Sex abuse victim sues Kanakuk, claiming lies influenced 2010 settlement

A now-27-year-old man who was sexually abused as a child at Kanakuk Kamps in Branson is suing the Christian summer camp, claiming Kanakuk leadership lied to him and his parents about their knowledge of other sexual abuse allegations involving disgraced counselor Peter D. Newman.

Logan Yandell, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, filed the lawsuit Friday in Taney County court against Kanakuk Ministries, Kanakuk CEO Joe White, Kanakuk Heritage Inc. and Westchester Fire Insurance Company.

Yandell and his parents reached a civil settlement with Kanakuk in 2010 regarding abuse Yandell suffered at the hands of Newman, who is now in prison on two life sentences for sexually abusing multiple children at the evangelical summer camp. As part of that settlement, the Yandells signed a non-disclosure agreement.

In Friday's lawsuit, the family claims they only agreed to the settlement terms because Kanakuk leadership lied about having no prior knowledge of Newman's sexual exploitation of children.

Yandell's attorneys say the family became aware in December 2021 — thanks to reporting published in conservative online news outlet The Dispatch — that Newman's direct supervisor, Will Cunningham, had recommended Newman be fired in 2003 based on multiple reports of child sexual abuse, but White overruled the recommendation and later promoted Newman to camp director. Yandell was sexually abused as a teenager while attending the summer camp and other activities between 2005 and 2008.

An affidavit from Cunningham, swearing that he recommended Newman be fired because of a pattern of sexually abusing children, is included as part of Friday's lawsuit filings.

The lawsuit says that because of these substantial facts coming to light after Yandell's original settlement, Yandell is entitled to further damages due to Kanakuk's fraud.

"Kanakuk actively concealed what they knew about the sexual abuse being perpetrated by Pete Newman and induced victims and survivors into settlements and NDAs," said Robert Thrasher, one of Yandell's attorneys, in a news release. "The settlements inhibit victims and their families from sharing their stories and as a result, hinder their recovery process. This lawsuit is being filed to hold Kanakuk accountable, and to give Logan and potentially other victims and survivors their voices back."

Extensive reporting on Kanakuk published in the News-Leader in May further described how Kanakuk leaders failed to act on knowledge of Newman's inappropriate sexual behavior, while detailing alleged sexual abuse by other former Kanakuk staff. Cunningham is quoted in the stories describing the actions Kanakuk leaders took — and did not take — after Newman admitted to being naked with children, years before being held accountable for his crimes.

Logan Yandell also is quoted in that May series, describing how he struggled with substance abuse and suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse.

Reed Martens, another one of Yandell's attorneys with the law firm Monsees and Mayer, said Yandell feels it is important to speak out against Kanakuk's handling of sexual abuse cases despite the 2010 non-disclosure agreement.

"I think that one of the most important parts of this for Logan is to be a representative of not only himself, his story and to get his voice back, but also to be a representative for all the other victims who were induced into these settlement agreements under pretty much false pretenses," Martens said.

Martens said Yandell is leading a successful life now but must still deal with the traumatic effects of being sexually abused as a child. Martens said with Friday's lawsuit, Yandell and his family are hoping to get justice.

"The only thing that the civil justice system provides to our clients, victims of sexual abuse like Logan, is monetary compensation," Martens said. "We believe under Missouri law that, although Logan is not suing to rescind the settlement agreement that he entered into in 2010, we do believe that Missouri law affords him an alternative recovery that would allow him to seek and recover potentially the full value of the damages that he was deprived of."

Martens declined to say how much money the Yandells were awarded as part of the 2010 settlement.

Martens also did not want to go into specifics on how Friday's lawsuit could impact settlements Kanakuk has reached over the years with other sexual abuse victims across the country.

"Our focus right now is on Logan's case," Martens said. "We know there are several hurdles that we will inevitably meet and we're just trying to take it one step at a time to see if we can get him back on the path toward full justice."

Branson camp and its leaders repeatedly have said they were unaware of Newman's crimes

Branson-based Kanakuk Kamps and its associated ministries are a multi-million-dollar global enterprise that includes the largest evangelical sports camp in the world. Since 1926, Kanakuk has hosted more than 500,000 campers and 50,000 staffers in Missouri and its many international locations.

Known as a charismatic director and ambassador for the camp prior to his 2009 arrest, Newman was charged with crimes involving six underage victims and admitted during sentencing to having "inappropriate activity with as many as 13 more campers," according to past News-Leader reporting. The prosecutor who oversaw the case later estimated the actual number of victims could be in the "hundreds."

Kanakuk leadership has consistently said it was not complicit in the sexual abuse perpetrated by Newman and Lee Bradberry (a Kanakuk counselor who pleaded guilty in 2013 to four sex-related charges involving campers at Kanakuk before he was fired in 2011). Kanakuk has said these men were fired and reported to law enforcement as soon as the abuse came to light.

Martens said evidence his group has uncovered disputes that claim.

"We think it's going to become pretty apparent from the petition that that wasn't true," Martens said. "We're all curious to see how Kanakuk plans on responding to the allegations that will be brought forward in this lawsuit."

Kanakuk issued the following statement on Friday after the lawsuit was filed:

"Kanakuk received this lawsuit only this morning, apparently after others had received copies of it. Our policy is not to comment on pending litigation. We will respond further if or when appropriate. In the meantime, we continue to pray for all who have been affected by Pete Newman's behavior."