Bryan Clemensen stops a tour of the group home to pet Sally, the ranchs beloved camel. Schmitt last year asked a Cedar County judge to close Agape, but the judge had not yet issued a decision. If you resisted any, they would start kneeing you, hitting you, just mashing your face into the tile or concrete, wherever it was.. Colton Schrag remembers the night at the Agap Boarding School when, he says, a staff member punched him in the face. 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. I pre paid him in February to cut yard 2x for months. 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. Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". Though he is 16, he is a freshman; Agaps curriculum is often not compatible with local requirements. All Rights reserved. That was the last straw; they had him committed. Lawmakers held hearings and introduced a bill that would give the state some oversight. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. Anne Stych June 27, 2022. (Clemensen says this was a nickname the boys had for an elbow injury, and denies the abuse.) In May 2021, the law requiring religious schools to register with the state passed. Jacob smelled foul and the . One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. (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. Full Gala Taping. After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily shut down. Upon completion, our self sustaining community will care for up to 132 foster children and young adults at a time. 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. Colton Shrag, age 16 on a home visit from Agap in 2008. 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. 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. You can start to heal., For his part, Breshears is grateful to be free. Operators declined to comment about the investigation. The action galvanized Agap alumni, as well, and they began telling their stories to local media and on podcasts. They have law-enforcement ties, too. I'm not trying to reach for the moon on this stuff, said Richard Fiene, a research psychologist who spent decades directing public welfare and child services agencies in Pennsylvania, but Id like to see kids in safe environments where they cant be restrained and someone can't put a knee in their back and hold them to the floor where they can't breathe. Cedar . STOCKTON, Mo. His grandparents sent him to a mental hospital, then to Agap. 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. Mrs. Vicki Loeffler & Mrs. Rodney Johnson, DDS, Faithful Witness Photography, Photographer. Some who attended and worked at the school said otherwise. Former Calallen ISD teacher Joseph Sandoval sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexual 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. Jim Clemensen, a former California Highway Patrol officer, initially decided to open a group home in Stockton, California, before setting up Agap on an old Air Force base in Othello, Washington. 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. The group claims a wide range of abuse, from starvation to physical and emotional abuse. I believe the community is aware. 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. 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. McCrary said in an email on Friday that Graves was not present for social workers interviews with students. Agaps handbook states it has a strict hands-off policy regarding the students, and does not use corporal punishment. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. 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. / AP. 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. Closing Agap wouldnt be so easy, but throughout 2021 and 2022, the lawsuits began. Federal lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation to curtail abuses in the industry. In addition to the fired staffer, DSS has substantiated findings of child abuse or neglect against Bryan Clemensen and two other Agap employees, according to The Kansas City Star. Editors picks When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. Staff called it the intake room. 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. Shrag is holding an Agape year book. 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. The schools are unrelated and are not affiliated with any particular Christian denomination. Trending 3 KCPD officers shot; standoff continues into Wednesday morning. 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.) But hes not complaining. Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither asked the governors office for help in his investigation of the Agape Ranch and Boarding School west of Stockton. The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. They also look at records from any incidents in which a child is injured or restrained. Children as young as four-years-old may have had up to five foster . 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. If I can save one kid, its worth it to me.. Whatever the case, Clemensen has many allies where it perhaps counts the most: in the community. Many of these programs, which are estimated to serve as many as 200,000 kids at any one time, are allowed to operate with virtual impunity, thanks to federal inaction and permissive state laws. Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. Gaither declined to comment, but told the Cedar County Republican that Agap has the right to administer corporal punishment. 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. 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. State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. Another describes a staffer holding a pocket knife to his throat. Then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office contended that 22 workers should have been charged, and with more serious crimes. Agape had 132 students 13 months ago, its lawyer, John Schultz said. 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. 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 site was littered with old barrels, wood piles, abandoned cars, and insulation containing asbestos. His outrage became open defiance. Agape Boarding school has had its share of abuse allegations over the years. The Clemensens sent 100 boys home, and moved the rest to base housing. 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. ON SEPT. 7, 2022, ATTORNEY GENERAL SCHMITT and the State Department of Social Services (DSS) filed to close Agap. Allen Knoll, who attended Agap from 1999 to 2001, looks at Alabamas law as a template of what we can do across the country. The only thing that has held back change in Missouri, he said, is a lack of public knowledge about what goes on inside these schools. Since then, former students testified at legislative hearings that they tried to report the abuse at Agape and the now-closed Circle of Hope Girls Ranch for years, but that Cedar County authorities and other officials did not respond to the . And its not just Missouri. Address . 