Transcript of 🚨IMMEDIATE RELEASE🚨 - I Am Being Threatened For Protecting Children...

The Shawn Ryan Show
06:48 307 views Published 22 days ago
Transcribed from audio to text by
00:00:00

I need to talk to you about something serious. Last week, I received a demand letter from lawyers representing Canacook Ministries, a Christian summer camp in Missouri. They're threatening to sue me for defamation because of something I said on my podcast with congressman Roe-Kana. Here's what I said. I brought Elizabeth Phillips on my show, and she talked about how Canacook employees have been molesting thousands of kids for years and putting them under NDAs after settlements so they can never come out and talk about their sexual abuse and trauma. Canicook's lawyers are demanding I take down that portion of the interview, issue a public apology, and stop talking about this. They gave me 10 days. That deadline has passed. Here's my response. No, I don't negotiate with pedophiles or the people who defend them. I'm not taking anything down. I'm not apologizing, and I'm damn sure not going to stop talking about child sexual abuse in a Christian camp that continues to operate on the same grounds where horrific abuse took place. Let me be crystal clear about the facts. Facts that Canicook's own lawyers admitted in their letter. One, Pete Newman, a senior Canicook employee and camp Hector sexually abused children at Canicook for multiple years in the early 2000s.

00:01:37

He's now serving life sentences. Two, between 20 and 30 civil lawsuits were filed against Cana Cook. Three, multiple confidential settlement agreements were executed with victims, NDAs that prevented these kids from speaking publicly about what happened to them. Cana Cook can't prove the is less than thousands. And given their own admission of a cover-up, the true number is unknowable. But here's what really pisses me the fuck off. Cana Cook is still operating a camp at the very location where countless children suffered horrific abuse. They're still running programs. They're still bringing kids to the exact same place. And now, they want to silence me for talking about it. This isn't about protecting their reputation. Consultation. This is about protecting children, and I will not be silenced. My attorney has sent Canacook's lawyer's a response. We've made it clear. If they want to sue me, bring it on. We welcome discovery. We welcome depositions of Canacook leadership about what they knew, when they knew it, and what they did or didn't do to protect children. We welcome full disclosure of every abuse allegation, every settlement, every internal investigation, and every financial record showing whether Canicook actually suffered any harm from my statement, or whether this is just an attempt to intimidate people into silence.

00:03:13

Under Tennessee law, Canicook will have to prove I'm lying. They'll have to prove actual malice, that I knew my statements were false or that I had serious doubts about its truth. They can't do that because I relied on Elizabeth Phillips, whose brother was a victim. I relied on public court records, relied on widespread media coverage of Pete Newman's prosecution, and most importantly, they admit the core of what I said is true. Canicook employees sexually abused children. Victims were silenced by confidentiality agreements. That's not defamation, that's the truth. I want to say something directly to survivors. I I see you. I believe you, and I will not stop fighting for you. Sexual abuse at youth camps, especially Christian camps, that are supposed to be safe places, is a matter of urgent public concern. Parents have a right to know. Kids have a right to be protected, and survivors have a right to speak. Kana Cooke's attempt to use legal threats to silence reporting on child sexual Abuse in itself is newsworthy, and I'm going to keep reporting on it. To Kana Cooke, you want to talk about callous and malicious disregard for the truth? Let's talk about operating a camp where a predator had access to thousands of children for years.

00:04:48

Let's talk about confidentiality agreements that silenced traumatized kids. Let's talk about continuing to operate on a crime scene. You're not the victim The children you failed to protect are the victims. I stand by every word I said. I will not retract. I will not apologize. If you want to sue me, my lawyers are ready. To everyone watching, This is why I do this show. This is why we tell real stories about real people, because the truth matters, because kids matter, and because some things are more important than money or reputation. If you want to support survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, check out No More Victims, the organization Elizabeth Phillips founded. They're passing laws to protect kids and hold institutions like Canicook accountable. If you're a survivor, please know it's not your fault. You deserve justice, and there are people fighting for you. I'll keep you updated as this develops But I'm not going to be backing down. Hey, Jeremy, what's the name of that law firm? Hush Blackwell. Hush Blackwell. I wonder how many pedophiles they've defended. It'd be an interesting piece of information to know..

00:06:21

Say mal, hast du bei der Steuer auch diesen Schulflashback? Einfach irgendwas raten und dann hoffen, dass es stimmt? Boah, nee, gar nicht. Wieso Steuer ist so mein safe space? Du meinst, damit ist alles sicher? Ja, genau. Wieso Steuer ist so die Steuer-App, die dich einfach versteht. Egal ob Studium, Job oder Umzug. Stimmt, krass. Fühlt sich gar nicht wie Steuern an. Steuern erledigt? Safe. Mit Wieso Steuer.

Episode description

Please watch the full video to hear my defense’s response to Camp Kanakuk’s attorneys’ demand letter requesting the removal of parts of my interview with Ro Khanna. If you would like to read both letters yourself, you can do so here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1-anLwZmDRG6Y7dor8pKldmiIlIiouSC5

Watch the FULL episode with Elizabeth Phillips: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5O8WBQW4lwRpYkS3iR20u8?si=p30yIWWyREmCdQ1m3amrkQ&t=5&pi=3u6d1eGZTLGSX

Watch the FULL episode with Ro Khanna: https://open.spotify.com/episode/159J2mL0PJcpzZlCgaxJYZ?si=QT5A713ZQy-hRdi1aw27FQ&t=5&pi=yxt1U4nJTkeIN

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