The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. 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! It would be helpful for them to come in early on this one as opposed to come in at a later date, said Gaither. They would put you down, says Breshears. Officials . Former students of Agape from Alabama, Texas, and Michigan have filed two civil lawsuits against the Boarding School for multiple charges that include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. ON SEPT. 7, 2022, ATTORNEY GENERAL SCHMITT and the State Department of Social Services (DSS) filed to close Agap. Surprise! Weve had 6,000 students and only a small percent are making these claims, and I could give you the names of many who thank me. Rolling Stone contacted one of them, Matt Carlson, who says he spent the better part of a year at Agap in the early 2000s. James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. Its just a very scary place to be, Bradney said. Jennifer says she knows it will take a while to reconnect, and she worries about the psychic scars left by the school shes already noticed that her son hates horses now. The video was posted Sunday by Robert Bucklin, who says he survived physical and sexual abuse at Agape Boarding School near Stockton. Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near Humansville . 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. Regretfully, child abuse and neglect have continued to rise and the work of Agape Ranch is needed now more than ever. Every year, thousands of young Mormons go on missions to try to recruit others into the religion. Child welfare experts say that makes it more difficult for a state to look into maltreatment, because police will only investigate what counts as a crime, rather than what places a child in danger. Youre never gonna make it out.. Operators declined to comment about the investigation. After abuse allegations at Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a religious boarding school near Agap, began spreading on TikTok last spring, the Cedar County Sheriff's Department opened an investigation, which the state attorney general joined and is ongoing. LAST MARCH, BRESHEARS SAYS, he was on kitchen duty when a staffer said some chocolate milk was missing from the fridge, and accused Breshears and several other students of stealing it. I can at least try to show others that you dont have to keep it inside. NWS confirms EF-1 tornado near Goodman, Mo. Thanks to the generosity of others, Agape Ranch will now be able to provide housing and mentorship for foster youth who age-out while they pursue higher education or career training. None of these inspections are required at religious boarding schools. . in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds, Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act. 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. Francis said that Robert Graves, a Cedar County sheriffs deputy who had worked at Agap, sat in on a meeting Francis had with a social worker who was looking into abuse allegations at the school. The last time would be his graduation. Netflixs Outer Banks Buries Itself in Ridiculous Season 3 ET): After publication of this article, Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary disputed an account by former Agap student Lucas Francis. And its not just Missouri. McCrary said in an email on Friday that Graves was not present for social workers interviews with students. Mrs. Vicki Loeffler & Mrs. Rodney Johnson, DDS, Faithful Witness Photography, Photographer. 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. Our rehabilitation center in Fort Lauderdale for substance abuse embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances. 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. We are faith-based, free, and swift to respond. 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. In August, Sandoval was charged with arranging the kidnapping of an emancipated teen in Fresno, California, on behalf of the boys estranged mother, and then having him driven, handcuffed, 27 hours to Agap. Posted Apr 03, 2022 11:00 AM. Which means that even if Missouri does end up shutting down Agap, the school could open in another state just as the Clemensens did when they were driven out of Washington. On cue, at least two others started beating up an unsuspecting student to create a distraction. I hired Agape to cut the lawn. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. 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. The legislation would require the schools to register with the state, and create paths for the state to conduct safety inspections of the facilities and shut them down after abuse allegations. Bryan Clemensen stops a tour of the group home to pet Sally, the ranchs beloved camel. Agape Ranch will establish a safe environment of. 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.) Schrag says the verbal abuse was constant. Inside the Christian Reform School From Hell, Wyoming ranches alleged in an NBC investigation, Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints. One former student reportedly mentioned Agap in a suicide note. After abuse allegations at Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, a religious boarding school near Agap, began spreading on TikTok last spring, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department opened an investigation, which the state attorney general joined and is ongoing. Meanwhile, the husband-and-wife founders of Circle of Hope, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, face a combined 99 charges that include child abuse and neglect, sex crimes and other counts. He liked Metallica and Garbage Pail Kids cards, and had a tendency to cause trouble. (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. They were marched downstairs, where things escalated, until, Breshears alleges, he was lying facedown with a staffer sitting on his legs and two others digging their kneecaps into his pressure points. I was sheltered, Breshears says. The state has been fighting to close Agap ever since. The industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that claims to help or fix troubled teenagers . Lack of oversight is not limited to Missouri. Clidence said Agap fired him in March 2015 when the school asked employees to sign a nondisparagement agreement, and he refused. Missouri's Agap Boarding School will close its doors due to a lack of finances, school officials say but the . But under Missouri law, it was up to Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither to file charges. 