Agape now has roughly 60 students, about half of the population the school had in early 2021 when the Missouri Highway Patrol and DSS launched an investigation into abuse allegations. (361) 742-6330. They promoted me I was the youngest person to go red. 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. 180 Ministries, a ministry of Teen Challenge, located in Denver Colorado, is a residential substance abuse . It also taught creationism and that women should be subservient to their husbands, while weaving biblical references into the materials. Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. 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. 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. 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. The cases against five people who worked at Agape Boarding school are moving forward. (Clemensen says this was a nickname the boys had for an elbow injury, and denies the abuse.) Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. 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. 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. (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. For a time, Breshears stayed out of trouble. The posts went viral even receiving a thumbs-up from Paris Hilton. Please enter valid email address to continue. The glass flew everywhere, he says. 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. On cue, at least two others started beating up an unsuspecting student to create a distraction. The industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that claims to help or fix troubled teenagers . "If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious.". On the wooded roads near Agap, Amish men drive horse-drawn buggies; hundreds of members of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints live on a nearby compound called the Ranch., I got picked up by the Cedar County Sheriffs Department, and I tried to tell the guy, Theyre beating us,, says one former student. Pinehaven did not respond to a request for comment. Stockton is located 130 miles south of Kansas City, a lazy drive down sunbaked roads lined with oak forests and rolling fields. And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. Former students said their communication with parents and local authorities was censored. Since it claims to be a Christian organization, is not regulated by the state because of a religious exemption. Passing under the majestic cross affixed to its towering arched entryway, Breshears gazed over a beautiful campus. It was easy to get in trouble for stupid shit, Breshears recalls. Editors picks The report found those leaders had chronically mistreated survivors of abuse and spent decades trying to deny responsibility for abuse at individual . 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. Youre never gonna make it out.. Wednesday afternoon, a House committee questions Missouri Department of Social Services leaders about their investigations into boarding schools. Youre dirtbags, youre hoodlums. One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. Clemensen said the decision to close "is voluntary and solely due to the lack of financial resources to continue caring for the boys.". We are gathered here, former students,. The staff often singled out members of Brown Town for abuse, depositions filed by former Agap students suggest. ET): After publication of this article, Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary disputed an account by former Agap student Lucas Francis. Breshears spotted a baseball bat poking out of an equipment bag. 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. As owners of the Circle of Hope Ranch, the couple faces 100 criminal abuse charges between them. State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. But under Missouri law, it was up to Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither to file charges. Five months later, authorities raided Circle of Hope, seizing evidence and removing 25 girls from the ranch. The term encompasses various facilities and programs, including youth residential treatment centers, wilderness programs, boot camps, and therapeutic boarding schools.. Posted at 6:19 PM, Sep 01, 2022. and last updated 4:46 PM, Sep 01, 2022. Netflixs Outer Banks Buries Itself in Ridiculous Season 3 SPRINGFIELD DRIVERS: Construction at Campbell and Republic starts soon. They were very detailed and professional. South Carolina is a possibility; it still does not require religious schools to register with the state. 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. We are the best rehab . Agape Ranch plans out programs, fund raisers, and community outreach monthly. 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! 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. Minnesota has even less control. If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious. 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. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The picture flashed on the big screen, and Brenda Gordon immediately . Operators advertise it as a national boarding school for at-risk or unmotivated boys. J.M. Selena Gomez Taking a Break From Social Media After Hailey Bieber Drama: I'm 'Too Old for This 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. 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. Address . (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images), Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect. But hes not complaining. Jan. 18, 2023. in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds, Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act. Trump White House Pressured Disney to Censor Jimmy Kimmel Schrag says he tried to escape around 2007, when he was 15. Christian Reform School Accused of Abuse Shuts Down After Rolling Stone Expos. Master's Ranch Christian Academy which has had a facility in southern Missouri for more than a decade opened a new location . Soon theyd be in a place where they were untouchable. A student at Agap Boarding School near Stockton, Missouri, performs push ups when his student guide ruled his clean up work was not good enough in September 2002. I have concerns about every inch of that place, County Commissioner Sue Miller said. The team at Agape Ranch said they wanted the youth there Friday night to know that they are valued. The group claims a wide range of abuse, from starvation to physical and emotional abuse. 