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. A judge ordered the school closed only to put the order on hold after Agap fired the staffer in question. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. Bryan, by then in his twenties, was working in a state-funded group home. 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 . Cant make those decisions until weve had an opportunity to review the investigative reports, and those are being put together, said Gaither. Mr. Lewis, CAP, has been credentialed as a certified alcohol and drug counselor for 20 years. Within a few months, he says, three students ran away. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. But many lawmakers are also oblivious to the consequences of lax oversight until there's a scandal. But then, Breshears made friends and began to reconsider his allegiances particularly, he says, after he witnessed classmates getting restrained. That was the last straw; they had him committed. For secular youth facilities regulated by Missouris social services department, as well as those that have contracts with the state, social welfare agents conduct inspections at least twice a year to review staff training, check compliance with fire and health codes, and make sure employees have background checks and that children get proper medical attention. The glass flew everywhere, he says. I watched him choke, slam kids into the floor, and just basically beat the shit out of them. The criminal division of the EPA investigated and charged Jim Clemensen for improperly disposing of hazardous material. And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. (Agap denies these allegations. Agape's trouble began in 2020 when former students came forward with abuse allegations. All Rights reserved. 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. That meant calling out and even disciplining classmates for infractions like cursing, talking in line, refusing to pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, or talking about their pasts. In August, Sandoval was charged with arranging the kidnapping of an emancipated teen in Fresno, California, on behalf of the boys estranged mother, and then having him driven, handcuffed, 27 hours to Agap. Churches of Christ don't have enough preachers to fill all the open pulpits in our fellowship. Earlier this year, Smock, the schools longtime physician, was charged with 12 felony sexual-molestation crimes against those in his care. In March 2020, a former Agap student named Joseph Askins stopped in to visit, and witnessed abuse that shocked him. Seth Duncan was charged with five counts of third . 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. He is a manipulator, says Breshears. Agape Ranch will establish a safe environment of. They insisted everyone call them Brother Jim and Maam, and their son Brother Bryan.. 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. Boyd and Stephanie Householders daughter says they worked at Agape for four years. 2 min read. ), Other students describe staffers encouraging classmates to fight one another, and cutting off communication with loved ones when they complained. In Missouri, parents are allowed to discipline their children, he said. For so long, nobody cared.. 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 argument grew heated, he says, and the staffer told the kids they were going to Brown Town. 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. 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. (888) 614-0077. . I tried to find a record of it, but there was none. (The Cedar County Sheriffs Department did not return calls seeking comment.). At least two other states Montana and Arkansas carve out licensing exemptions for religious facilities. On March 9, 2021, AG Schmitt announced 102 charges against the Householders, including rape and physical abuse. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) He enjoyed watching movies, listening to Elvis, and playing soccer with his friends. vs. Agape Baptist Church Inc., et al: In the complaint filed on August 7, 2021, Alabama plaintiff shared his allegations of abuse while being under the custody of Agape Boarding School from approximately March 2012 to March 2013. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch was a reformatory boarding school located in Humansville, Missouri.The school opened in July 2006 and was closed in 2020 amid reports and lawsuits filed by former students alleging child abuse, as well as due to an investigation conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.. Before the school's closure, parents, former students, and staff filed multiple reports to . 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. 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. Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. 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. This results in many children being separated from their siblings and the only community that they know. One morning, he overheard one of the Clemensen daughters asking for help with a math problem, to which Bindley shot back a smartass remark. 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. Inside the Christian Reform School From Hell, Wyoming ranches alleged in an NBC investigation, Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints. Facebook Page. UPDATE (Feb. 12, 2021, 2:33 p.m. In Missouri, at least, this could be changing. It was Clemensen who introduced the practice of restraints in the early 2000s, says Ryan Frazier, attorney for Monsees and Mayer PC, which is representing 18 former students in suits against the school. In 1996, Agap moved to a 200-acre ranch in Cedar County, Missouri. By the time he ended up in the Padded Palace, he recalls, I was bleeding all over my head and hands. So he scrawled the words Fuck Agap on the wall using his own blood. Boyd opened the ranch in 2006 as a "school that he claimed could reform rebellious teenage girls," according to NBC News. They moved their wards in and set them to work clearing the site and fixing the property. 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. They say theyre still haunted by nightmares, hypervigilance, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) We want to hear it. Lawmakers held hearings and introduced a bill that would give the state some oversight. 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. Robert Bucklin, 28, who is identified in the motion and lawsuit as R.B. The founders of Circle of Hope face around 100 charges, some alleging sexual abuse. 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. Editors picks Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. 24 homes where foster children can receive the support they need in order to mature in all aspects of their lives. (Agap denies any knowledge of these allegations. Throughout the 1980s, Kathy and Jim fostered children whose parents were in jail. 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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. Gaither declined to comment, but told the Cedar County Republican that Agap has the right to administer corporal punishment. It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. Pinehaven did not respond to a request for comment. (361) 742-6330. 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. 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. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. Circle of Hope was opened in 2006 by Boyd Householder, a former Agap employee, as a school for rebellious teenage girls. I pre paid him in February to cut yard 2x for months. 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. He says he and others suffered frequent physical abuse, at the hands of at least a dozen staff members, and others didnt stop it. 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. 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