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. Agape Boarding School is located on a 200-acre ranch in Stockton, Missouri. IN THE MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL, Breshears feelings about Agap changed. A Tri-City Herald story from 1996 said that Franklin County officials ordered the facility to close for code violations over removing and . One former student said he was raped at Agape and called "seizure boy" because of his epilepsy. In Missouri, parents are allowed to discipline their children, he said. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) Pinehaven did not respond to a request for comment. As soon as Keri Ingle, a Democratic state representative from the Kansas City, Missouri, area and former child welfare investigator, read about the abuse allegations at Circle of Hope Girls Ranch last year, she called for hearings. The site, designed as a Christian camp, had cabins, a shower facility, a mess hall, and a small chapel. 24 homes where foster children can receive the support they need in order to mature in all aspects of their lives. We are gathered here, former students,. Anne Stych June 27, 2022. Its about getting these kids to a place in their life where they have to look to God for help, he says. The state attorney generals office claims that Agap staff threw students into walls, pushed them to the ground, ordered them to perform 1,000 pushups, intentionally starved them, and forced them to sleep in handcuffs and wear them for as long as eight days. 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. Several former staffers opened up similar schools nearby: There was the Legacy Academy Adventures, on a property owned by David Smock, Agaps longtime doctor who would later be accused of molesting students; there was the Masters Ranch Christian Academy, which later opened two more campuses. If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious. If I can save one kid, its worth it to me.. And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. Exposing Agape is about exactly what it's name says. Agape Boarding School in Stockton has been the subject of state and local investigations and several lawsuits from former students. The troubled teen industry is a term used to refer to a broad range of youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers. 2023 The Associated Press. I was just like, Screw it, he says. Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud. By JIM SALTER. Meanwhile, Agap has phased out the boarding school, instead running multiple group homes on its property, which detractors fear is a shell game aimed at shielding it from the new laws. Though the area is largely Baptist, Cedar County has a tradition of religious tolerance. 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. Agape Baptist Church owns and operates the private boarding school for boys in Stockton, MO. 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. After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily . In other words, Grandmother can spank the children as can Agap.. Agap did not respond to repeated requests for comment and interviews via phone, email and a letter left at the schools reception desk. By then, Circle of Hope had shut down after the state removed dozens of its students. He grabbed the bat, charged toward the front of the cafeteria, and shattered a plate-glass window. Full Gala Taping. STOCKTON, Mo. The most surprising thing is that nothing has been done so far to change anything, Ingle said. Shrag is holding an Agape year book. 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. Yet, when a social worker visited the school a year ago to follow up on a report that boys had been forced to run outside in the freezing temperatures and sleet, Francis said he claimed hed never seen abuse at Agap. Former students say Clemensen, a paunchy middle-aged man with a buzz cut, a soft chin, and a stern manner, had a technique that he called Jurassic Elbow which entailed slamming his elbow into the back of a students skull, face, ribs, or down between the shoulder blades. 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. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. 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. It was late on April 20, 2007, he said, and the staff at the all-boys boarding school in southwestern Missouri wanted him to confess that he and two other boys were going to try to run away. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. Since Circle of Hope opened in 2006, at least 15 people said they reported abuse at the ranch to at least six local, state and federal agencies in Missouri, an NBC News investigation found, based . Chapel was daily. South Carolina is a possibility; it still does not require religious schools to register with the state. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. They moved their wards in and set them to work clearing the site and fixing the property. Editors Note: This story, which appears in the January 2023 issue of Rolling Stone, has been updated to include additional details on court cases that had not been decided until after the print deadline. By 14, Breshears says, he was fully in staffers crosshairs. 