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. 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. 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. The Kansas City Star reported that the Householders deny all allegations . Hymns blared in the classrooms. In 1991, Todd Bindley, then 13, moved in. Robert Larsson, 89, a preacher and the founder of Pinehaven, gave folksy presentations about how his school improved the lives of children, who spent their days at the ranch wrangling calves, shoveling manure and learning Bible verses. Agape Ranch will establish a safe environment of 24 homes where foster children can receive the support they need in order to mature in all aspects of their lives. He grabbed the bat, charged toward the front of the cafeteria, and shattered a plate-glass window. It now has 12. 5151 Flynn Parkway Suite 106 Corpus Christi, TX 78411. They say theyre still haunted by nightmares, hypervigilance, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Agape Ranch will establish a safe environment of. Amanda Householder is suing her parents, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, owners of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School. 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. "The healing process can start for so many.". Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. 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. 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.". To keep order, Agap instituted a military-like hierarchy, indicated by colored shirts that denoted ranks. (Image: KY3 / Video screengrab) Nineteen former students of an embattled fundamentalist boarding school in Missouri have made new claims of brutal physical and sexual abuse in court filings this month. but has gone public in the past year with his . Schrag says the verbal abuse was constant. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. Right away, staff shaved his head, handed him an orange shirt and a pair of Wranglers, moved him into a dorm that looked like Marine barracks, and introduced him to a dizzying litany of rules. Bryan Clemensen was not among those charged. The Thrive program will provide housing and mentorship for young adults during their college or trade school career. The five employees of the Agape Boarding School near Stockton were charged with a total of 13 third-degree felony assault counts, Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither said. Agape Ranch breaks that cycle by providing compassionate care, connections within the community, and now by creating a neighborhood to give them a place to call home with families that provide unconditional love. The foothills of the Ozarks sat in the distance. Im trying to aim for a decent life, you know what Im saying? Regretfully, child abuse and neglect have continued to rise and the work of Agape Ranch is needed now more than ever. Within months, Jim was both saved and married, and Bryan had a new stepdad. His grandparents sent him to a mental hospital, then to Agap. Thank you for your generous support [] Breshears spotted a baseball bat poking out of an equipment bag. UPDATE (Feb. 12, 2021, 2:33 p.m. An investigation by NBC News and Dateline found that multiple states have similar gaps in the oversight of religious boarding schools, leaving children vulnerable to abuse. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. The schools are unrelated and are not affiliated with any particular Christian denomination. 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. 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. Mrs. Vicki Loeffler & Mrs. Rodney Johnson, DDS, Faithful Witness Photography, Photographer. But in some states that have tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like Montana, lawmakers have met with resistance. 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. Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud. Its about getting these kids to a place in their life where they have to look to God for help, he says. There were horses, a swimming pool, and a football team. "For nearly three decades, students at Agape Boarding School have experienced emotional, mental, physical . (The recommendations are not public, so the implicated staff members are unknown.) You can start to heal., For his part, Breshears is grateful to be free. Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. Several lawsuits filed on behalf of former students also have named Agape and Circle of Hope. Visit Website. 2 min read. Jan. 18, 2023. in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds, Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act. It was a video secretly recorded at nearby Circle of Hope Ranch that finally moved state authorities to get involved. Churches of Christ don't have enough preachers to fill all the open pulpits in our fellowship. But under state law at the time, the schools didnt have to tell the government they existed, and it took years of complaints before child welfare officials shut down their operations in 2015, and prosecutors charged the owners and a counselor at the facilities with aggravated child abuse. He would later set up a transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to help him. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The picture flashed on the big screen, and Brenda Gordon immediately . The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. 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 campus is also home to Agape Baptist Church. ET): After publication of this article, Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary disputed an account by former Agap student Lucas Francis. Boyd opened the ranch in 2006 as a "school that he claimed could reform rebellious teenage girls," according to NBC News. 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.) Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. 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. And its not just Missouri. 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 charges come after the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated allegations of abuse at the boarding school. 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. The curriculum included traditional math and English. Full Gala Taping. / AP. 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. 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. He is living in California with his mother, Jennifer, and attending a public high school. Minnesota has even less control. Despite the concerns former students have raised recently, no state agency has the ability under Missouri law to regularly inspect how children at Agap are treated. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. First published on January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM. 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. They held a blood drive, organized a Fourth of July fireworks spectacular, and began holding an annual rodeo. Its good to be back with family, he says. I was scared I would get in trouble, and just make everything worse for me, said Francis, whose account was first reported by the Kansas City Star. Since last year, 19 former students have filed lawsuits against the school, alleging physical and emotional abuse, and in . 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. After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. I can at least try to show others that you dont have to keep it inside. None of these raised eyebrows until former Agap staffers Boyd and Stephanie Householder opened Circle of Hope Girls Ranch. The next evening, a man found Jacob begging for change at a neighboring county supermarket 10 miles from Blue Creek and called Clay County Child Protective Services. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images), Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect. Please enter valid email address to continue. (Agap denies these allegations. If you resisted any, they would start kneeing you, hitting you, just mashing your face into the tile or concrete, wherever it was.. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. 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. Agape's doctor is charged with child sex crimes and five employees are accused of assault, though Missouri's attorney general thinks many more workers should have been charged.. There wasnt really any training, said James Clidence, a pastor who worked as a teacher at Agap from 2012 to 2015. That shouldn't be happening., If not, he added, kids are going to wind up losing their lives.. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Indeed, the version of the school students describe, community members say, is starkly different from the Agap the town has come to know. Agape Connection. IN THE MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL, Breshears feelings about Agap changed. 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