgivness. But it is helpful to see comments like these 2 to let us realize that some people have moved forward and started healing. When God sent his son to the cross, it was for everyone of us--we can't pick and choose who gets to be redeemed. We must "trust in the Lord with all our Heart, and lean not on our own understanding!"
With all due respect, all sin is NOT the same!! Yes, of course, we all sin as humans and can be redeemed by the sacrifice of our creator. I agree that all sins separate us from Christ, but you cannot for a minute believe that all sin has the same effects. Gossip can be hurtful, yes...but to imply that it is the same as sodomy committed against children is outrageous!! It is clear that your child is not a victim in this tragedy. You must read the totality of scripture to understand and comment fully on the effects of this ONGOING, sinful, WAY OF LIFE. I John 3 is very clear that a believer will not walk in sin as a WAY OF LIFE. Whether not Pete is/was a believer is God's deal...but please don't make cavalier comments that all sin is the same...it is NOT!!!!
I totally agree that God views all sin as sin...but not all sin has the same effects or long term pain and consequences as others. Child sexual abuse has long lasting effects on an individual. HIs victims are countless. The extent of his sinful behavior is beyond comprehension. Yes we are all sinners...but these poor victims will deal with long lasting effects of child sexual abuse - in some cases - for their whole lives. Please Please don't lump all sin together. Yes - we are all sinners - everyday - but this type of sin - the plotting, manipulating and sexual abuse of children is NOT the same.
I work with adult survivors of CSA and many have been in therapy throughout their whole lives dealing with the ramifications - pain, anger, shame and guilt over the terrible actions of another ( or many) individuals - THROUGH NO FAULT of their own. They are children! Pete deserves his punishment and I believe God will be just in that. Pray for the victims and families to get good therapy and counseling. Through God's grace and healing they will be restored, renewed and whole again. He is a good God and will be faithful in his promises for these victims. Please people, make a commitment to pray daily for these young boys.
One note of caution to many that have written in here - mostly victims - or victim families. I would not suggest that a young teenage victim/boy read these blogs. The postings are really for adult readers and will do nothing to help children in the process of healing. Shielding your child from some of this "talk" is really needed at this time. Don't need to add additional confusion to them at this point.
3:00 is right on with the 1 John 3 scripture. Please read this and you will find clarity.
Personally, I have lost all respect for the Newman family and for Katie. I think it is disgusting that they would offer up THOUSANDS of dollars for his bond. How can they sleep at night knowing they have bailed out a man who has SODOMIZED an 11 year old child. I don't care if he is their son, brother, husband, etc. They can still love him and offer support, but there is NO justification for them putting up money that they probably don't even have to free him temporarily. They should be offering that money to pay for the YEARS of countless therapy that all of these boys and their lives. I pray katie reads this....I want to know where she was night after night while her husband was receiving oral sex from 12 year olds and masturbating with kids in their hot tub? Were you in a coma Katie ???? This is something I can not quit thinking about. How could she have not known that something was going on or did she know ? I am very bothered by this and especially by the fact that this so called Christian family is supporting Pete by paying his bond. They will all have to answer for that.
Love is blind.
to 9:16... Are you aware that Pete is now in Jail and has been for weeks and will be heading to prison in April.
Do you feel better now that you have chastized Katie? You are a big mean spirited person. I am willing to guess that you are not a victims family member. But I am, and I am ashamed of your comments. You might want to look for some therapy to deal with all of the hate you are obviously burdened with.
1:16, they ask a logical question.
What person misses all that?
How could she not think that was wierd--all the boys all the time?
From the sounds of comments left here, it's apparent that fraternity bros. of his certainly saw signs a long time ago. Wasn't his twin bro. there with him at Auburn when people were suspicious?
Doesn't a twin know their twin better than anyone else? How did he miss this? Or did he?
Sorry, but all these questions are good ones. It's just hard to hear, when these are such nice people.
