Locals says the Clemensens ingratiated themselves by offering tours, and hosting Boy Scout breakfasts and luncheons for the local Methodist group. 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. Call us today and find long-term recovery. Several former Pinehaven students and staff members told CNN in 2012 that children were choked and assaulted at the ranch, accusations that Larsson denied and said were the work of Satan. January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM (Agap denies any knowledge of these allegations. Minnesota has even less control. Editors picks The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. Jan. 18, 2023. I can at least try to show others that you dont have to keep it inside. Staff called it the intake or restraint room. 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.. I tried to find a record of it, but there was none. (The Cedar County Sheriffs Department did not return calls seeking comment.). In 1996, Agap moved to a 200-acre ranch in Cedar County, Missouri. They held a blood drive, organized a Fourth of July fireworks spectacular, and began holding an annual rodeo. If there is a question about a policy or rule, do not ask your son.. When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. Recently, individuals associated with Agap have been accused of a growing list of crimes. In November, Schrag joined close to two dozen men and women protesting outside Agap, holding signs that read Torture Is Not Treatment and Lies Wont Protect You Anymore.. 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. 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.) (Agap denies these allegations. He would later set up a transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to help him. The school states on its website that its staff are trained in proper restraining tactics, which are only used if a child is a threat to others and last for just a few minutes. Agaps handbook states it has a strict hands-off policy regarding the students, and does not use corporal punishment. He enjoyed watching movies, listening to Elvis, and playing soccer with his friends. 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. (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. But under Missouri law, it was up to Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither to file charges. 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. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. Church was on Wednesday and three times on Sunday. Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near Humansville . 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. SPRINGFIELD DRIVERS: Construction at Campbell and Republic starts soon. UPDATE (Feb. 12, 2021, 2:33 p.m. The Clemensens sent 100 boys home, and moved the rest to base housing. The staff often singled out members of Brown Town for abuse, depositions filed by former Agap students suggest. We are gathered here, former students,. 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. For example, when many foster children age out of the system, they have lived in an average of 12 foster homes. After being charged with more than 100 felonies last year linked to allegations of child sex abuse, physical abuse, endangerment and neglect, the owners of a now-defunct Missouri girls ranch . I pre paid him in February to cut yard 2x for months. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. (As of publication, one defendants case was dismissed, three pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, and one is awaiting a hearing this month.) A Tri-City Herald story from 1996 said that Franklin County officials ordered the facility to close for code violations over removing and . Colton Schrag remembers the night at the Agap Boarding School when, he says, a staff member punched him in the face. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. According to AG Schmitts office, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department employs at least three people who used to work at Agap. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. That shouldn't be happening., If not, he added, kids are going to wind up losing their lives.. Bryan Clemensen stops a tour of the group home to pet Sally, the ranchs beloved camel. The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . Amanda Householder is suing her parents, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, owners of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School. 1:00. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. 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. Operators declined to comment about the investigation. I had a staff member tell me were wasting our time giving you a diploma because youre not even worth the paper its going to cost to print it on, said Schrag. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. hen Andrew Breshears arrived at the Agap Boarding School in 2018, he was a sandy-haired 12-year-old who weighed less than 100 pounds. Graves did not respond to a request for comment. For more on this story, watch NBC's "Dateline" episode, "Broken Circle". The way Bryan tells it, in the 1970s, Kathy was a single mom whod found Jesus but still had a mischievous streak. They claim Clemensen was on a power trip and seemed to enjoy brutalizing the kids in his charge. 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. The boarding school typically has about 150 boys enrolled, ages 12 to 17, and they share the ranch with farm and exotic animals, including cows, horses, llamas, water buffalo, camels and zebras, according to the schools website. All Rights reserved. His religious mother wasnt having it. The Missouri House Committee on Children and Families issued a report in November concluding that there are numerous facilities in the state that have abused vulnerable children in their care, with no state oversight, for many years. Still, it was only a partial picture, based on interviews with former students and information from state officials, because Missouri doesnt keep track of how many religious boarding schools exist in the state. 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. By 14, Breshears says, he was fully in staffers crosshairs. 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. 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. Located just outside Stockton, Agape is the second unlicensed Christian boarding school in the state to be investigated for allegations of abuse. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Boarding schools fleeing abuse claims in other states find 'Promised Land' in Missouri . It also taught creationism and that women should be subservient to their husbands, while weaving biblical references into the materials. I believe the community is aware. 1.0 Stephen H. Winter Haven, FL. 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. Im trying to aim for a decent life, you know what Im saying? They say theyre still haunted by nightmares, hypervigilance, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. 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. Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". 