8 April 24 - 30, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ers concerned about crime in the area. “We live with that black mark. People are hungry, and they need to be fed,” Arnold said. “Why can’t we get a quality grocery store in our neighborhood so that we can have broccoli, so that we can have peas, so that we can have fresh beans, so that we can have fresh meat that’s not mystery meat?” Huang also noted a growing socioeco- nomic challenge to food accessibility. In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, even families with incomes above 185% of the Federal Poverty Level — around $60,000 for a family of four — have increasingly strug- gled with food affordability. Huang said addressing underlying socio- economic disparities will be a key need for Dallas County in the coming months, but it’s something the county can’t address alone. Council member Gay Donnell Willis asked Huang what to tell residents looking to help promote food security. He answered that ad- vocacy on the federal level could be critical for ensuring Dallas County’s food access programs move forward. Already, some changes on the federal level could exacerbate Dallas County’s food access challenges. Last week, a Today.com report found a U.S. Department of Agricul- ture program that funds food bank purchas- ing is set to be slashed. A second program that purchases fresh produce for school lunches is also expected to take a hit. “Given the current climate of everything going on, really advocate and make sure there aren’t further cuts in these programs that we’re dealing with right now. I think that’s a real concern that we’re facing,” Huang said. ▼ SEX CRIMES CAMP CRIMINAL DALLAS WOMAN FILES SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUIT AGAINST PROMINENT CHRISTIAN SUMMER CAMP. BY EMMA RUBY A Dallas-area woman has sued Camp Kanakuk, a prominent Christian summer camp located in Branson, Missouri, for failing to protect her from a man known to sexually abuse children dur- ing her time as a camper. A lawsuit filed in Taney County, Mis- souri, last week identifies Doe as the first female victim of the serial child abuser Pete Newman, who was employed by Kanakuk through the 1990s and 2000s and was promoted to director of the camp K- Kountry, where Doe attended in 2008, de- spite camp leaders having knowledge of Newman’s improper relationships with minors. The petition claims Doe was nine years old when Newman “used his position to gain [Doe’s] trust and isolate her away from other campers” before sexually abus- ing Doe repeatedly. According to the filing, Newman “inap- propriately touched” Doe on multiple oc- casions and forced her to perform oral sex on him. The lawsuit claims Newman told Doe, who is described as being “scared” and “homesick” at the time she was at camp, that if she failed to perform the sex- ual acts or told anyone about what was happening, “she would not get to go home.” The lawsuit holds the camp and Joe T. White — Kanakuk’s CEO and board chair and a former Southern Methodist Univer- sity football player — responsible for the abuse because Newman’s behavior with children had been repeatedly flagged as problematic by camp staff and parents in the years leading up to Doe’s time at camp. Newman, who has at least 50 known John Doe victims, was imprisoned for child sex- ual abuse in 2010 and is serving two life terms plus 30 years for his crimes against children. “As a result of the authority Kanakuk De- fendants vested in Newman to act as youth pastor of Kanakuk, [Doe] was conditioned to trust Newman, to comply with his direc- tions, and to respect him as a person of au- thority, including in religious, moral and ethical matters,” the petition states. “Defen- dants placed [Doe] in this situation despite having known, or having should have known, that Newman was a continuing danger to children.” The lawsuit states Doe had repressed the memories of Newman’s molestations until late 2024. Since recalling the memories, Doe has undergone extensive therapy and men- tal health care treatment, representing at- torneys said. Doe’s lawsuit is the third Newman abuse-related case filed against Camp Kanakuk in the last year. “Immediately upon arrival at camp, I felt homesick, vulnerable and afraid. Pete Newman took advantage of that, and I en- dured unspeakable things,” Doe said in a statement shared with the media. “Now that I’ve found my voice, I am speaking out for my 9-year-old self and others who have been harmed by the negligence of Kanakuk.” Dallas’ Ties to Camp Kanakuk Camp Kanakuk comprises five campuses that run Christian-inspired programs of varying lengths for campers of all ages. Though the camp is based in Missouri, it is popular with families from the Dallas area. As such, Dallas has also been a hotbed for misconduct-related allegations leveled against the camp. Last year, police issued a warrant for Matthew Harmon, a Dallas man who was involved in Camp Kanakuk and other Kanakuk-related ministries, for one count of sexual assault of a child. While Harmon’s charge was related to inappropriate behav- iors with a student he met while working at the Providence Christian School of Texas, Harmon’s ex-wife told investigators Har- mon had previously admitted to kissing a Kanakuk camper. According to a report by the Springfield News-Ledger, the Dallas Police Department investigated Kanakuk counselor Paul Green in 1994 after a camper revealed Green had molested him during the Thanksgiving holiday, which Green spent in Dallas visiting the victim’s family. Police were preparing to arrest Green when he was killed in a car accident, the report states. Earlier this month, the Texas House unanimously passed a bill that would out- law the use of non-disclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases. The bill, known as “Trey’s Law,” is named for Dal- las native Trey Carlock, who died by sui- cide in 2019 after going through a civil litigation process that ended in an NDA with Kanakuk Ministries. According to his sister, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, Trey was a victim of Pete Newman and consid- ered the settlement he received from the camp “blood money.” The bill needs to be passed by the Texas Senate before it can be signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. “Trey’s Law” is also making its way through the Missouri legisla- ture. “We applaud this brave woman for com- ing forward publicly to hold Kanakuk ac- countable for Newman’s crimes against her and countless other boys and girls,” Phillips said in a statement following the Doe law- suit filing. “Her story will help so many oth- ers to finally feel seen, heard and believed.” ▼ SPORTS HELP WANTED: GAME CHANGER THE COWBOYS HAVE A NARROW WINDOW TO MAKE THIS DRAFT COUNT. BY MATT MCCLEARIN T he NFL Draft is one of my favorite weekends on the sports calendar. It melds together two of my favorite sports: pro football and college football. I’ve always loved the wall-to-wall cover- age The Ticket provides, and I’m stoked to be a part of it this year. (I’d also like to invite you to listen on Sports Radio 1310AM/96.7FM The Ticket, as my radio show, The Invasion, will be broadcasting live from Green Bay that Thursday and Fri- day, and we will be live on site from Lam- beau Field for the entire draft through that weekend.) The NFL Draft moved to a seven-round format beginning in 1994, and since then, the number one overall pick Adobe Stock According to the lawsuit, Dallas’ Jane Doe is the first known female victim of serial abuser Pete Newman. Sarah Schumacher 2020 was a nightmare year for Dallas sports. Unfair Park from p6 >>p10