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. These rules and policies are for their son's success and protection. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. Alumni from Agap and Circle of Hope feel the momentum is swinging in their direction. The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. 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. One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. They literally took the practices of Agape and opened up Circle of Hope, so we know for a fact that there is one other school that is ran just like Circle of Hope, and that place is what Circle of Hope modeled their school after, said Amanda Householder, daughter of Circle of Hope operators. 25, 2021 at 2:05 PM PDT. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Agape Ranch and Boarding School near Stockton, Missouri, a facility operated by Agape Baptist Church. Students called it the Padded Palace., Punishments allegedly ranged from calisthenics to wall time, where kids stood with their foreheads and noses touching the wall, except when sleeping, doing schoolwork, or eating. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. 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. At least two other states Montana and Arkansas carve out licensing exemptions for religious facilities. Thank you for your generous support [] IN THE MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL, Breshears feelings about Agap changed. A judge ordered the school closed only to put the order on hold after Agap fired the staffer in question. The most surprising thing is that nothing has been done so far to change anything, Ingle said. That is blasphemous.. One day after the FBI announced the arrest of a former Agape Boarding School dean, a civil right's . Alumni of Christian boarding schools for troubled teens in Missouri, including Agape and Circle of Hope, say state laws prevented inspections, enabling abuse to continue for decades. This created an environment ripe for abuse to happen. Amanda, then 29, says her parents kicked her out when she was 17. None of these raised eyebrows until former Agap staffers Boyd and Stephanie Householder opened Circle of Hope Girls Ranch. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Some former students have made the allegations against Agape Boarding School and Legacy Boys Academy in Stockton, Masters Ranch in far southern Missouri, and Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near . 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. The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. After abuse allegations at Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, a religious boarding school near Agap, began spreading on TikTok last spring, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department opened an investigation, which the state attorney general joined and is ongoing. Several former staffers opened up similar schools nearby: There was the Legacy Academy Adventures, on a property owned by David Smock, Agaps longtime doctor who would later be accused of molesting students; there was the Masters Ranch Christian Academy, which later opened two more campuses. Schrag says the verbal abuse was constant. The Republican-sponsored measure requires religious boarding schools to register with the state, pass a health department inspection and ensure that staff meet minimum standards. Church was on Wednesday and three times on Sunday. Circle of Hope was opened in 2006 by Boyd Householder, a former Agap employee, as a school for rebellious teenage girls. NBC News reported on the allegations earlier this . 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. South Carolina is a possibility; it still does not require religious schools to register with the state. But in July, his mother rewon custody and sprung him from Agap. 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. Boyd and Stephanie Householder are facing more than 100 charges of sexual, physical and emotional abuse that allegedly took place at their faith-based boarding school in Missouri. They insisted everyone call them Brother Jim and Maam, and their son Brother Bryan.. In 2021, Paris Hilton, who has also been lobbying in Washington D.C., testified at a Utah Senate committee hearing about her own experience in a troubled-teen facility there, alleging that she was verbally, mentally, and physically abused, involuntarily drugged, and locked in isolation. W And he said, No, theyre not., In 1996, the Clemensens purchased 40 acres just outside of town. For the first time, religious schools would be required to register with the state and undergo inspections; the attorney general would now have authority to close down facilities that posed a threat to students. (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. Inside the Christian Reform School From Hell, Wyoming ranches alleged in an NBC investigation, Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints. It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. Those details were outlined in motions filed in 19 civil lawsuits requesting that the Cedar County judge overseeing those cases allow . If you need expert assistance finding the right program for your boy, fill in this inquiry form or call 888-363-0888 (24/7) for a free, confidential information service (not affiliated with Agape). Posted Apr 03, 2022 11:00 AM. Please enter valid email address to continue. Agape Boarding School, a Christian reform school in Cedar County, is under investigation by local authorities and the Missouri Attorney Generals office. One of them is Robert Graves, a student turned staffer who joined as a sheriffs deputy and married Kathy and Jims daughter, and is listed as a member of the board of an Agap-affiliated church. He likes to get in peoples heads.. Moments later, Bindley says, Bryan yanked him backward, slamming his chair and his head into the concrete floor. But Breshears got a rude welcome. People who have care, custody, and control of those children have that right, as well. It took a disturbing criminal case to make it happen. 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. Mr. Lewis, CAP, has been credentialed as a certified alcohol and drug counselor for 20 years. For a time, Breshears stayed out of trouble. In the ensuing chaos, a third pulled the fire alarm. Agap did not respond to repeated requests for comment and interviews via phone, email and a letter left at the schools reception desk. Missouri previously had virtually no oversight for religious boarding schools. 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. 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. (Householder has denied that any abuse occurred at the ranch.). 