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. Cant make those decisions until weve had an opportunity to review the investigative reports, and those are being put together, said Gaither. By the time he ended up in the Padded Palace, he recalls, I was bleeding all over my head and hands. So he scrawled the words Fuck Agap on the wall using his own blood. Boyd opened the ranch in 2006 as a "school that he claimed could reform rebellious teenage girls," according to NBC News. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Staff called it the intake room. 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. We are gathered here, former students,. Many of the kids my parents took in would be back six months later in worse shape, Bryan says. The term encompasses various facilities and programs, including youth residential treatment centers, wilderness programs, boot camps, and therapeutic boarding schools.. 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 September 2021, he charged five Agap staff members with a total of 13 counts of third-degree assault, the lowest degree of felony. (Agap denies this.) It also lays out a set of childrens rights, banning corporal punishment and verbal and emotional abuse, and giving youth the ability to call their parents whenever they want. The curriculum included traditional math and English. DSS added . But Breshears got a rude welcome. Nonetheless, the outcome of the civil suits is far from certain. 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. But he struggled at home. They insisted everyone call them Brother Jim and Maam, and their son Brother Bryan.. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. Staff members at Agap don't have to go through background checks, and the facility is not required to document how or why children are restrained. One former student reportedly mentioned Agap in a suicide note. That shouldn't be happening., If not, he added, kids are going to wind up losing their lives.. Jan. 23, 2023. Hymns blared in the classrooms. Indeed, the version of the school students describe, community members say, is starkly different from the Agap the town has come to know. 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. But instead of the therapeutic environment the schools leaders promised, Schrag and 11 others who were sent to Agap as children from the late 1990s up to last year, as well as four former staff members, told NBC News they saw Agap workers hold boys down and hit them. When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. Netflixs Outer Banks Buries Itself in Ridiculous Season 3 KANSAS CITY, Mo. They called the school Agap, meaning Gods love for man. The video was posted Sunday by Robert Bucklin, who says he survived physical and sexual abuse at Agape Boarding School near Stockton. Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. The troubled teen industry is a term used to refer to a broad range of youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers. The school states on its website that its staff are trained in proper restraining tactics, which are only used if a child is a threat to others and last for just a few minutes. The Thrive program will provide housing and mentorship for young adults during their college or trade school career. Attendance at Agape plummeted after abuse allegations surfaced. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. Its about getting these kids to a place in their life where they have to look to God for help, he says. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time He says he was once ordered to perform 4,500 pushups for cussing and told if I didnt get it done, I couldnt eat my next meal. (Though Breshears says he couldnt do it, Agap denies ever denying a student a meal.) Today, its home to at least 28 such institutions, though some estimates place the number at upward of 100, many of which are still operating under the radar. "Pinehaven has had challenges over the years, but so has everyone," Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy said at a 2019 hearing. We felt they needed God in their lives. The state, he says, had no clue how to get to a kids heart.. The group claims a wide range of abuse, from starvation to physical and emotional abuse. The Clemenson family, who currently runs Agape, has been shut down in two states due to abuse allegations but no charges were ever made. All Rights Reserved. Their lawyer denies the allegations and says that their innocence will prevail in court. I was sheltered, Breshears says. Agap did not respond to repeated requests for comment and interviews via phone, email and a letter left at the schools reception desk. Agape Boarding School, a Christian reform school in Cedar County, is under investigation by local authorities and the Missouri Attorney Generals office. Via Fox13, the local news station out of Salt Lake City, we get a detailed response to the lawsuit from ranch management: "We at Turn-About Ranch strongly deny the allegations put forward in Ms. Allred's press conference. Gaither declined to comment, but told the Cedar County Republican that Agap has the right to administer corporal punishment. That . After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. They were very detailed and professional. The law many former students of schools like Agap see as a model comes from an unlikely state to scrap religious exemptions: Alabama. Throughout the 1980s, Kathy and Jim fostered children whose parents were in jail. The desire of 51:10 Youth Ranch is to provide a safe place for children, horses and families. 3 KCPD officers shot; standoff continues into Wednesday morning. Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. Christian Reform School Accused of Abuse Shuts Down After Rolling Stone Expos. But in July, his mother rewon custody and sprung him from Agap. Tuesday, The Independent reported that DSS substantiated 10 preponderance of evidence claims of physical abuse at Agape. To keep order, Agap instituted a military-like hierarchy, indicated by colored shirts that denoted ranks. Related: I am proof that money doesnt protect against abuse, Hilton told state legislators, speaking in support of a bill that would better protect children in troubled-youth treatment programs. Every year, thousands of young Mormons go on missions to try to recruit others into the religion. It won't be long here in Missouri, he said. He enjoyed watching movies, listening to Elvis, and playing soccer with his friends. A judge ordered the school closed only to put the order on hold after Agap fired the staffer in question. abuse at agape I have spent the last 5 days at agape boys ranch helping with the annual horse sale. RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE. Though the area is largely Baptist, Cedar County has a tradition of religious tolerance. After being charged with more than 100 felonies last year linked to allegations of child sex abuse, physical abuse, endangerment and neglect, the owners of a now-defunct Missouri girls ranch . Hilton tweeted to Missouri's attorney general and governor on June 21. McCrary said in an email on Friday that Graves was not present for social workers interviews with students. The committee is considering bills introduced by Ingle and a Republican colleague last month to give the Missouri Department of Social Services oversight of religious boarding schools. Some who attended and worked at the school said otherwise. Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. KANSAS CITY (AP) Maggie Drew's dad sent her to Circle . They say theyre still haunted by nightmares, hypervigilance, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. In May 2021, the law requiring religious schools to register with the state passed. The Department of Social Services declined to comment on its investigations into Agap and the interviews with students, and would not release records, but said that there have been no substantiated reports of abuse or neglect at the school. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Clemensen said the decision to close "is voluntary and solely due to the lack of financial resources to continue caring for the boys.". 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. Missouri previously had virtually no oversight for religious boarding schools. Many other states, such as New Jersey, Oklahoma and Texas, do not require religious boarding schools to be licensed by education or child welfare authorities because they are privately owned or privately funded. "The healing process can start for so many.". Stockton is located 130 miles south of Kansas City, a lazy drive down sunbaked roads lined with oak forests and rolling fields. The campus is also home to Agape Baptist Church. (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. 2 min read. Then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office contended that 22 workers should have been charged, and with more serious crimes. 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