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. Its good to be back with family, he says. If there is a question about a policy or rule, do not ask your son.. Gaither declined to comment, but told the Cedar County Republican that Agap has the right to administer corporal punishment. Agape had 132 students 13 months ago, its lawyer, John Schultz said. Munton allowed the school to remain open, with state supervision.Allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Agape and nearby Christian boarding school Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch prompted a . The allegations of abuse were filed at the Cedar County Circuit . 24, 2021 at 10:23 AM PDT | Updated: Mar. Tuesday, The Independent reported that DSS substantiated 10 preponderance of evidence claims of physical abuse at Agape. 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. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. Colton Shrag, age 16 on a home visit from Agap in 2008. Shrag is holding an Agape year book. They also look at records from any incidents in which a child is injured or restrained. (Agap denies any knowledge of these allegations. In Missouri, at least, this could be changing. Others said they suffered permanent injuries from being disciplined or forced to work long hours of manual labor. Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. They claim Clemensen was on a power trip and seemed to enjoy brutalizing the kids in his charge. After each event, the team assesses what went well, what could be done better, and how many children/foster families were positively impacted. 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. "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. This results in many children being separated from their siblings and the only community that they know. None of these inspections are required at religious boarding schools. The site, designed as a Christian camp, had cabins, a shower facility, a mess hall, and a small chapel. In November, a man who is reportedly a former Agap employee was charged with 215 counts of possession of child pornography. In 1995, county officials shut them down after health inspectors found the school which by then had 140 students and 25 staffers had rotting food, holes in the walls large enough to allow rodents to enter, and exposed wiring. 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. 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. He would later help stage an uprising as an attempt to get thrown out of the school. All Rights Reserved. Agape Boarding School in Stockton has been the subject of state and local investigations and several lawsuits from former students. Staffers grabbed Breshears and, he claims, threw him onto the glass. He would later set up a transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to help him. 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.. 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. Youre going to be dead or in prison three months after you turn 18.. (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) Then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office contended that 22 workers should have been charged, and with more serious crimes. 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. "I would argue Pinehaven is doing a very good job with very difficult kids.". One former student reportedly mentioned Agap in a suicide note. It has not come up for a vote yet, but key Republicans in the Legislature have already signaled support. It now has 12. James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. Many other states, such as New Jersey, Oklahoma and Texas, do not require religious boarding schools to be licensed by education or child welfare authorities because they are privately owned or privately funded. 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. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. . The Clemenson family, who currently runs Agape, has been shut down in two states due to abuse allegations but no charges were ever made. For more on this story, watch NBC's "Dateline" episode, "Broken Circle". His grandparents sent him to a mental hospital, then to Agap. 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. Several lawsuits filed on behalf of former students also have named Agape and Circle of Hope. I hired Agape to cut the lawn. 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. 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. 90% of young adults aging-out of the foster care system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. Though the area is largely Baptist, Cedar County has a tradition of religious tolerance. Woody Harrelson Spreads Anti-Vax Conspiracies During SNL Monologue 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. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. These courses are core requirements for Florida . 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. However, the Cedar County prosecutor says no students have been removed from the school. Bucklin wrote the video shows a staff . Meanwhile, tales of abuse continue to emerge. 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. In Missouri, parents are allowed to discipline their children, he said. "The healing process can start for so many.". 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. Agape Boarding School is located on a 200-acre ranch in Stockton, Missouri. Sandoval, Agaps dean of students, worked shifts at the county jail. 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. The campus is also home to Agape Baptist Church. 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 has had its share of abuse allegations over the years. 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. . Since last year, 19 former students have filed lawsuits against the school, alleging physical and emotional abuse, and in . After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily shut down. I for sure think it would be harder to bring charges, because then your standard of proof is going to be higher, said Daniel Pollack, a social work professor at Yeshiva University. The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . The last time would be his graduation. It is one of the 2 times he saw his family between 2006 and 2010. 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. Staff called it the intake or restraint room. Full Gala Taping. He remembers verbal abuse, such as being told, the world didnt want you and says withholding food was a punishment., Staff members would slam you on the ground, slam you into walls, pick you up by the collar and just slam you around. February 28, 2023. When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. ), Such alleged retribution was not necessarily confined to Brown Town. 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