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. Posted Apr 03, 2022 11:00 AM. The legislation would require the schools to register with the state, and create paths for the state to conduct safety inspections of the facilities and shut them down after abuse allegations. 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. Meanwhile, Agap was growing. Netflixs Outer Banks Buries Itself in Ridiculous Season 3 As owners of the Circle of Hope Ranch, the couple faces 100 criminal abuse charges between them. . 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. 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. 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. Stockton is located 130 miles south of Kansas City, a lazy drive down sunbaked roads lined with oak forests and rolling fields. In March 2020, a former Agap student named Joseph Askins stopped in to visit, and witnessed abuse that shocked him. For example, Arkansas allows boarding schools and child welfare agencies operated solely by a religious organization to be exempt from licensing. 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. State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. 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. Their lawyer denies the allegations and says that their innocence will prevail in court. The couple met when Jim pulled Kathy over for drag racing a beat-up Ford Pinto around the East Bay. Meanwhile, tales of abuse continue to emerge. Within a few months, he says, three students ran away. Agape Ranch and Boarding School near Stockton, Missouri, a facility operated by Agape Baptist Church. Staff members would jump on you, said Schrag. I dont want another kid to have to go through what I went through, Schrag said. I hired Agape to cut the lawn. Attendance at Agape plummeted after abuse allegations surfaced. Our rehabilitation center in Fort Lauderdale for substance abuse embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances. Regretfully, child abuse and neglect have continued to rise and the work of Agape Ranch is needed now more than ever. Tuesday, The Independent reported that DSS substantiated 10 preponderance of evidence claims of physical abuse at Agape. A judge ordered the school closed only to put the order on hold after Agap fired the staffer in question. And its not just Missouri. 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. Within months, Jim was both saved and married, and Bryan had a new stepdad. Bryan, by then in his twenties, was working in a state-funded group home. Staff called it the intake room. 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. 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. (Clemensen says this was a nickname the boys had for an elbow injury, and denies the abuse.) It took a disturbing criminal case to make it happen. The team at Agape Ranch said they wanted the youth there Friday night to know that they are valued. 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. It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. A decent life.. He smacked me in the face with his elbow for saying the f-word. Child welfare experts say that makes it more difficult for a state to look into maltreatment, because police will only investigate what counts as a crime, rather than what places a child in danger. 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. The school still faces a wave of lawsuits accusing administrators of abuse. 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. Seth Duncan was charged with five counts of third . James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. Jan. 23, 2023. In the aftermath of the criminal case, the state enacted the Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act in 2017. 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 . But in July, his mother rewon custody and sprung him from Agap. Missouri previously had virtually no oversight for religious boarding schools. He has been a trainer for 10 years specializing in substance abuse. Circle of Hope was opened in 2006 by Boyd Householder, a former Agap employee, as a school for rebellious teenage girls. On cue, at least two others started beating up an unsuspecting student to create a distraction. But hes not complaining. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. None of these inspections are required at religious boarding schools. One student said staffers had branded him with a cross. Andrew Breshears in his Agap uniform. 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. More than 60% of the children in our county are being placed outside of our county due to the lack of foster homes in our community. 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. Agape Boarding School was moving away from the "nonbelievers" in Washington and California and heading east. . 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. Boyd and Stephanie Householders daughter says they worked at Agape for four years. 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 video was posted Sunday by Robert Bucklin, who says he survived physical and sexual abuse at Agape Boarding School near Stockton. 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. He says he and others suffered frequent physical abuse, at the hands of at least a dozen staff members, and others didnt stop it. The site was littered with old barrels, wood piles, abandoned cars, and insulation containing asbestos. Surprise! Meanwhile, Agap has phased out the boarding school, instead running multiple group homes on its property, which detractors fear is a shell game aimed at shielding it from the new laws. . The Clemenson family, who currently runs Agape, has been shut down in two states due to abuse allegations but no charges were ever made. Though Ms. Allred's office has spent months soliciting a cash settlement, we were unaware that a suit would be filed. It would be helpful for them to come in early on this one as opposed to come in at a later date, said Gaither. 2023 The Associated Press. STOCKTON, Mo. It was renewed on Dec. 7. "Pinehaven has had challenges over the years, but so has everyone," Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy said at a 2019 hearing. 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. This created an environment ripe for abuse to happen. And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. And he said, No, theyre not. He cuffed me up and dropped me back off at Agap. In Missouri, at least, this could be changing. Clidence said Agap fired him in March 2015 when the school asked employees to sign a nondisparagement agreement, and he refused. After abuse allegations at Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a religious boarding school near Agap, began spreading on TikTok last spring, the Cedar County Sheriff's Department opened an investigation, which the state attorney general joined and is ongoing. 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 . 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. Hope was opened in 2006 by Boyd Householder, owners of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding school the. Kathy was a sandy-haired 12-year-old who weighed less than 100 pounds went through, Schrag said created environment... 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