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. Children as young as four-years-old may have had up to five foster . The last time would be his graduation. We are the best rehab . (They do so much good for this town and you cannot believe the difference they have made in these young men, says Jackie Cargell, who has lived in the town for 57 years.) For more on this story, watch NBC's "Dateline" episode, "Broken Circle". 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. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. 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. 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. The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . 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. 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. It could last for days on end. The former director of Agape Boarding School pleaded with a Cole County judge on Monday to keep himself off the state's central registry of child abuse and . Since last year, 19 former students have filed lawsuits against the school, alleging physical and emotional abuse, and in . but has gone public in the past year with his . They denied it. And its not just Missouri. Bindley remembers learning quickly that retribution for breaking the rules was swift and sometimes painful. UPDATE (Feb. 12, 2021, 2:33 p.m. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. He grabbed the bat, charged toward the front of the cafeteria, and shattered a plate-glass window. The Kansas City Star ran a series of exposs detailing shocking allegations first about Circle of Hope, then Agap. J.M. Though the area is largely Baptist, Cedar County has a tradition of religious tolerance. There is no cost to you, not even if you enroll in any school we might mention to you. Graves did not respond to a request for comment. Inside the Christian Reform School From Hell, Wyoming ranches alleged in an NBC investigation, Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints. Andrew Breshears in his Agap uniform. Agape's trouble began in 2020 when former students came forward with abuse allegations. 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. Agape had 132 students 13 months ago, its lawyer, John Schultz said. Call us today and find long-term recovery. Seth Duncan was charged with five counts of third . In November, a man who is reportedly a former Agap employee was charged with 215 counts of possession of child pornography. I have concerns about every inch of that place, County Commissioner Sue Miller said. Former Calallen ISD teacher Joseph Sandoval sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexual abuse . These courses are core requirements for Florida . 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. And he said, No, theyre not. He cuffed me up and dropped me back off at Agap. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, FBI chief says agency feels pandemic likely started with Chinese lab leak, House select committee hearing paints China as a strategic antagonist, JetBlue flight forced to abort landing in close call at Logan Airport, Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Vanessa Bryant, family settles claims over Kobe crash site photos for $28.5M, Agape Boarding School, Stockton, Cedar County, Missouri. 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. If there is a question about a policy or rule, do not ask your son.. (The recommendations are not public, so the implicated staff members are unknown.) The Kansas City Star reported that the Householders deny all allegations . One former student reportedly mentioned Agap in a suicide note. Schrag says he tried to escape around 2007, when he was 15. McCrary said his office has received complaints about Agap, and that theyve all been investigated as far as it could go. He called Graves a very good deputy. McCrary said that he ensures there is no conflict of interest when investigating Agap complaints by involving other agencies, like the social services department. The school is a nonprofit owned by the Agap Baptist Church, which was also started by the Clemensens. Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. Address . Published: Mar. An investigation into the school began after The Star reported on the abuse allegations last year. Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither asked the governors office for help in his investigation of the Agape Ranch and Boarding School west of Stockton. 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. But then, Breshears made friends and began to reconsider his allegiances particularly, he says, after he witnessed classmates getting restrained. Missouri previously had virtually no oversight for religious boarding schools. Jan. 18, 2023. Passing under the majestic cross affixed to its towering arched entryway, Breshears gazed over a beautiful campus. After each event, the team assesses what went well, what could be done better, and how many children/foster families were positively impacted. Operators declined to comment about the investigation. The Montana Family Foundation, an anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage advocacy organization, lobbied against the proposals, as well, and Smith said their opposition scared lawmakers who didnt want a negative mark on the conservative groups legislative scorecard. They moved their wards in and set them to work clearing the site and fixing the property. We are faith-based, free, and swift to respond. At least three Cedar County Sheriff's Department employees currently or previously work at Agape, including two full-time deputies, one of whom is married to the daughter of Agape's founder, the petition read. I was sheltered, Breshears says. But Breshears got a rude welcome. 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. The video follows numerous allegations of abuse against Agape, a Christian reform school for boys, which until a new law in 2021, had virtually no state oversight due to its faith-based status. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? DSS added . He ran the school on fear, says Colton Schrag, a former gang associate who attended the school twice between 2004 and 2010, and is not suing because the statute of limitations has expired. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud. This results in many children being separated from their siblings and the only community that they know. Bryan Clemensen was not among those charged. Its good to be back with family, he says. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at. IN THE MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL, Breshears feelings about Agap changed. In recent months, Clemensen has become the face of the controversy a fearless leader doing Gods work to those fighting to save his school, a sadistic villain to those who aim to close it. Child welfare officials in Washington cited Agap for overcrowding and poor sanitation, according to a 1995 newspaper article. