For example, when many foster children age out of the system, they have lived in an average of 12 foster homes. Agape Ranch is a thriving faith-based non-profit offering a forward-thinking and compassionate community-based solution to the foster care crisis facing America today. 2 min read. Upon completion, our self sustaining community will care for up to 132 foster children and young adults at a time. 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. I just kind of felt like I was on my own, said Schrag, 28, who now works in the oil industry in Texas. Youre never gonna make it out.. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. It was easy to get in trouble for stupid shit, Breshears recalls. Lack of oversight is not limited to Missouri. Staff members would jump on you, said Schrag. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bindley remembers learning quickly that retribution for breaking the rules was swift and sometimes painful. They said that they were bringing me to my parents, he says. 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 . They would put you down, says Breshears. That is blasphemous.. 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. After Schrag, then 14, refused to answer their questions, he said, one of the employees knocked him to the ground, and then others held him facedown, pressing a knee into his back and head. 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. 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. So they were all, in my book, guilty of association, said Schrag. A scandal-plagued fundamentalist boarding school in Missouri is facing renewed criticism after video surfaced allegedly showing "clear abuse" by a leader at the school. MANY OF THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST Agap staffers are easily found on podcasts and interviews on YouTube. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) Yet Agaps neighbors insist they never had any idea. Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud. Once they were done, staff members took away Schrags clothes and bedding, he said, and made him wear only a bathrobe and his boxers for two months. 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 more Ingle learned about Circle of Hope, the more she came to believe that the problem wasn't limited to one school, but pointed to a systemic failure of state oversight. That . 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 founders, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, received 99 charges of sex crimes, child abuse . But in some states that have tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like Montana, lawmakers have met with resistance. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? 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. (Knock her out! he can be heard saying.) "Pinehaven has had challenges over the years, but so has everyone," Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy said at a 2019 hearing. And he said, No, theyre not., In 1996, the Clemensens purchased 40 acres just outside of town. Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. Jim and Kathy appeared at the hospital a few weeks later. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. Agape had 132 students 13 months ago, its lawyer, John Schultz said. 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. Regretfully, child abuse and neglect have continued to rise and the work of Agape Ranch is needed now more than ever. When 19-year-old Rebekah Cooper started her mission, she had to give up her first name . Published: Mar. Wednesday afternoon, a House committee questions Missouri Department of Social Services leaders about their investigations into boarding schools. ), Such alleged retribution was not necessarily confined to Brown Town. Former Calallen ISD teacher Joseph Sandoval sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexual abuse . Facebook Page. Jan. 23, 2023. (KY3) - Missouris attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. It would be helpful for them to come in early on this one as opposed to come in at a later date, said Gaither. 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. Throughout the 1980s, Kathy and Jim fostered children whose parents were in jail. One day after the FBI announced the arrest of a former Agape Boarding School dean, a civil right's . 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.. Shrag is holding an Agape year book. 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. 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 They were very detailed and professional. Montana carved out a religious exemption when it set up a new system for licensing youth facilities and reform schools in 2007. Riley Olson and His crew-help the students start and progress colts raised on the ranch, and each year they have a public auction and the young men that are a part of the program show the horse and ride him through the sale. 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. Some who attended and worked at the school said otherwise. Askins reached out to Child Protective Services and then shared the video with the Householders estranged daughter, Amanda. (Agap denies this.) 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. Posted at 6:19 PM, Sep 01, 2022. and last updated 4:46 PM, Sep 01, 2022. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. 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. Cant make those decisions until weve had an opportunity to review the investigative reports, and those are being put together, said Gaither. Selena Gomez Taking a Break From Social Media After Hailey Bieber Drama: I'm 'Too Old for This Lawmakers held hearings and introduced a bill that would give the state some oversight. 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. Francis lied, he said, because Robert Graves a Cedar County sheriffs deputy who is on the board of Agaps church and has worked at the school was present for the interview. Others said they suffered permanent injuries from being disciplined or forced to work long hours of manual labor. The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . The 100 Best Albums of 2022. "The healing process can start for so many.". Agape Boarding school has had its share of abuse allegations over the years. ET): After publication of this article, Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary disputed an account by former Agap student Lucas Francis. But he struggled at home. It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. South Carolina is a possibility; it still does not require religious schools to register with the state. He has been a trainer for 10 years specializing in substance abuse. 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. "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. In 2021, Agape's longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. The stories of abuse told through reports by NBC News, the Kansas City Star and others prompted Missouri lawmakers to hold hearings and propose legislation last month to ramp up state oversight. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. It also taught creationism and that women should be subservient to their husbands, while weaving biblical references into the materials. The founders of Circle of Hope face around 100 charges, some alleging sexual abuse. Agap did not respond to repeated requests for comment and interviews via phone, email and a letter left at the schools reception desk. 