There were red flags everywhere, but people did not want to acknowledge them b/c they wanted to believe what they wanted to believe.
.
She was a gatekeeper of sorts, herself. She ignored behavior that was WWWWWAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY
abnormal.
Pete was wearing his wedding band last Thursday when he plead guilty. Guess she's still ignoring his behavior.
I think there are several issues gong on here that I think have been mentioned...often times though peoples tones on these message boards can get emotional due to the nature of this subject.
1. The first thing Pete did was lawyer up. What he should have done was sit down and come clean write out each offense and allow justice to take its course.That would have been biblical. Who knows how much money he's spent on lawyering up and trying to avoid the consequences of his behavior.
2. His brother should not be handling the discipline side of this issue. There needs to be an objective third party handling this and not ones brother and family.
3. All the money the family is spending on Pete should be going to the victims he abused. Pete from the get go has showed that he's concerned about one person and one person only and that's him.
I think if he truly is a Christian than it should affect how he handles this process. And it hasn't
4. I know enough about this situation to know that Katie has been completely deceived. She has minimized this offense all the way through this process. If she really enters the pain of this situation it would shatter her world. The last 10 years of her life would be a lie and so would her marriage (so her living in non reality should make alot of sense to those connected to this situation). Not that its right but it makes sense.
Hopefully this addresses some of the issues that are at hand. We all need to pray for justice grace and for his wife and child to be able to rebuild their lives.
First off,
Lets be realistic for a moment. If he had not "lawyer-ed" and became accused of more than the actions he admitted, would that be justice? I don't think there is any problem with him demanding his right a lawyer. There is certainly nothing Biblical about not being allowed certain rights. As for bail money, they get that money back. Bail is saying that you'll come back to court, thats all.
I realize he pleaded guilty and I recognize that to do that obviously means to accept guilt, but I cannot come to grips with idea of justice this board views. He has obviously hurt many people. He has obviously caused pain beyond anything that can be understood. He has done a wicked number against the beauty of Jesus's sacrifice. However, we fail to truly see the beauty of that sacrifice by allowing ourselves to become encapsulated by our skewed concept of justice. I see nothing wrong with putting him in prison. I see nothing wrong with forcing him to bear the pain he has caused others. I recognize he misused his position of authority in an exploitative manner. But, we are not being just convicting this man for life, or for even 20 years or even 15 years. There is not justice in that. There is nothing just about that requirement of tenure. Depriving a man of 10 years of his life and then subjecting him to public shame for the remainder of that seems justice enough.
We are failures in our adventure towards Christ if we respond to the failures of our brothers and sisters with excommunication and rejection. We may be consumed with rage for this slap in the face to our beliefs, but we must not lose the love of Christ in the process, for that is the true power of Pete's mistake. If we allow ourselves to be unhinged from the grace of God for the sake human "justice" we will fall short every time.
Be cautious when removing the speck from your brothers eye (although, in this scenario, a log would be more appropriate).
11:18, this has nothing to do with unforgiveness or removing another's speck. Demanding his justice is not "not trusting God."
If he were to get out in your suggested 10 years, how about you send your little young children to live with him the day he comes out of prison, without oversight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay? How about that. Don't judge him. Just trust him. Afterall, he's done his 10 years. That must mean the hard-wiring in his sick, twisted mind is completely normal now. He's no more a con-artist. He no more craves to sodomize your little child.
Crazy. You are completely crazy.
To the poster who suggested Pete get a ten year sentence.
1. If given a ten year sentence, Pete would be elgible for parole in five years.
2. If MO gave Pete only a ten year sentence, you know Coloroado would be prosecuting him. And, if their sentence wasn't severe enough, other states would come in.
