A woman who appeared in the shocking new Netflix documentary “Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare” recalls her traumatic experience with “master manipulator” Steve Cartisano, who she says continued to abuse her in his home after he killed her mother convinced her to let her live with him.
Kinney Drellich Edlinger, 48, accused Cartisano – who was responsible for founding the Challenger Foundation's “wilderness therapy camp” in the 1980s – of sexually abusing her when she enrolled in the program in Hawaii, few said Weeks after her 13th birthday.
Steve, who died in May 2019, appeared in the documentary via old video footage. His family said they “did not want to dispute” Kinney's allegations, but felt “such behavior was inconsistent with their memories of the person” Steve.
Speaking exclusively to , Kinney said she believes his ex-wife Deborah, who was also in the event, had “hiding her head in the sand” as she claimed his alleged actions were “indefensible”.
Kinney Drellich Edlinger appears in the Netflix documentary Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare
Kinney, now 48, claims Steve Cartisano (pictured) groomed and sexually abused her when she was 13
Kinney, pictured here as a teenager, was sent to Cartisano's “therapy camp” in Hawaii when he was 13
Former military special forces officer Steve charged parents $16,000 to allegedly tame their wayward teenagers as part of the 63-day program.
Kinney, now a mother of five, was “shipped” to Hawaii just a week after her 13th birthday in March 1988 because her mother “didn't know what else to do with her.” Kinney insisted she wasn't a troubled child and didn't do drugs, but was simply “struggling with the loss” of her father.
“Steve was lovely when I first met him,” she recalled. “We were on board a yacht, the Lotus Flower.” It was a sailing yacht and we were sailing from the island of O'ahu to the big island of Hawaii and he was so kind, so generous and so thoughtful.
“He made me feel safe and that's why I didn't realize it until later… For me it was out of the blue that he then attacked me because he was just so nice and didn't want to yell at us.” It’s difficult because as an adult I can see that so many things on this journey were just done so randomly.”
In the documentary, Kinney described an incident in which Steve offered to put lotion on her body. She claims this was the first time he sexually assaulted her by touching her breasts.
“He was a predator because it wasn’t just me,” Kinney claimed. “One of my childhood friends – the daughter of one of his employees – was also sexually abused by him and during filming [the documentary]apparently the production team had to interview other people who had been through the same thing because they can't just make “sexual predator” accusations, and so they talked to this friend of mine.
“He was absolutely a predator, but also the most master manipulator of all because he was just so kind and a family man and had these kids, but he used all of that to his advantage.”
Kinney was sent to a program called “Solo in Hawaii,” which was described as “an opportunity to learn that you can survive on your own.”
She explained how Steve gave her the role of “runner” even though she was “one of the youngest kids out there.” She now believes this was all part of his “attempts at grooming.”
During the 90-minute documentary, Kinney claims that there was an incident in which Cartisano applied lotion to her body and touched her breasts
Kinney spent two months in Hawaii as part of the solo program and was assigned the role of “runner” by Cartisano
The documentary includes video footage and photos of Cartisano with some teenagers at one of his camps
Kinney believes Cartisano's ex-wife Deborah Lee Carr “hides her head in the sand” when it comes to her ex-husband
“Steve knew I would be terrified. It was so windy at the beach we were at and the wind was blowing through my campsite at night howling and it was kind of scary being out there,” she remembers.
“I was a kid out there, all alone. I think that was definitely part of his grooming process…he wanted to be able to visit me without having the other adults around.”
Kinney, who held out for two months, revealed that Steve remained in touch with her mother after she returned in May 1988 and even “convinced” her to send Kinney to live with him in Mapleton, Utah, where she claimed the sexual assault took place Abuse continued.
“She sent me to him,” she said. “His family, his wife and children, were in Oklahoma for the summer visiting their parents. And I thought I was crazy because I was like, 'Oh, he didn't attack me right away,' but in turn he manipulated me… I won't go into the details because I don't care at the moment.'
When asked if she believes her own mother was also “manipulated,” Kinney replied, “I think there's a combination of factors.” I think that, again, Steve was so good at manipulating people.
“Honestly, it was crazy watching him in action because I got to be there when he was on the phone with the parents who had called, and he just presented himself as the ultimate answer.”
“There are parents who are very maternal and very fatherly and very nurturing, very nurturing and very loving, and my mother was more of a casual parent.” But I think for her it was also an easier option to let someone else, dealing with what she felt was something…too difficult.'
In the 90-minute documentary, Kinney claimed that when she told her mother about the alleged abuse, she decided not to report it to the police because she “didn't want to upset the apple cart.”
Explaining her mother's decision, she said that when she asked her why she didn't tell the police, she replied that she felt what Steve did was “really important.”
Cartisano founded a “wilderness therapy camp” and promised to straighten out wayward teenagers
Kinney suspects that Deborah may be trying to protect Cartisano's memory for her four children
The 90-minute documentary landed on Netflix on December 27 and was described as “insane” and “disgusting.”
“So I don't think she would have made a different decision,” Kinney added, before emphasizing that she still loves her mother.
“I am a completely different mother than my mother.” My five children are my absolute world and I love them more than anything else in this world and I can thank her for that [that]' she explained.
When asked if she thought Steve's ex-wife was in denial, Kinney revealed: “I was impressed with his ex-wife and how she kept saying, 'Steve wasn't even there, so how could he be responsible for that.' be?”
“The lack of accountability and subsequent continuation of that message – I don't think she realizes that… she can't possibly imagine how insanely damaging that was to those of us who survived him and the survival programs.”'
Kinney then claimed, “There's a reason why she divorced him.” So because Steve was also a serial adulterer, there must be something in her that feels like she's somehow protecting the memory of him for her children must or something like that.
“But at this stage of the game I think the ship has sailed and it's trying to protect someone who is, firstly, gone and secondly, indefensible. “What he did is indefensible. The way Debbie seemed was very…she had her head buried in the sand or something.
“But at some point you have to open your eyes to the actual facts. These are not opinions. I wasn't expressing my opinion, just what actually happened to me. And the only reason I was willing to do that is… it was cathartic for me because I was standing up for the girl I was at the time.”
Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare is now available to stream on Netflix