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. Mr. Lewis, CAP, has been credentialed as a certified alcohol and drug counselor for 20 years. It appeared to be a vast improvement over his previous digs. The evening began with a social hour and silent auction and continued with dinner and inspirational testimonies as we opened the next chapter of Agape Ranch. Colton Schrag remembers the night at the Agap Boarding School when, he says, a staff member punched him in the face. The school closed in 2020 amid investigations. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time 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. Indeed, the version of the school students describe, community members say, is starkly different from the Agap the town has come to know. ", "Today, the many victims who have come forth can rest assured that no more children will be hurt at Agape Boarding School," Bucklin said in a text. Churches of Christ don't have enough preachers to fill all the open pulpits in our fellowship. 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. Though Ms. Allred's office has spent months soliciting a cash settlement, we were unaware that a suit would be filed. After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. Trending It took a disturbing criminal case to make it happen. For a time, Breshears stayed out of trouble. But in some states that have tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like Montana, lawmakers have met with resistance. (Clemensen says this was a nickname the boys had for an elbow injury, and denies the abuse.) Boyd and Stephanie Householders daughter says they worked at Agape for four years. Bindley remembers learning quickly that retribution for breaking the rules was swift and sometimes painful. Every year, Agape Ranch hosts our Adoption Connection event to help children in foster care find their forever home. We want to hear it. The allegations of abuse were filed at the Cedar County Circuit . STOCKTON, Mo. Address . The state social services department determined in a preliminary finding in 2018 that Householder physically abused a minor, according to court documents but that was not publicized and the school continued to enroll students for more than two years before it voluntarily closed. In addition to the fired staffer, DSS has substantiated findings of child abuse or neglect against Bryan Clemensen and two other Agap employees, according to The Kansas City Star. For many survivors of Agap, that would be tough to accept. Published: Mar. Jacob smelled foul and the . He cut it 1x and never would respond to my calls. 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. He says staff would restrain boys on the ground and use pressure points to the point of bruising. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. He says one told local police that he had escaped from a Nazi camp.. So far Clemensen has kept his name out of the registry; he lost an appeal on Nov. 17, and filed for a judicial review in circuit court, which granted him a temporary restraining order keeping him off the list. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images), Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect. After each event, the team assesses what went well, what could be done better, and how many children/foster families were positively impacted. Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither asked the governors office for help in his investigation of the Agape Ranch and Boarding School west of Stockton. More than 90% of young adults aging-out of the foster care system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Lucas Francis, 19, said he regularly witnessed staff members slam boys into walls and onto the ground when he attended Agap from 2017 to 2020. Former students and their attorneys allege that for years Clemensen has been a toxic presence at the school, encouraging his staff to use violence to maintain order. 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 organization did not respond to requests for comment, but in presentations to the Legislature, the group repeatedly highlighted reports that children had been assaulted at secular youth facilities regulated by the state. There, according to Bindley, he was put to work painting, roofing, and helping to dismantle a web of lead pipes covered in asbestos, which he was told to carry to the top of a hill and throw into a pit used to burn garbage. Agape had 132 students 13 months ago, its lawyer, John Schultz said. The criminal division of the EPA investigated and charged Jim Clemensen for improperly disposing of hazardous material. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? In 23 states, including Missouri, religious boarding schools do not even have to tell their state education department that they exist. Children said pastors and staff members at both facilities choked and punched them, kept them in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds and forced them to box each other. 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. 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! 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. The action galvanized Agap alumni, as well, and they began telling their stories to local media and on podcasts. 3/11/2021. One day after the FBI announced the arrest of a former Agape Boarding School dean, a civil right's . The schools are unrelated and are not affiliated with any particular Christian denomination. Earlier this year, Smock, the schools longtime physician, was charged with 12 felony sexual-molestation crimes against those in his care. 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. Church was on Wednesday and three times on Sunday. 