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.) The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. (Householder has denied that any abuse occurred at the ranch.). "I would argue Pinehaven is doing a very good job with very difficult kids.". Those details were outlined in motions filed in 19 civil lawsuits requesting that the Cedar County judge overseeing those cases allow . In the aftermath of the criminal case, the state enacted the Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act in 2017. Indeed, the version of the school students describe, community members say, is starkly different from the Agap the town has come to know. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. 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. He would later help stage an uprising as an attempt to get thrown out of the school. Agape Ranch and Boarding School near Stockton, Missouri, a facility operated by Agape Baptist Church. 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. In other words, Grandmother can spank the children as can Agap.. 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. 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. He says one told local police that he had escaped from a Nazi camp.. On Jan. 11, 2023, Agap Boarding School announced it will close its doors, a decision former director Bryan Clemensen says is due to a lack of financial resources. Pinehaven did not respond to a request for comment. But the bills essentially became a referendum on one unregulated facility, the Pinehaven Christian Children's Ranch in St. Ignatius, Montana, whose founder showed up to hearings with supporters to argue against the change. That's no secret, as news stories in The Christian. After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. Bindley, who Clemensen calls one of Agaps top success stories, says the experience left him with lasting trauma, and left a stain on my childhood growing up., Colton Schrag says he decided to speak after PTSD drove him into counseling. These courses are core requirements for Florida . 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. It received initial passage in the house and needs one more vote before going on to the Senate. 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. Its good to be back with family, he says. All Rights Reserved. 4/5/2021. People had reported Circle of Hope at least 19 times since it opened to three sheriffs departments, state child welfare and education officials, the highway patrol, and the state attorney generals office, according to interviews and records obtained by NBC News. She thought heavy metal was like witchcraft, he says. At the time of reporting, he is not yet in police custody, and an arrest warrant has been issued in his name. The Missouri AG launched a joint investigation with Cedar County authorities. 24, 2021 at 10:23 AM PDT | Updated: Mar. James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. 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. One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. And I did get saved.. KANSAS CITY (AP) Maggie Drew's dad sent her to Circle . The criminal division of the EPA investigated and charged Jim Clemensen for improperly disposing of hazardous material. (888) 614-0077. . The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. 5151 Flynn Parkway Suite 106 Corpus Christi, TX 78411. 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. Agaps handbook states it has a strict hands-off policy regarding the students, and does not use corporal punishment. Schrag says the verbal abuse was constant. Attendance at Agape plummeted after abuse allegations surfaced. . The industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that claims to help or fix troubled teenagers . I believe the community is aware. Agape bills itself as a 30-year-old Christian outfit that "has helped thousands of troubled teens" in part "by showing God's love daily to these boys." But those who identify as abuse survivors . At first glance, the facility for at-risk and unmotivated boys a Baptist institution in Stockton, Missouri wasnt so terrible. The charges come after the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated allegations of abuse at the boarding school. 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. Federal lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation to curtail abuses in the industry. His outrage became open defiance. Boyd opened the ranch in 2006 as a "school that he claimed could reform rebellious teenage girls," according to NBC News. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images), Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. 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. 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 was time to go. These rules and policies are for their son's success and protection. Boarding schools fleeing abuse claims in other states find 'Promised Land' in Missouri . Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. Montana officials testified at hearings they had been frustrated by complaints registered against several programs that fell outside of regulation, and that some they didnt say which tried to avoid licensing by fraudulently claiming to be part of a church. 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. The report found those leaders had chronically mistreated survivors of abuse and spent decades trying to deny responsibility for abuse at individual . Missouri previously had virtually no oversight for religious boarding schools. I have concerns about every inch of that place, County Commissioner Sue Miller said. Anne Stych June 27, 2022. 2023 The Associated Press. STOCKTON, Mo. Then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office contended that 22 workers should have been charged, and with more serious crimes. 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. It was then he discovered an effort far more worthwhile than smashing windows: At least 18 other former students were filing lawsuits accusing the school and its staff of emotional, sexual, 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. And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. 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. IN THE MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL, Breshears feelings about Agap changed. Staff called it the intake or restraint room. They denied it. We want to make it about the children's rights rather than taking away religious rights. A judge ordered the school closed only to put the order on hold after Agap fired the staffer in question. So many. `` because of the criminal division of the abuse &! Few weeks later unlovable because of the criminal case, the state these rules and policies are their! Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against Agap staffers are easily found podcasts... Of this article, Cedar County Republican very good job with very difficult kids. `` Clemensen the! Updated: Mar needs one more vote before going on to the statistics motions... | updated: Mar serious crimes has a strict hands-off policy regarding the,... Substance abuse and interviews on YouTube than 100 EPA investigated and charged Jim Clemensen for disposing! Are for their son 's success and protection Colton Schrag, claims he was a sandy-haired 12-year-old weighed. 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