3. The issue isn't forgiveness...it's civil justice that all Christians also come under.
To the poster at 11:18...you talk about not judging but loving and yet you judge all of us that want Pete to be in prison for the heinous crimes he's committed against children. How does wanting him to pay for the crimes he's committed equate to us not having grace? You have no idea what you're talking about. If he had sodomized your son would you want him out in 5 years? He is a sick man that manipulated and fooled all of us and is apparently still fooling you. Perhaps the most loving thing is a long prison sentence for him to keep him from hurting more children. How trite to use the speck/log illustration in this case...you are trivializing the enormity of what has happened. You need to have a broader view of scripture and the role mercy, grace, love AND justice play in this situation.
11:18, I am not "unhinged from the Grace of God" b/c I expect justice here. That's a ridiculous notion. You MUST be a Newman, because there is not another human being on the planet who thinks this man should ever spend a single day outside prison. He is a rotten, evil person....prowling about seeking whom he man devour next. If he gets out, I hope it's YOU!
*seeking whom he MAY devour...sorry...
The point is: he is evil....evil needs to be dealt with. And society needs to be protected from pure evil
I can only speak for myself when I say that I was not expecting to feel the emotions I felt sitting in that courtroom seeing Pete for the first time since all this happened. I have gone from loving him, to hating him, to having the thoughts of wanting to hurt him, to weeping for him at the thought of what he has done to himself and so many. Believe me when I say I was not expecting to wake at 3:00am to pray for him the morning after his plea. I have been so angry at him, but the reality is that he has ruined his life! In feeling this pain for he and his family I absolutely believe he needs to be in prison for the rest of his life. These pedophiles cannot be rehabilitated. Read the statistics! He still has an opportunity to turn his life around, but let it be in jail where he is not a threat to any more children. The comment from 11:18 is the reason Christians have a label of being idiots. There are a lot of us Christians who have been personally devastated by Pete's horrible, deceitful, perverted ways, but that doesn't mean we forgive and forget! There is such a thing as sowing and reaping. We teach our kids about the consequences to our actions, and in this case the consequences will be hopefully many, many years in prison. Remember 11:18, he did NOT turn himself in, HE GOT CAUGHT!!!! He did not go to someone to come clean with his struggles, HE GOT CAUGHT!!!!! Right before the charges were filed, HE CALLED VICTIMS TO REMIND THEM NOT TO TALK!!!! That is not the actions of someone who is remorseful for his actions, it is a sign of someone looking after HIMSELF!!!!!! IT'S CALLED NARCISSISM!!!!!
What is the general consensus about Katie? I find her the most intriguing character of all. She may be sweet and oblivious but she is a smart girl. How is she being counselled to think about the commitment of marriage? I can't imagine a husband committing a worse kind of adultery, can you?!
I remember hearing a sermon about personal sin once that talked about how sometimes "You don't KNOW, but you know." Follow me here ... The example used was that when Patton's armies went to liberate the concentration camps and were beyond horrified at what they saw, they forced ALL local townspeople to come out and help dig proper graves for the multitude of bodies. The whole point was that these citizens said HONESTLY that they had no idea what was happening in the camps, but Patton's point was that in their sub-conscience they KNEW.
This is how I instinctively feel about Katie. She might not have KNOWN but she had to know! Know something was amiss, anyway. Where was she for the past ten years? Her family definitely has the discernment of the Holy Spirit ... did they ever feel pinpricks in their spirits? Maybe not but this is what this case makes me wonder about most of all ...
to 7:41. You state "you must be a newman because there is not another person on the planet who thinks he should spend a day out of prison." Do you honestly think you know and can speak for everyone on the planet. NO You cannot! You don't hold the rights to speak for all victims. Be careful what you say...some of us have different views than you. Some of us have forgiven and feel like after time in prison, Pete can rejoin society. That is my right---to my own opinion. Of course lot's of people don't agree. Doesn't matter, we are not judges in the court of law. They are the only opinions who end up mattering...that and the father we all must answer to in heaven. Does all the GOOD that Pete did get wiped out because of his evil? WEll the bible tells us NO it doesn't get wiped out. And please don't quote me scripture, it just gets old and I have a bible that I read without your help anyway. sorry, but there is just too much hate being written on here, and it is getting to me.
