An evangelical purity expert molested boys while being promoted as a moral mentor

Evidence

But in 2011, allegations of abuse began to surface. It turned out that White’s camp director, Pete Newman, had been molesting dozens of boys for years. White allegedly knew of Newman’s actions (including his penchant for riding four-wheelers while naked, and with naked “kampers”), yet Kanakuk continued to back Newman as a “devoted husband, loving, beloved friend and mentor to youth.” Newman, meanwhile, promoted himself across the nation as an expert on sexual purity, and it was at purity conferences that he allegedly engaged in inappropriate sex talks and mutual masturbation with boys. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 630

Categorization

• SEED: The irony of a sexual-purity expert molesting boys at purity conferences is the kind of concrete case that anchors an essay on the gap between moral rhetoric and institutional protection.