1:00. 3/11/2021. There is no cost to you, not even if you enroll in any school we might mention to you. Jan. 23, 2023. W He would later set up a transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to help him. There wasnt really any training, said James Clidence, a pastor who worked as a teacher at Agap from 2012 to 2015. In other words, Grandmother can spank the children as can Agap.. But then, Breshears made friends and began to reconsider his allegiances particularly, he says, after he witnessed classmates getting restrained. Award honors influential children's minister. 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. 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. An investigation into the school began after The Star reported on the abuse allegations last year. I was just like, Screw it, he says. They would put you down, says Breshears. One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. They held a blood drive, organized a Fourth of July fireworks spectacular, and began holding an annual rodeo. 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 . 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. I dont want another kid to have to go through what I went through, Schrag said. 4/5/2021. Meanwhile, tales of abuse continue to emerge. The report, which also examined 10 cases where teenagers had died, noted that there are currently no federal laws that define and regulate residential treatment programs.. They moved their wards in and set them to work clearing the site and fixing the property. Several lawsuits filed on behalf of former students also have named Agape and Circle of Hope. The Thrive program will provide housing and mentorship for young adults during their college or trade school career. In 2021, Agape's longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. Every year, Agape Ranch hosts our Adoption Connection event to help children in foster care find their forever home. Address . 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. 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. 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. 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. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) 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. Jan 5, 2023 9:58 am. 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. 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 . 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. But many lawmakers are also oblivious to the consequences of lax oversight until there's a scandal. STOCKTON, Mo. 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. Agape also faces criminal charges . The industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that claims to help or fix troubled teenagers . Youre going to be dead or in prison three months after you turn 18.. Gaither declined to comment, but told the Cedar County Republican that Agap has the right to administer corporal punishment. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The picture flashed on the big screen, and Brenda Gordon immediately . They would say, Youre nothing. It now has 12. Though he is 16, he is a freshman; Agaps curriculum is often not compatible with local requirements. 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. It was renewed on Dec. 7. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. Please enter valid email address to continue. They allowed it to happen.. All Rights reserved. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. abuse at agape I have spent the last 5 days at agape boys ranch helping with the annual horse sale. The highway patrol says it began its investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at the facility in late February. More than a decade later, legislators are finally making headway. Once in the car, Bindley says, they took him to their home. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at jorden@agaperanch.org or click the button below. The argument grew heated, he says, and the staffer told the kids they were going to Brown Town. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. That . I hired Agape to cut the lawn. 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. Cedar . Boarding schools fleeing abuse claims in other states find 'Promised Land' in Missouri . "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. (Clemensen denies this happened, but says he considers Bindley one of Agaps top success stories.). Askins reached out to Child Protective Services and then shared the video with the Householders estranged daughter, Amanda. We are faced with the horrifying truth that a network of immoral individuals have engaged in what amounts to organized crime against children, Rob Vescovo, the Republican speaker of the Missouri House, wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore, urging her to employ the FBI to investigate. Pinehaven did not respond to a request for comment. But a Senate staffer helping to write the legislation cautions that in order to get a bill passed, they will likely have to tie compliance to funding, and are unlikely to mandate it. Many of the kids my parents took in would be back six months later in worse shape, Bryan says. McCrary said in an email on Friday that Graves was not present for social workers interviews with students. Amanda, then 29, says her parents kicked her out when she was 17. 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. 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. Robert Bucklin, 28, who is identified in the motion and lawsuit as R.B. 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. It was time to go. 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. Children as young as four-years-old may have had up to five foster . 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. Its about getting these kids to a place in their life where they have to look to God for help, he says. 1.0 Stephen H. Winter Haven, FL. 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. For many survivors of Agap, that would be tough to accept. 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! Mrs. Vicki Loeffler & Mrs. Rodney Johnson, DDS, Faithful Witness Photography, Photographer. Updated: Dec 13, 2022 / 12:48 PM CST. And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. Published: Mar. 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. 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. 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. "If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious.". 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 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 . Seven former students said staff members had assaulted them. When more severe penalties were required, according to students, civil suits, and a search warrant filed later by state investigators, Agap staffers would hold the boys facedown on the floor while pressing their elbows, knees, and fingers into students pressure points, a pain compliance method known as a restraint. Or worse. Staff called it the intake room. 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. "Pinehaven has had challenges over the years, but so has everyone," Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy said at a 2019 hearing. 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. 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. Located just outside Stockton, Agape is the second unlicensed Christian boarding school in the state to be investigated for allegations of abuse. He smacked me in the face with his elbow for saying the f-word. Officials . Carlson said he never witnessed abuse and credited the school with temporarily keeping him off meth and teaching him how to lay tile. Many Stockton residents consider Agap a mark of honor. 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. They denied it. Federal lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation to curtail abuses in the industry. In September 2021, he charged five Agap staff members with a total of 13 counts of third-degree assault, the lowest degree of felony. (Agap denies these allegations. In November, a man who is reportedly a former Agap employee was charged with 215 counts of possession of child pornography. Lack of oversight is not limited to Missouri. The most surprising thing is that nothing has been done so far to change anything, Ingle said. (Householder has denied that any abuse occurred at the ranch.). Closing Agap wouldnt be so easy, but throughout 2021 and 2022, the lawsuits began. 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. Earlier this year, Smock, the schools longtime physician, was charged with 12 felony sexual-molestation crimes against those in his care. 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. 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. They also look at records from any incidents in which a child is injured or restrained. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. J.M. Missouri's Agap Boarding School will close its doors due to a lack of finances, school officials say but the . A decent life.. You can start to heal., For his part, Breshears is grateful to be free. The big screen, and began to reconsider his allegiances particularly, he says, they took him to home. 29, says her parents kicked her out when she was 17 less than.! 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