To 9:36:
It is hard for many to appreciate any of the "good" Newman did when it was for the purpose of getting close to little boys so he could molest them.
And, if you aren't angered by a child molester, who does anger you? Is there a worse offense?
Just because we want justice does not mean we hate anyone. I find it difficult to believe that the person that thinks Pete can be rehabilitated is a victim or parent of a victim. I am curious what scripture you are reading that says Pete's good is not wiped out with his bad. It is not a scale that you can balance. The truth that Pete preached is not Pete's truth, it is God's, so i believe that it impacted many lives for the good, but not because of Pete. Pete orchestrated his every move to get to boys and molest them. We are not unforgiving because we want Pete to be held accountable for what he has done. Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting and it certainly doesn't mean that Pete will be safe to be out in society. I pray Judge Orr considers everything when he sentences Pete, not the least of which is keeping him from doing this again and snowing EVERYBODY he knew.
To 7:41...I respect your view about Pete. However, a couple of points.
1. You can't have it both ways. You told us the Bible says his good is not wiped out by his evil actions. Then, you tell us not to quote you Scripture. You initiated the case from Scripture. So, you can only expect people to correct you WITH Scripture if they see you are wrong. We can't know Pete's motives. Only God does (as Paul wrote to the Corinthians). However, when there is a pattern (and record) of Pete's behavior over a ten year span (and possibly also in his Auburn days) then you have to at least suspect his motives for all the "good" he did. The question is, does God reward good actions based on bad motives?
2. Your views would be more helpful on the "forgiving" part (I'm assuming you are also the poster at 9:18) if you were a victim's family member, or at least, if you knew one of the victims. One thing you don't come across as is a victim in any way. Neither am I. However, I do know the Newmans as well as families of victims.
9:22, you raise a very good question. I know a lot of people in the Kanakuk family and they are just as curious. They can not fathom her standing by him...IF she is. It's said Pete's wearing his wedding band. Is she? Does anybody know?
If she stands by him, it certainly heaps more salt into the many many wounds left by her "husband."
I can't speak for her, but if I found myself in her shoes, I'd be asking many many questions about how to understand Pete. But also asking questions about myself and how I suppressed all these warning signs that I should have paid attention to. I'd need to figure out how I did that in order to live with myself, or ever look any of the Kanakuk family in the eye again. The illustration given re: Patten is a good one and raises a smart question.
I can assure you of one thing: my spouse would not get away with what Pete did right under my nose.
I am the commenter at 7:41, but NOT the commenter at 9:18......NOT the same commenter.
9:18??
CORRECTION. I am the one who thought the poster at 7:41 was the same as the poster at "9:18."
However, I mistakenly put down 9:18 instead of 11:18. Sorry for the confusion I caused.
Okay, so here goes. I am a parent of one of the victims. I have been reading through these posts this afternoon and I continue to struggle with where I stand on all of these issues. I see so many good points being made and I see sadness, anger, forgiveness but mostly I see people needing to share their feelings. I think that is a good thing. It has been a difficult road for me and my family. A person we loved and trusted did a horrible thing to our son. My son now sees a therapist. I never thought I would say those words. I don't have a problem with people having therapists, but never thought I'd have to send my well adjusted, not a care in the world teenager to get therapy for being molested by a family friend. Regardless of how I felt about Pete, feel about Pete now, or eventually as time goes by will feel about Pete, this has now become our story. I find comfort knowing that no matter what God has his hand on all us, including the victims/families,Kankauk, Katie, the Newmans and Pete himself. I do pray for all of the above. If Pete gets a long sentence, then I hope that he will be a minister to other prisoners, I really do. If he gets a lighter sentence, then I pray that the people around him will do all they can to see to it that he is never in a position to harm children. But I do know, that it's not in my hands and I can't control what happens to Pete. I can just love my son and do what is best for HIM and our family.
