ON SEPT. 7, 2022, ATTORNEY GENERAL SCHMITT and the State Department of Social Services (DSS) filed to close Agap. Its good to be back with family, he says. Anne Stych June 27, 2022. Some former students have made the allegations against Agape Boarding School and Legacy Boys Academy in Stockton, Masters Ranch in far southern Missouri, and Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near . Schrag says the verbal abuse was constant. KANSAS CITY (AP) Maggie Drew's dad sent her to Circle . The most surprising thing is that nothing has been done so far to change anything, Ingle said. Missouri has been a particular hotbed for religious schools since 1982, when the state passed a law exempting faith-based residential child-care facilities from state oversight. More than 90% of young adults aging out of the foster system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. Clidence said Agap fired him in March 2015 when the school asked employees to sign a nondisparagement agreement, and he refused. 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. In 2021, Agape's longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. Address . UPDATE (Feb. 12, 2021, 2:33 p.m. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. 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 . 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. They insisted everyone call them Brother Jim and Maam, and their son Brother Bryan.. Josh Bradney, 19, who attended Agap from 2014 to 2016, said staff members slammed him to the ground when he told his parents on a phone call that Agap employees hit another boy with a football helmet. Its education and human services departments do not license religious schools, or any private boarding schools, and child protective services does not have the authority to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect at them; instead, they must refer those reports to law enforcement. Former students said their communication with parents and local authorities was censored. Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . In Missouri, parents are allowed to discipline their children, he said. Whatever the case, Clemensen has many allies where it perhaps counts the most: in the community. The criminal division of the EPA investigated and charged Jim Clemensen for improperly disposing of hazardous material. Once in the car, Bindley says, they took him to their home. In 1995, county officials shut them down after health inspectors found the school which by then had 140 students and 25 staffers had rotting food, holes in the walls large enough to allow rodents to enter, and exposed wiring. Master's Ranch Christian Academy which has had a facility in southern Missouri for more than a decade opened a new location . (The recommendations are not public, so the implicated staff members are unknown.) 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. We want to hear it. 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Other punishments, the former students and staff members said, included forcing boys to stare at a wall for hours, limiting meals to peanut butter sandwiches, and requiring students to haul rocks outside from one pile to another. One student said staffers had branded him with a cross. 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. And he said, No, theyre not., In 1996, the Clemensens purchased 40 acres just outside of town. When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. 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. Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. Share. Colton Schrag, who spent years at Agape Boarding School in southwest Missouri, where dozens of former students have described experiencing abuse, testifies during a committee hearing on Feb. 10, 2021. People who have care, custody, and control of those children have that right, as well. Staffers grabbed Breshears and, he claims, threw him onto the glass. It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. The state of Missouri has opened a criminal investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at Agap Boarding School, a Christian institution in the rural southwestern part of the state, a spokesman for the state's Highway Patrol confirmed Friday. Each worker is facing abuse charges. Thanks to the generous support of The Frazier Family Foundation, Gala sponsors, Gala attendees, and the community, $369,402 was raised in support of the next two homes at The Ranch during the 2021 Legacy Gala: A Matter of Time! I watched him choke, slam kids into the floor, and just basically beat the shit out of them. They denied it. Graves did not respond to a request for comment. Agape Boarding School, a Christian reform school in Cedar County, is under investigation by local authorities and the Missouri Attorney Generals office. The team at Agape Ranch said they wanted the youth there Friday night to know that they are valued. But in July, his mother rewon custody and sprung him from Agap. And in at least 14 other states, education and child welfare agencies exempt boarding schools from licensing requirements if they are privately owned or privately funded. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. All Rights Reserved. Several former Pinehaven students and staff members told CNN in 2012 that children were choked and assaulted at the ranch, accusations that Larsson denied and said were the work of Satan. He cut it 1x and never would respond to my calls. The fastest way for a student to attain a coveted burgundy or red shirt, Breshears soon learned, was to embrace the Lord and help Brother Bryan Bryan Clemensen, the schools co-founder and eventual director and principal enforce the rules. Thats where someone went too far. More than a decade later, legislators are finally making headway. More than 60% of the children in our county are being placed outside of our county due to the lack of foster homes in our community. By the time Askins contacted her, she had been in therapy for years, and was deeply enmeshed in an online community of former Agap and Circle of Hope survivors. She posted Askins video to TikTok, followed by a second post alleging her parents regularly beat her and had forced a student to eat until they threw up, then eat their own vomit. The Kansas City Star reported that the Householders deny all allegations . The reasoning for the exemptions varies, but states generally take a hands-off approach to oversight of privately funded schools, and officials fear stoking the anger of conservative voters. 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. 2023 The Associated Press. They have law-enforcement ties, too. Students called it the Padded Palace., Punishments allegedly ranged from calisthenics to wall time, where kids stood with their foreheads and noses touching the wall, except when sleeping, doing schoolwork, or eating. Five more alleged victims have filed civil lawsuits against Agape Boarding School of Stockton, Missouri, and the Baptist church that supervises the Christian boarding school, bringing the total number of cases alleging negligence and abuse to 19. The Missouri AG launched a joint investigation with Cedar County authorities. The argument grew heated, he says, and the staffer told the kids they were going to Brown Town. Court records show that David Earl Smock is wanted for assaulting children under 15 at the Agape Boarding School, a Christian private school in Greene County. Surprise! One former student reportedly mentioned Agap in a suicide note. 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.. 