24, 2021 at 10:23 AM PDT | Updated: Mar. Hilton tweeted to Missouri's attorney general and governor on June 21. The school is a nonprofit owned by the Agap Baptist Church, which was also started by the Clemensens. It also taught creationism and that women should be subservient to their husbands, while weaving biblical references into the materials. The Missouri AG launched a joint investigation with Cedar County authorities. January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM "For nearly three decades, students at Agape Boarding School have experienced emotional, mental, physical . At first glance, the facility for at-risk and unmotivated boys a Baptist institution in Stockton, Missouri wasnt so terrible. Sandoval, Agaps dean of students, worked shifts at the county jail. Agape Ranch plans out programs, fund raisers, and community outreach monthly. More than 90% of young adults aging out of the foster system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. The argument grew heated, he says, and the staffer told the kids they were going to Brown Town. 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. The highway patrol says it began its investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at the facility in late February. In other words, Grandmother can spank the children as can Agap.. Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud. There were horses, a swimming pool, and a football team. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. Schrag says he tried to escape around 2007, when he was 15. Exposing Agape is about exactly what it's name says. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. The state has been fighting to close Agap ever since. 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. Christian Reform School Accused of Abuse Shuts Down After Rolling Stone Expos. I tried to find a record of it, but there was none. (The Cedar County Sheriffs Department did not return calls seeking comment.). 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. Chapel was daily. 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. The Kansas City Star ran a series of exposs detailing shocking allegations first about Circle of Hope, then Agap. Jan. 23, 2023. Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near Humansville . 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. (888) 614-0077. . (Clemensen denies this happened, but says he considers Bindley one of Agaps top success stories.). These courses are core requirements for Florida . One morning, he overheard one of the Clemensen daughters asking for help with a math problem, to which Bindley shot back a smartass remark. An investigation into the school began after The Star reported on the abuse allegations last year. Agape Ranch will establish a safe environment of. 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. So they were all, in my book, guilty of association, said Schrag. Robert Bucklin, 28, who is identified in the motion and lawsuit as R.B. They would say, Youre nothing. 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. 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. Agape Ranch-courtesy photo. 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! Agape Ranch is dedicated to making a difference within their community and building capacity within the team. (They do so much good for this town and you cannot believe the difference they have made in these young men, says Jackie Cargell, who has lived in the town for 57 years.) Bucklin wrote the video shows a staff . That's because Agap is a religious school, which makes it exempt from the state rules governing secular boarding schools and childrens homes. 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. Posted at 6:19 PM, Sep 01, 2022. and last updated 4:46 PM, Sep 01, 2022. By then, Circle of Hope had shut down after the state removed dozens of its students. Askins reached out to Child Protective Services and then shared the video with the Householders estranged daughter, Amanda. 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. 5151 Flynn Parkway Suite 106 Corpus Christi, TX 78411. She thought heavy metal was like witchcraft, he says. Staff members would jump on you, said Schrag. Meanwhile, the husband-and-wife founders of Circle of Hope, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, face a combined 99 charges that include child abuse and neglect, sex crimes and other counts. Indeed, the version of the school students describe, community members say, is starkly different from the Agap the town has come to know. 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. One student said staffers had branded him with a cross. Seth Duncan was charged with five counts of third . 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. SPRINGFIELD DRIVERS: Construction at Campbell and Republic starts soon. Since it claims to be a Christian organization, is not regulated by the state because of a religious exemption. 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. 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. Among other things, the new state law allows state or local authorities to petition the court for closure of a facility if children's safety or health are believed to be in immediate danger. Hed hoped to get kicked out, which didnt happen. Relevance: This course is designed for master's level counselors, addiction professionals, and nurses who have direct client contact. There was a small room down a dark staircase with blue padded floors and holes punched in the wall. The charges come after the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated allegations of abuse at the boarding school. 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. 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.. Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. They noted that DSS had confirmed a case of child abuse and added the name of the Agap staffer responsible to the Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry, prohibiting him from working at a residential facility. They claim Clemensen was on a power trip and seemed to enjoy brutalizing the kids in his charge. The only thing it would have done, Smith said of her bill, is require these adolescent facilities to have oversight by our Department of Public Health and Human Services, just like a senior citizen home or a barbershop.. But in Missouri, only the local prosecutor can file charges, and Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither has said no additional employees would be charged. Clemensen says this was a nickname the boys had for an elbow injury and... The Householders estranged daughter, amanda for rebellious teenage Girls Agape boarding school for Girls was... Had him committed because Agap is a religious school, which makes it exempt from the school had! The ensuing chaos, a third pulled the fire alarm as a school for Girls, was shut down Rolling. Young as four-years-old May have had up to five foster allegations over the years backward, slamming chair... 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