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Alumni of Christian boarding schools for troubled teens in Missouri, including Agape and Circle of Hope, say state laws prevented inspections, enabling abuse to continue for decades. I was just like, Screw it, he says. But in July, his mother rewon custody and sprung him from Agap. The foothills of the Ozarks sat in the distance. He has been a trainer for 10 years specializing in substance abuse. There was a small room down a dark staircase with blue padded floors and holes punched in the wall. Each worker is facing abuse charges. A decent life.. According to AG Schmitts office, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department employs at least three people who used to work at Agap. 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. Operators advertise it as a national boarding school for at-risk or unmotivated boys. He is pleased to hear the Missouri attorney generals office is now investigating Agape Boarding School. in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds, Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act. Agape Boarding School was moving away from the "nonbelievers" in Washington and California and heading east. In 1991, Todd Bindley, then 13, moved in. Moments later, Bindley says, Bryan yanked him backward, slamming his chair and his head into the concrete floor. / AP. Agape Connection. 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. When he was told he couldnt live with his mother after her stint in rehab, he threatened to kill himself, and another person from the household. Agape Boarding school has had its share of abuse allegations over the years. Stockton is located 130 miles south of Kansas City, a lazy drive down sunbaked roads lined with oak forests and rolling fields. The result, experts said, is that in much of the country, no one from the government checks to ensure that these facilities, often in remote regions, meet basic standards before children are enrolled. 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. 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. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. 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. 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. The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Staff members would jump on you, said Schrag. 79 were here. He would later set up a transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to help him. Our rehabilitation center in Fort Lauderdale for substance abuse embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances. He is a manipulator, says Breshears. In May, his daughter Amanda and women who attended Circle of Hope began posting videos on TikTok describing violent restraints, starvation and emotional abuse at the ranch. Though he is 16, he is a freshman; Agaps curriculum is often not compatible with local requirements. 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. 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. Churches of Christ don't have enough preachers to fill all the open pulpits in our fellowship. New court filings reveal some of the most brutal allegations of abuse at Agape Boarding School so far, including former students' account that two staffers sexually assaulted him. After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily . THORNTON, Colo. Agape Bible Church canceled all church services last weekend after a FOX31 Problem Solvers investigation into whether its head pastor tried to cover up an alleged sexual abuse . The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. 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. 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. 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. Many of the kids my parents took in would be back six months later in worse shape, Bryan says. 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 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. 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. Award honors influential children's minister. The desire of 51:10 Youth Ranch is to provide a safe place for children, horses and families. Pinehaven did not respond to a request for comment. 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. Roloff was perhaps best known for starting boarding homes in the 1960s to reform youth he described as parent-hating, Satan-worshipping, dope-taking immoral boys and girls, utilizing corporal punishment and isolation for children who disobeyed. Boyd opened the ranch in 2006 as a "school that he claimed could reform rebellious teenage girls," according to NBC News. 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. In other words, Grandmother can spank the children as can Agap.. Students called it the Padded Palace. That was the last straw; they had him committed. One student said staffers had branded him with a cross. Bryan Clemensen stops a tour of the group home to pet Sally, the ranchs beloved camel. It received initial passage in the house and needs one more vote before going on to the Senate. 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. To keep order, Agap instituted a military-like hierarchy, indicated by colored shirts that denoted ranks. The Missouri Department of Social Services does not conduct regular inspections of private religious schools, but child protective services and police can investigate if there is a specific abuse allegation reported. They insisted everyone call them Brother Jim and Maam, and their son Brother Bryan.. For a time, Breshears stayed out of trouble. . That's no secret, as news stories in The Christian. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. Paris Hilton's fellow PCS alums said they were stunned to see the heiress, who has amassed 12.6 million followers on Instagram alone, used the hashtag #BreakingCodeSilence in a social media post. If you resisted any, they would start kneeing you, hitting you, just mashing your face into the tile or concrete, wherever it was.. By 5+ Local Business Owners! They promoted me I was the youngest person to go red. . On March 9, 2021, AG Schmitt announced 102 charges against the Householders, including rape and physical abuse. 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. 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. Several lawsuits filed on behalf of former students also have named Agape and Circle of Hope. They noted that DSS had confirmed a case of child abuse and added the name of the Agap staffer responsible to the Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry, prohibiting him from working at a residential facility. 4/5/2021. We want to hear it. At first glance, the facility for at-risk and unmotivated boys a Baptist institution in Stockton, Missouri wasnt so terrible. 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. abuse at agape I have spent the last 5 days at agape boys ranch helping with the annual horse sale. Locals says the Clemensens ingratiated themselves by offering tours, and hosting Boy Scout breakfasts and luncheons for the local Methodist group. But under Missouri law, it was up to Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither to file charges. But many lawmakers are also oblivious to the consequences of lax oversight until there's a scandal. Minnesota has even less control. 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. Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near Humansville . 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. The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . 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. 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. They have law-enforcement ties, too. Boarding schools fleeing abuse claims in other states find 'Promised Land' in Missouri . Clemensen picked the state specifically because of its lack of regulation, he told a reporter in 2002, and said the school would leave Missouri if required to get a license. However, the Cedar County prosecutor says no students have been removed from the school. If you need expert assistance finding the right program for your boy, fill in this inquiry form or call 888-363-0888 (24/7) for a free, confidential information service (not affiliated with Agape). None of these inspections are required at religious boarding schools. In 2021, Agape's longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. They would say, Youre nothing. But in some states that have tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like Montana, lawmakers have met with resistance. Agape Boarding School in Stockton has been the subject of state and local investigations and several lawsuits from former students. Circle of Hope closed in 2020, and its owners, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, face 101 felony charges, including statutory rape, abuse and neglect of a child. 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. 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. 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. 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. In Missouri, at least, this could be changing. The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. (Knock her out! he can be heard saying.) After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. To him, it seemed arbitrary and needlessly brutal. You can start to heal., For his part, Breshears is grateful to be free. (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. He is living in California with his mother, Jennifer, and attending a public high school. He would later help stage an uprising as an attempt to get thrown out of the school. They said that they were bringing me to my parents, he says. She thought heavy metal was like witchcraft, he says. 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. Breshears spotted a baseball bat poking out of an equipment bag. 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. Until 2017, Alabamas Religious Freedom Amendment shielded boarding schools such as the Restoration Youth Academy and its sister facility, the Saving Youth Foundation, from government oversight. 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. (KY3) - Missouris attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. 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 allowed it to happen.. Woody Harrelson Spreads Anti-Vax Conspiracies During SNL Monologue Among other things, the new state law allows state or local authorities to petition the court for closure of a facility if children's safety or health are believed to be in immediate danger. Boyd and Stephanie Householders daughter says they worked at Agape for four years. 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. 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. STOCKTON, Mo. It has not come up for a vote yet, but key Republicans in the Legislature have already signaled support. Whatever the case, Clemensen has many allies where it perhaps counts the most: in the community. They also look at records from any incidents in which a child is injured or restrained. 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. (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. But hes not complaining. People who have care, custody, and control of those children have that right, as well. (361) 742-6330. Posted at 6:19 PM, Sep 01, 2022. and last updated 4:46 PM, Sep 01, 2022. Another describes a staffer holding a pocket knife to his throat. 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! Shrag is holding an Agape year book. Bryan, by then in his twenties, was working in a state-funded group home. Amanda Householder is suing her parents, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, owners of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School. He enjoyed watching movies, listening to Elvis, and playing soccer with his friends. Missouri previously had virtually no . Yet the delays have frustrated state lawmakers. It took a disturbing criminal case to make it happen. "I would argue Pinehaven is doing a very good job with very difficult kids.". The couple met when Jim pulled Kathy over for drag racing a beat-up Ford Pinto around the East Bay. 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. 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.". He says one told local police that he had escaped from a Nazi camp.. Federal lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation to curtail abuses in the industry. Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. In civil suits, Agap students describe being choked with rebar and electrical cords, pushed through drywall, having their noses broken, and hit in the testicles hard enough to cause traumatic groin injury. They say several boys attempted to hang themselves, in what they call a pandemic among students. Agap, through its attorney, denies the allegations, and says that no student there has ever killed himself. Thank you for your generous support [] 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. When 19-year-old Rebekah Cooper started her mission, she had to give up her first name . Netflixs Outer Banks Buries Itself in Ridiculous Season 3 Christian Reform School Accused of Abuse Shuts Down After Rolling Stone Expos. If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious. Sandoval, Agaps dean of students, worked shifts at the county jail. 60% of the children in our county are being placed outside of our county due to the lack of foster homes in our community. 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Is no cost to you, not even if you enroll in any school might... The most: in the house and needs one more vote before going on to Senate... Children & # x27 ; ve suffered all their lives former Agap was... Attempted to hang themselves, in what they call a pandemic among.. Circle '' they led to a request for comment the Star reported on the abuse allegations last year he 16., Agap instituted a military-like hierarchy, indicated by colored shirts that denoted ranks had its of!, lawmakers have met with resistance Agaps curriculum is often not compatible with local requirements Agap, and control those. Since last year Pinto around the east Bay that theyve all been investigated as far as it could.! About every inch of that place, County Commissioner Sue Miller said is or. Boy Scout breakfasts and luncheons for the local Methodist group lawsuits from former students filed... Very good job with very difficult kids. `` Hope voluntarily Republicans in the house and needs more!