A Henderson, Tennessee, man has filed a lawsuit against the operators of a Christian Camp ten years after signing a confidential settlement with its operators, as reported by the Associated Press. Named in the lawsuit are the operators of the camp, including Kanakuk Ministries, Kanakuk CEO Joe White, Kanakuk Heritage Inc., Westchester Fire Insurance Company, and a John Doe.

Between 2005 and 2008, now 27-year-old Logan Yandell was a camper at the faith-based Kanakuk Camps located in Branson, Missouri. While at the camp, Yandell suffered abuse at the hands of then-camp counselor Peter Newman. Today, Newman is serving two life sentences plus 30 years after being found guilty of sexually abusing multiple children at the camp.

According to Yandell’s lawsuit, the number of victims is potentially in the hundreds. Lawyers representing Yandell detail that it is possible additional victims could come out with similar allegations against the camp officials.

In his new lawsuit, Yandell argues that at the time of the settlement, the operators of the camp lied to Yandell and his family about their knowledge of Newman's abuse of camp goers.

In 2010, Yandell and his family entered into a confidential settlement agreement with the operators of the camp. As part of the settlement agreement, Yandell and his family also signed a non-disclosure contract. In this new lawsuit, Yandell argues that he and his family were lied to about the circumstances of a settlement when they entered into it.

Yandell’s father Greg Yandell shared with local outlet WSMV, “Had I known that they were covering up Logan’s mentor there at camp,” explained Greg Yandell. “Covering up that he played naked with children, he swam naked with children, he played basketball naked with children, he slept one-on-one with children that weren’t his own...If I had known that, there’s no possible way I would have settled.”

The lawsuit comes after the conservative news outlet, The Dispatch, reported in December 2021 that Newman’s supervisor Will Cunningham had made a recommendation to camp operators that Newman be “fired” because of his reported child sexual abuse. Some of the allegations made in the recommendation included Newman conducting a number of “counseling” activities with campers while they were nude in hot tubs. The recommendation also detailed that Newman allegedly climbed into the beds of some of the camp goers.

At the time of the settlement, Yandell argues that the camp operators said they had no knowledge of Newman's abuse of children, a direct contradiction from The Dispatch’s report. In his recently filed lawsuit, Yandell details that if he and his family had known that officials at the camp had lied to them, they would not have entered the settlement agreement. Instead, his lawsuit argues that camp officials took advantage of his family.

Yandell’s attorney Brian Kent shares, “Knowing that the Yandells were really trying to deal with making sure their child is OK and getting him better, this was a clear effort by Joe White and Kanakuk to advise them this is something they should do. And they lied to them in order to get them to sign.”

Kanakuk camp officials have not responded to the recent lawsuit and instead shared a statement explaining, “We will respond further if or when appropriate,” adding, “In the meantime, we continue to pray for all who have been affected by Pete Newman’s behavior.”