Lastly, i do want to address some of the things being written about katie. I don't blame her. A lot of us thought he didn't give her enough attention, but Pete was Pete and katie seemed to do fine with their way of life. She doesn't deserve to be dragged through this (here). I sometimes think of her like the passenger of a car where someone is texting and they wreck the car. The passenger might have known it wasn't a good idea for the driver to text but they were not driving or in control of the vehicle. Katie often took the back seat to Pete and his time with boys but she isn't to blame for this. I don't blame anyone other than Pete, himself. I feel like she is standing by him (not with him)through the end. Once he is in prison, she and her daughter will start a new life. Let's hope the best for her.
Thanks for all your comments. Some are hard to read, but it's good to see what people are thinking. :)
Anyone who's been close to him, from family to Kankuk leadership, needs to be investigated.
Did they look the other way?
Did they provide opportunity?
Did they cover up prior inproprieties?
Did they suspect something, but failed to report?
Did they fail to enforce rules?
And worse, WHAT ARE THEY COVERING UP NOW???
I think unless this ends up getting some major media attention alot of things end up getting covered up. Overall I see Kanakuk more passively responsible than actively responsible.
I don't believe that they maliciously allowed children to be abused on their watch but I believe they could have done a great deal to have more safeguards in place and allowing someone like to Pete to gain such power.
Reading all these message boards and through I know first hand its clear there were MANY warning signs that something was majorly awry in this situation.
I pray for justice for Pete but also for God to be merciful to him if he comes clean and actually hits a place of total brokenness.
God can be merciful to him if he becomes broken. But God and God alone will only know for sure.
As responsible citizens, it is our responsibility to society and to our own children to be sure we protect them from people like Pete Newman. He is NOT a safe person, nor ever will be. He can not be rehabilitated. Read the research.
Aside from being a perverted pedophile, this guy is a deceptive, pathological, lying sociopath. That's dangerous. Society needs to be protected from him. He should never be trusted again. God, ALONE, needs to deal with him...behind bars.
Anyone who would knowingly risk losing his family, child, freedom, reputation, job, relationships, security, future, NOT TO MENTION knowingly harm these NUMEROUS INNOCENT CHILDREN in this sick way....Well, this person has a deep hard-wired evil that can not be reversed. You don't risk all that to get your jollies unless you are deeply disturbed and evil. Obviously, those things don't mean to him what they mean to normal people. They're just not valuable to him, or he would never have done them.
If ANY "expert" wants to try and argue that he is sick and couldn't help himself, well think about this:
He didn't do it when people were looking.
He didn't do it on stage.
He didn't do it to boys with their parents in the room.
He didn't do it with Katie watching.
He didn't invite Joe White to his molesting sessions.
What I am saying is that he CONTROLLED HIMSELF WHEN HE HAD TO....
THerefore, he COULD HELP HIMSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clearly, this evil, sick man has caused lots of pain. It is sad to think that places like summer camps can be magnets for such sickos. I guess the only true way to protect our children is to not send them to any summer camp? What about lawsuits from the victims? I will speculate that eventually, this shuts this camp down b/c probably there is some culpability w/ other employees...someone should have known that this guy had exclusive access to be alone w/ young boys...this should come out if a full investigation is done on who knew what and who did not follow up on a "hunch". Any explanation for how this went on for 10 years unreported? Did not one victim tell his parents sooner than this past year? Something is amiss here...not adding up.
Pete's victims have been given a life sentence..he should be given the same.
I cannot being to understand how anyone can accuse Katie or any of Pete's family in all of this?! You are ignorant, insensitive, and clueless! He fooled everybody, Karie included. She was married to a man she believed followed God with his whole life. Of course anything that seemed off would be brushed aside. Plus, she knew him for the entire time at college and on. Since his abusing boys started back then, there would be no change in his behavior, nothing to alert her to something going on. She trusted her husband. If you do not know Katie or the Newmans personally, then you sound ignorant in what you say. You go off on your emotions and forget there are real victims and family and friends involved - REAL LIVES!
