Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. The way Bryan tells it, in the 1970s, Kathy was a single mom whod found Jesus but still had a mischievous streak. Colton Shrag, age 16 on a home visit from Agap in 2008. The cases against five people who worked at Agape Boarding school are moving forward. Bryan, by then in his twenties, was working in a state-funded group home. ), Other students describe staffers encouraging classmates to fight one another, and cutting off communication with loved ones when they complained. Bindley remembers learning quickly that retribution for breaking the rules was swift and sometimes painful. (888) 614-0077. . W hen Andrew Breshears arrived at the Agap Boarding School in 2018, he was a sandy-haired 12-year-old who weighed less than 100 . First published on January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM. "If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious.". They denied it. The group claims a wide range of abuse, from starvation to physical and emotional abuse. Five months later, authorities raided Circle of Hope, seizing evidence and removing 25 girls from the ranch. In 2021, Agape's longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. He liked Metallica and Garbage Pail Kids cards, and had a tendency to cause trouble. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. 60% of the children in our county are being placed outside of our county due to the lack of foster homes in our community. James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. Officials also said even if child protective services found that someone at a religious youth facility abused a child, there were no rules to prevent the person from continuing to work there. Stockton is located 130 miles south of Kansas City, a lazy drive down sunbaked roads lined with oak forests and rolling fields. One deposed student describes attempting to jump off a staircase at Agap in a gesture of suicidal desperation which prompted a staffer to grab him, throw him six feet across the floor, sit on his back, and bash his head into the floor multiple times, leaving him in a pile of snot and blood, while screaming, Is this what you want? (Agap confirms restraining the student, but says it was not a form of abuse but an attempt to prevent harm to the boy.) Another former student said under oath that he was yanked out of bed and slammed to the floor for waking up late, kicked and punched in the balls by former dean of students Julio Sandoval, and kicked in the ribs and face in front of the rest of the school by Bryan Clemensen. Pour Salt Down Your Drain At Night, Here's Why, Tyler Kingkade and Liz Brown and Keith Morrison and Rachel White and Andrew Williams and Javier Rodriguez. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. A 2007 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found thousands of abuse allegations between 1990 and 2007 in 2005 alone, 33 states reported 1,619 staff members involved in incidents of abuse. He smacked me in the face with his elbow for saying the f-word. But many lawmakers are also oblivious to the consequences of lax oversight until there's a scandal. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. One killed in officer-involved shooting in Branson, Mo. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. Staff members would jump on you, said Schrag. Church was on Wednesday and three times on Sunday. He enjoyed watching movies, listening to Elvis, and playing soccer with his friends. Mr. Lewis, CAP, has been credentialed as a certified alcohol and drug counselor for 20 years. 4/5/2021. By 5+ Local Business Owners! Missouri previously had virtually no . We are the best rehab . Schmitt last year asked a Cedar County judge to close Agape, but the judge had not yet issued a decision. Several lawsuits filed on behalf of former students also have named Agape and Circle of Hope. Visit Website. Clidence said Agap fired him in March 2015 when the school asked employees to sign a nondisparagement agreement, and he refused. Students called it the Padded Palace. By 14, Breshears says, he was fully in staffers crosshairs. We need people who will financially contribute and volunteer at the event to help give these . 79 were here. 1.0 Stephen H. Winter Haven, FL. Plaintiff was allegedly physically, sexually, and emotionally abused while under the care and supervision of . Agape Boarding school has had its share of abuse allegations over the years. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. At a hearing in the Missouri Legislature on Wednesday, a department official said it has been difficult to substantiate abuse allegations at religious boarding schools due to "a culture of restricted access.". We want to hear it. I believe the community is aware. On cue, at least two others started beating up an unsuspecting student to create a distraction. Agape Boarding School in Stockton has been the subject of state and local investigations and several lawsuits from former students. Agape's trouble began in 2020 when former students came forward with abuse allegations. Boyd and Stephanie Householder are facing more than 100 charges of sexual, physical and emotional abuse that allegedly took place at their faith-based boarding school in Missouri. (As of publication, one defendants case was dismissed, three pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, and one is awaiting a hearing this month.) TOUGH-LOVE SCHOOLS CAN BE traced back to the 1950s, when a secular group called Synanon pioneered an approach to curing heroin addiction with isolation, humiliation, and sleep deprivation. It will stop providing service effective Jan. 20, according to a statement from the school for boys. Ellie Hill Smith, a state lawmaker from Missoula, was concerned that this meant the state had no way of ensuring children were safe in these programs. Thank you for your generous support [] He is pleased to hear the Missouri attorney generals office is now investigating Agape Boarding School. The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . Robert Bucklin, 28, who is identified in the motion and lawsuit as R.B. Clemensen, who left the school from 2008 to 2018, says he has two masters degrees, in education and counseling and psychology, and would challenge the boys thinking processes, and he still does that to this day., Breshears and others paint a different picture. It was Clemensen who introduced the practice of restraints in the early 2000s, says Ryan Frazier, attorney for Monsees and Mayer PC, which is representing 18 former students in suits against the school. Hymns blared in the classrooms. The program markets itself as a Christian school that turns around rebellious boys. Schrags parents said they were unaware of any abuse occurring at the facility; the school had promised close supervision and to redirect his anger in positive ways. The founders, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, received 99 charges of sex crimes, child abuse . I had a staff member tell me were wasting our time giving you a diploma because youre not even worth the paper its going to cost to print it on, said Schrag. Where they stop looking to drugs, or their friends, and say to God, I need your help to feel better. If you dont save their souls, it aint going to stick.. Agape Boarding School was moving away from the "nonbelievers" in Washington and California and heading east. Just last summer, former students at a pair of Wyoming ranches alleged in an NBC investigation that they had been forced to perform backbreaking manual labor and subjected to traumatic physical and emotional abuse. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. These rules and policies are for their son's success and protection. The boarding school typically has about 150 boys enrolled, ages 12 to 17, and they share the ranch with farm and exotic animals, including cows, horses, llamas, water buffalo, camels and zebras, according to the schools website. They called the school Agap, meaning Gods love for man. The Missouri House Committee on Children and Families issued a report in November concluding that there are numerous facilities in the state that have abused vulnerable children in their care, with no state oversight, for many years. Still, it was only a partial picture, based on interviews with former students and information from state officials, because Missouri doesnt keep track of how many religious boarding schools exist in the state. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. (Knock her out! he can be heard saying.) Though Ms. Allred's office has spent months soliciting a cash settlement, we were unaware that a suit would be filed. His outrage became open defiance. Officials . "If you have children who are fearful that they're going to be sent back to these facilities, you see a lot of instances where children might recant their stories," said Caitlin Whaley, director of legislation for the department. Cant make those decisions until weve had an opportunity to review the investigative reports, and those are being put together, said Gaither. RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE. . Federal lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation to curtail abuses in the industry. After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. Colton Schrag remembers the night at the Agap Boarding School when, he says, a staff member punched him in the face. For secular youth facilities regulated by Missouris social services department, as well as those that have contracts with the state, social welfare agents conduct inspections at least twice a year to review staff training, check compliance with fire and health codes, and make sure employees have background checks and that children get proper medical attention. Agape Ranch-courtesy photo. . It could last for days on end. We want to make it about the children's rights rather than taking away religious rights. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time (Clemensen denies this happened, but says he considers Bindley one of Agaps top success stories.). The Republican-sponsored measure requires religious boarding schools to register with the state, pass a health department inspection and ensure that staff meet minimum standards. The couple met when Jim pulled Kathy over for drag racing a beat-up Ford Pinto around the East Bay. Though the area is largely Baptist, Cedar County has a tradition of religious tolerance. The glass flew everywhere, he says. The team at Agape Ranch said they wanted the youth there Friday night to know that they are valued. (KY3) - Missouris attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. In 2021, Paris Hilton, who has also been lobbying in Washington D.C., testified at a Utah Senate committee hearing about her own experience in a troubled-teen facility there, alleging that she was verbally, mentally, and physically abused, involuntarily drugged, and locked in isolation. In response to a detailed list of follow-up questions, Clemensen, through Agaps attorney, says he has never abused any boy in the history of Agap, and denied that restraints were ever used for punishment. Former students wonder if its because of this that authorities failed to act sooner. "The healing process can start for so many.". Trump White House Pressured Disney to Censor Jimmy Kimmel The highway patrol says it began its investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at the facility in late February. Agape also faces criminal charges . She thought heavy metal was like witchcraft, he says. Contact Agape International Missions Email: info@aim4asia.org Phone: 916.784.2800. That . Hunt was one of a number of SBC leaders named in a 2022 report from the investigative firm Guidepost Solutions hired by the denomination in 2021 to resolve long-running conflicts over sexual abuse. That's no secret, as news stories in The Christian. 180 Ministries, a ministry of Teen Challenge, located in Denver Colorado, is a residential substance abuse . He says he and others suffered frequent physical abuse, at the hands of at least a dozen staff members, and others didnt stop it. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at. In Missouri, at least, this could be changing. Child welfare officials in Washington cited Agap for overcrowding and poor sanitation, according to a 1995 newspaper article. Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. The Agape Boarding School was in Othello from 1992-96. One student, identified only by his initials, describes being forced to run outside while a staffer tailed him in a four-wheeler with a stick attached to the front, threatening to ram anyone who wasnt moving fast enough. He lost his red shirt and became familiar with the one place no student wanted to end up: Brown Town. That status, characterized by the brown shirt a student was forced to wear, according to lawsuits and depositions, came with extreme workouts, the loss of talking privileges, and a restricted meal plan that often consisted of a slice of bread and peanut butter, or a tortilla with a scoop of cold refried beans. hen Andrew Breshears arrived at the Agap Boarding School in 2018, he was a sandy-haired 12-year-old who weighed less than 100 pounds. Im trying to aim for a decent life, you know what Im saying? (The recommendations are not public, so the implicated staff members are unknown.) Related: More than a dozen people reported abuse at a religious boarding school in rural Missouri before the owners' daughter launched a campaign that got action. They promoted me I was the youngest person to go red. Exposing Agape is about exactly what it's name says. Full Gala Taping. People who have care, custody, and control of those children have that right, as well. "For nearly three decades, students at Agape Boarding School have experienced emotional, mental, physical . If I can save one kid, its worth it to me.. Those details were outlined in motions filed in 19 civil lawsuits requesting that the Cedar County judge overseeing those cases allow . He likes to get in peoples heads.. Operators advertise it as a national boarding school for at-risk or unmotivated boys. You can start to heal., For his part, Breshears is grateful to be free. Our rehabilitation center in Fort Lauderdale for substance abuse embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances. At least two other states Montana and Arkansas carve out licensing exemptions for religious facilities. Many of these programs, which are estimated to serve as many as 200,000 kids at any one time, are allowed to operate with virtual impunity, thanks to federal inaction and permissive state laws. Andrew Breshears in his Agap uniform. Boarding schools fleeing abuse claims in other states find 'Promised Land' in Missouri . The Missouri AG launched a joint investigation with Cedar County authorities. But hes not complaining. Staff called it the intake or restraint room. NWS confirms EF-1 tornado near Goodman, Mo. Though he is 16, he is a freshman; Agaps curriculum is often not compatible with local requirements. This created an environment ripe for abuse to happen. State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. Children as young as four-years-old may have had up to five foster . The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . Francis lied, he said, because Robert Graves a Cedar County sheriffs deputy who is on the board of Agaps church and has worked at the school was present for the interview. (Clemensen says this was a nickname the boys had for an elbow injury, and denies the abuse.) Since last year, 19 former students have filed lawsuits against the school, alleging physical and emotional abuse, and in . His grandparents sent him to a mental hospital, then to Agap. Facebook Page. Closing Agap wouldnt be so easy, but throughout 2021 and 2022, the lawsuits began. The school's focus now is "on getting the boys who remain in the program safely transitioned to their parents or to foster care, other group homes or residential programs," its former director, Bryan Clemensen, said in a statement. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The picture flashed on the big screen, and Brenda Gordon immediately . The foothills of the Ozarks sat in the distance. And that's what it's all about.. 2 min read. Sick with a heart condition, Jim left the force in 1979 and moved Kathy, Bryan, and his siblings to Stockton, a sweltering agricultural city on the once-mighty San Joaquin River. The report, which also examined 10 cases where teenagers had died, noted that there are currently no federal laws that define and regulate residential treatment programs.. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time McCrary said in an email on Friday that Graves was not present for social workers interviews with students. So they constructed wooden bunks on the second floor of their modest home, set up cubicles in the garage, and obtained work booklets produced by Accelerated Christian Education. One of them is Robert Graves, a student turned staffer who joined as a sheriffs deputy and married Kathy and Jims daughter, and is listed as a member of the board of an Agap-affiliated church. But he would soon come to suffer horrifying abuse, he says experiences in line with what at least 18 former Agap students have recently alleged in lawsuits. vs. Agape Baptist Church Inc., et al: In the complaint filed on August 7, 2021, Alabama plaintiff shared his allegations of abuse while being under the custody of Agape Boarding School from approximately March 2012 to March 2013. Meanwhile, tales of abuse continue to emerge. I can at least try to show others that you dont have to keep it inside. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? To him, it seemed arbitrary and needlessly brutal. And they would never tell you how long your stay in Brown Town will be, Breshears says. Cedar . For example, when many foster children age out of the system, they have lived in an average of 12 foster homes. ET): After publication of this article, Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary disputed an account by former Agap student Lucas Francis. Indeed, the version of the school students describe, community members say, is starkly different from the Agap the town has come to know. They would say, Youre nothing. Agap, which according to its parent handbook costs $39,000 a year, is also influenced by Lester Roloff, a radio evangelist and pastor who founded schools for teenage girls in the late 1960s that relied on physical abuse and immersion in biblical teachings to reform them. Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. If you resisted any, they would start kneeing you, hitting you, just mashing your face into the tile or concrete, wherever it was.. The industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that claims to help or fix troubled teenagers . Cedar County, Missouri, where Agap is located, is in the heart of the Bible Belt and Clemensen, his stepfather, Jim, who died in October 2021, and his mother, Kathy, long ago convinced the locals they answer to a higher authority. I can't find any scriptures in the Bible that would say that it's OK to physically or sexually abuse children, to starve them as means of punishment, to withhold medication, to deprive them of sleep, to force them into manual labor, Ingle said. The state Public Health and Human Services Department and the local sheriff did not fulfill NBC News records requests for information about any more recent complaints. I shadowed a staff member for about three days, we didnt go over procedures, no restraint training, no discipline training really no clear set of rules that the students werent allowed to break., It was not unusual for physical restraints to last four hours or longer, and leave bruises on the children, according to Clidence and three former students. Master's Ranch Christian Academy which has had a facility in southern Missouri for more than a decade opened a new location . The state has been fighting to close Agap ever since. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. They claim Clemensen was on a power trip and seemed to enjoy brutalizing the kids in his charge. J.M. One day after the FBI announced the arrest of a former Agape Boarding School dean, a civil right's . Relevance: This course is designed for master's level counselors, addiction professionals, and nurses who have direct client contact. Jacob smelled foul and the . By JIM SALTER. (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) But in July, his mother rewon custody and sprung him from Agap.

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