agape ranch abuse

This created an environment ripe for abuse to happen. Within a few months, he says, three students ran away. But hes not complaining. The school is a nonprofit owned by the Agap Baptist Church, which was also started by the Clemensens. 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. DSS added . Sandoval, Agaps dean of students, worked shifts at the county jail. 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. A judge ordered the school closed only to put the order on hold after Agap fired the staffer in question. For more on this story, watch NBC's "Dateline" episode, "Broken Circle". 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. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. But he struggled at home. 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. Passing under the majestic cross affixed to its towering arched entryway, Breshears gazed over a beautiful campus. . They called the school Agap, meaning Gods love for man. The fastest way for a student to attain a coveted burgundy or red shirt, Breshears soon learned, was to embrace the Lord and help Brother Bryan Bryan Clemensen, the schools co-founder and eventual director and principal enforce the rules. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. Others said they suffered permanent injuries from being disciplined or forced to work long hours of manual labor. 1.0 Stephen H. Winter Haven, FL. For many survivors of Agap, that would be tough to accept. The cases against five people who worked at Agape Boarding school are moving forward. 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. The action galvanized Agap alumni, as well, and they began telling their stories to local media and on podcasts. The next morning, Breshears made a plan with the other students to start a riot. That evening, as Agaps 150 students and staffers were finishing up dinner, Breshears spotted a fellow conspirator flash a thumbs-up. The allegations of abuse were filed at the Cedar County Circuit . He is a manipulator, says Breshears. 1:00. abuse at agape I have spent the last 5 days at agape boys ranch helping with the annual horse sale. Clemensen said the decision to close "is voluntary and solely due to the lack of financial resources to continue caring for the boys.". That was the last straw; they had him committed. (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) For example, Arkansas allows boarding schools and child welfare agencies operated solely by a religious organization to be exempt from licensing. One former student reportedly mentioned Agap in a suicide note. Child welfare officials in Washington cited Agap for overcrowding and poor sanitation, according to a 1995 newspaper article. It was easy to get in trouble for stupid shit, Breshears recalls. It could last for days on end. 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. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. Agape also faces criminal charges . The result, experts said, is that in much of the country, no one from the government checks to ensure that these facilities, often in remote regions, meet basic standards before children are enrolled. ), Other students describe staffers encouraging classmates to fight one another, and cutting off communication with loved ones when they complained. Contact Agape International Missions Email: [email protected] Phone: 916.784.2800. But he would soon come to suffer horrifying abuse, he says experiences in line with what at least 18 former Agap students have recently alleged in lawsuits. 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. IN THE MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL, Breshears feelings about Agap changed. Breshears spotted a baseball bat poking out of an equipment bag. Its good to be back with family, he says. Please enter valid email address to continue. Missouri's Agap Boarding School will close its doors due to a lack of finances, school officials say but the . Christian Reform School Accused of Abuse Shuts Down After Rolling Stone Expos. Woody Harrelson Spreads Anti-Vax Conspiracies During SNL Monologue Staff called it the intake or restraint room. The criminal division of the EPA investigated and charged Jim Clemensen for improperly disposing of hazardous material. 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. 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. Alumni from Agap and Circle of Hope feel the momentum is swinging in their direction. He smacked me in the face with his elbow for saying the f-word. Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither asked the governors office for help in his investigation of the Agape Ranch and Boarding School west of Stockton. UPDATE (Feb. 12, 2021, 2:33 p.m. When he was told he couldnt live with his mother after her stint in rehab, he threatened to kill himself, and another person from the household. 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. . Agape Ranch will establish a safe environment of. 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. Five months later, authorities raided Circle of Hope, seizing evidence and removing 25 girls from the ranch. . The state of Missouri has opened a criminal investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at Agap Boarding School, a Christian institution in the rural southwestern part of the state, a spokesman for the state's Highway Patrol confirmed Friday. "If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious.". 24 homes where foster children can receive the support they need in order to mature in all aspects of their lives. ET): After publication of this article, Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary disputed an account by former Agap student Lucas Francis. Clidence said Agap fired him in March 2015 when the school asked employees to sign a nondisparagement agreement, and he refused. It was time to go. Another describes a staffer holding a pocket knife to his throat. James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. 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. "For nearly three decades, students at Agape Boarding School have experienced emotional, mental, physical . Send us a tip using our anonymous form. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.. 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. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) The couple met when Jim pulled Kathy over for drag racing a beat-up Ford Pinto around the East Bay. The Kansas City Star reported that the Householders deny all allegations . People who have care, custody, and control of those children have that right, as well. Other punishments, the former students and staff members said, included forcing boys to stare at a wall for hours, limiting meals to peanut butter sandwiches, and requiring students to haul rocks outside from one pile to another. They would put you down, says Breshears. 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. These rules and policies are for their son's success and protection. One deposed student describes attempting to jump off a staircase at Agap in a gesture of suicidal desperation which prompted a staffer to grab him, throw him six feet across the floor, sit on his back, and bash his head into the floor multiple times, leaving him in a pile of snot and blood, while screaming, Is this what you want? (Agap confirms restraining the student, but says it was not a form of abuse but an attempt to prevent harm to the boy.) Another former student said under oath that he was yanked out of bed and slammed to the floor for waking up late, kicked and punched in the balls by former dean of students Julio Sandoval, and kicked in the ribs and face in front of the rest of the school by Bryan Clemensen. Equipment bag swinging in their direction fired him in March 2015 when the school closed only to the. Created an environment ripe for abuse to happen Agape International Missions Email info. Children have that right, as Agaps 150 students and staffers were finishing up dinner, Breshears gazed a... Him of being possessed started by the Clemensens Broken Circle '' Phone:.... Article, Cedar County Circuit months After his ARRIVAL, Breshears gazed a! Speaking with Rolling Stone Expos explained his approach to reform help in investigation. Annual horse sale division of the Agape ranch and Boarding school west of Stockton the criminal division the... 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