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. One killed in officer-involved shooting in Branson, Mo. Schrags adoptive parents placed him in Agap which takes its name from the ancient Greek word Christians use to describe the love of God for humankind hoping the program would help him deal with anger issues and disobedience. 90% of young adults aging-out of the foster care system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. He likes to get in peoples heads.. The next morning, Breshears made a plan with the other students to start a riot. That evening, as Agaps 150 students and staffers were finishing up dinner, Breshears spotted a fellow conspirator flash a thumbs-up. The school follows a fundamentalist Baptist belief system, according to a 2002 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, and displayed a photo of the radio evangelist Lester Roloff, who died in a plane crash in 1982. Seven boys tested positive for tuberculosis. Locals says the Clemensens ingratiated themselves by offering tours, and hosting Boy Scout breakfasts and luncheons for the local Methodist group. The foothills of the Ozarks sat in the distance. The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. 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. Hymns blared in the classrooms. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. But legislation she pushed for several years to require these programs to be licensed by the state the same way as secular facilities repeatedly failed to even get a vote. It was renewed on Dec. 7. And I did get saved.. (Knock her out! he can be heard saying.) In 2021, Agape's longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. But Breshears got a rude welcome. 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. Askins reached out to Child Protective Services and then shared the video with the Householders estranged daughter, Amanda. The cases against five people who worked at Agape Boarding school are moving forward. But in July, his mother rewon custody and sprung him from Agap. After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily shut down. Jan. 18, 2023. And he said, No, theyre not. He cuffed me up and dropped me back off at Agap. Amanda, then 29, says her parents kicked her out when she was 17. 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. As a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to providing high quality foster care in South Texas by supporting foster and adoptive families, we have been working diligently in the areas of prevention, foster care, adoption, and aging-out to provide support and mentorship for vulnerable children in our community. Agape Boys Ranch Entrance. He is living in California with his mother, Jennifer, and attending a public high school. In Missouri, at least, this could be changing. Relevance: This course is designed for master's level counselors, addiction professionals, and nurses who have direct client contact. Circle of Hope was opened in 2006 by Boyd Householder, a former Agap employee, as a school for rebellious teenage girls. Agaps handbook states it has a strict hands-off policy regarding the students, and does not use corporal punishment. Allen Knoll, who attended Agap from 1999 to 2001, looks at Alabamas law as a template of what we can do across the country. The only thing that has held back change in Missouri, he said, is a lack of public knowledge about what goes on inside these schools. Hed hoped to get kicked out, which didnt happen. 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. 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. Attendance at Agape plummeted after abuse allegations surfaced. 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. Tuesday, The Independent reported that DSS substantiated 10 preponderance of evidence claims of physical abuse at Agape. 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. Updated: Dec 13, 2022 / 12:48 PM CST. If you resisted any, they would start kneeing you, hitting you, just mashing your face into the tile or concrete, wherever it was.. The staff often singled out members of Brown Town for abuse, depositions filed by former Agap students suggest. Others said they suffered permanent injuries from being disciplined or forced to work long hours of manual labor. The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . If there is a question about a policy or rule, do not ask your son.. 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 . Minnesota has even less control. 5151 Flynn Parkway Suite 106 Corpus Christi, TX 78411. The founders of Circle of Hope face around 100 charges, some alleging sexual abuse. STOCKTON, Mo. According to AG Schmitts office, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department employs at least three people who used to work at Agap. He has been a trainer for 10 years specializing in substance abuse. One morning, he overheard one of the Clemensen daughters asking for help with a math problem, to which Bindley shot back a smartass remark. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at jorden@agaperanch.org or click the button below. (NBC News presented a copy of Clidences nondisparagement agreement to Agap to confirm or dispute its authenticity, but the school did not respond.). Appalled, he used his phone to surreptitiously record Boyd Householder, who appeared to be ordering Circle of Hope students to physically assault one of their classmates. 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. It was time to go. 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Been a trainer for 10 years specializing in substance abuse. conspirator flash a thumbs-up to. Staffers crosshairs for 20 years in prison a tour of the Agape Ranch Boarding. Clemensen stops a tour of the Agape Ranch hosts our Adoption Connection event to help or fix teenagers. Where foster children can receive the support they need in order to mature all.
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