I cannot being to understand how anyone can accuse Katie or any of Pete's family in all of this?! You are ignorant, insensitive, and clueless! He fooled everybody, Karie included. She was married to a man she believed followed God with his whole life. Of course anything that seemed off would be brushed aside. Plus, she knew him for the entire time at college and on. Since his abusing boys started back then, there would be no change in his behavior, nothing to alert her to something going on. She trusted her husband. If you do not know Katie or the Newmans personally, then you sound ignorant in what you say. You go off on your emotions and forget there are real victims and family and friends involved - REAL LIVES!
Just FYI, the Newmans had a fireman's pole in their home in Branson.
I'm not saying Katie knew, but come ON!
Oh if we could all sit in each other's presence and say these things out loud. The blaming and what looks like YELLING (in all caps) makes those who care about this situation feel compelled to greater emotions, anger, and rage. I have about a billion things to say myself as I read through. I can't help but feel that this may just be a breeding ground of ill feelings that our enemy, satan, is using to cause pain.
I worked under Pete at Kamp for 3 years. My brother was mentored by him in his years a K-kountry. My life is tainted by things I can't change. The memories I think back on, the lessons I learned....he'll be lurking in them forever. But I am healing by taking time to talk to those I spent time with at Kamp. I pray for healing and restoration for all you! I've seen wounds healed that I felt would never become anything but pain. Christ can heal the hearts of these children in time. I will continue to pray.
I can't explain what all has happened to me tonight to lead me to this conclusion but God has led me to things so that I am now convinced that something went on between Pete and my son that my son has not told usabout but instead has been self medicating with drugs. I will explore this further before making any accusations and I know he has plead guilty and has probably been sentenced, but does anyone know, if this is the case, who I should talk to regarding this?
No not all sin is the same. Sexually molesting children destoys their lives. You all are too early in this to understand the true devastation Newman has done. Most victims don't fall apart until in their 40s when their minds can no longer handle what happened to them. Wishing for healing for Newman?? There is no known successful treatment for sex offenders. They offend again and again forever. There is very limited peace for sex abuse victims. White and others should also be prosecuted. They were complicit. Other counselors were complicit. Yes God views us as sinners but your suggestion of Beth Moore Bible study to diminish the devastation of sexual abuse against children only allows it to happen again.
You all have not mentioned one extremely important detail- who abused Pete Newman. All pedophiles were abused themselves and the most likely culprits are in the Newman family. Undoubtedly his twin knows.
To 4:26: If Pete is ever a free man again, he will always be in a position to molest again. And he will certainly do that. Every pedophile re-offends. Every single one. Pete will receive no rehabilitation in prison because there is no rehabilitation for child molesters. And please watch these boys/men that were abused very closely. They do ok for many years and then the destructive behavior and suicides begin in their 40s en masse. Just read about the Catholic church sex abuse scandal.
4:17 no you are the ignorant one. Pete was molested himself and people in his family know. Katie had a husband naked around young boys all the time, that alone is abuse. Just because you're in denial, does not mean you are innocent. Possibly that's even worse.
10:54. Your son may not be able to face what happened to him for many years. Please find a good counselor. Then sue White.
Wow. You are minimizing the trauma experienced by kids based on what you judge to be the severity of his acts. Not every child reacts the same and one who "only" watched may suffer the same anguish as one who was physically harmed. You are come acriss as someone unable to confront your child's victimization and desperate to put your head in the sand about what happened to your child. As children or adults our kids often try to allay our concerns as parents. You kid may be telling you what you want to hear because they can tell what you want to hear is what happened to them was no big deal. Touched or watching its all a big deal. There's no reason to categorize them differently.
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