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. Every year, thousands of young Mormons go on missions to try to recruit others into the religion. James Clemensen was a California State Highway patrolman with a death wish so extreme the wives of his fellow troopers forbade their husbands from hanging out with him. On Dec. 21, a judge issued a preliminary injunction that will keep him off the list until he receives a full trial (with testimony and subpoenaed witnesses) or until further Order of this Court. In the meantime, Clemensen is prevented from having physical contact with students, but can continue working at the school. 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. And that's what it's all about.. Trending Since then, former students testified at legislative hearings that they tried to report the abuse at Agape and the now-closed Circle of Hope Girls Ranch for years, but that Cedar County authorities and other officials did not respond to the . The AG was on board. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? Church was on Wednesday and three times on Sunday. "If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious.". To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com, State of Missouri investigating Agape Ranch and Boarding School near Stockton, Deputy seriously hurt in crash with driver opening beer, Greene County prosecutor files charges against man accused of crashing truck into a house. Agape's trouble began in 2020 when former students came forward with abuse allegations. 180 Ministries, a ministry of Teen Challenge, located in Denver Colorado, is a residential substance abuse . That was the last straw; they had him committed. The industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that claims to help or fix troubled teenagers . These courses are core requirements for Florida . Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. I was sheltered, Breshears says. The BBC was given access to their UK boot camp, where they learn how to teach Mormon beliefs and use social media to reach potential converts. These punishments, former students say, were often administered in a small room down a dark staircase, in the basement of the church, with blue padded floors and holes punched in the wall. 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. And I did get saved.. Cedar County Prosecutor Gaither says, with the large number of people investigators have been interviewing in the case, hes pleased to have the assistance of the attorney generals office. 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. ), Other students describe staffers encouraging classmates to fight one another, and cutting off communication with loved ones when they complained. However, the Cedar County prosecutor says no students have been removed from the school. I'm not trying to reach for the moon on this stuff, said Richard Fiene, a research psychologist who spent decades directing public welfare and child services agencies in Pennsylvania, but Id like to see kids in safe environments where they cant be restrained and someone can't put a knee in their back and hold them to the floor where they can't breathe. Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. Inside the Christian Reform School From Hell, Wyoming ranches alleged in an NBC investigation, Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints. Moments later, Bindley says, Bryan yanked him backward, slamming his chair and his head into the concrete floor. Their lawyer denies the allegations and says that their innocence will prevail in court. And they would never tell you how long your stay in Brown Town will be, Breshears says. It received initial passage in the house and needs one more vote before going on to the Senate. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. (Agap denies these allegations. Agape Boarding School Abuse Lawsuit - Pennsylvania Schools Details: WebFormer students of Agape from Alabama, Texas, and Michigan have filed two civil lawsuits against the Boarding School for multiple charges that include physical, agape ranch abuse Verified 5 days ago It has not come up for a vote yet, but key Republicans in the Legislature have already signaled support. (Agap denies any knowledge of these allegations. In March 2020, a former Agap student named Joseph Askins stopped in to visit, and witnessed abuse that shocked him. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. 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.) Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. They would say, Youre nothing. In other words, Grandmother can spank the children as can Agap.. According to AG Schmitts office, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department employs at least three people who used to work at Agap. 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. It also taught creationism and that women should be subservient to their husbands, while weaving biblical references into the materials. Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. "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. (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. They said that they were bringing me to my parents, he says. Relevance: This course is designed for master's level counselors, addiction professionals, and nurses who have direct client contact. . Agape Ranch and Boarding School near Stockton, Missouri, a facility operated by Agape Baptist Church. (Knock her out! he can be heard saying.) One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. STOCKTON, Mo. Agape Ranch-courtesy photo. 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. But in Missouri, only the local prosecutor can file charges, and Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither has said no additional employees would be charged. The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The allegations of abuse were filed at the Cedar County Circuit . 2 min read. 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 . We are faced with the horrifying truth that a network of immoral individuals have engaged in what amounts to organized crime against children, Rob Vescovo, the Republican speaker of the Missouri House, wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore, urging her to employ the FBI to investigate. The site, designed as a Christian camp, had cabins, a shower facility, a mess hall, and a small chapel. I for sure think it would be harder to bring charges, because then your standard of proof is going to be higher, said Daniel Pollack, a social work professor at Yeshiva University. 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. 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. The foothills of the Ozarks sat in the distance. 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. One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. In May 2021, the law requiring religious schools to register with the state passed. Still, administrators at many of these schools insist they are a force for good. Allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Agape and Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch prompted a state law in 2021 requiring stricter oversight of such facilities. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. For the first time, religious schools would be required to register with the state and undergo inspections; the attorney general would now have authority to close down facilities that posed a threat to students. For example, Arkansas allows boarding schools and child welfare agencies operated solely by a religious organization to be exempt from licensing. James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. 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