The Agap case is just the latest scandal to emerge from the billion-dollar troubled-teen industry, a loosely regulated network of therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, religious academies, and wilderness camps set up to help teenagers with drug addiction and behavioral problems. Some who attended and worked at the school said otherwise. Though he is 16, he is a freshman; Agaps curriculum is often not compatible with local requirements. There was a small room down a dark staircase with blue padded floors and holes punched in the wall. Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. The state attorney generals office claims that Agap staff threw students into walls, pushed them to the ground, ordered them to perform 1,000 pushups, intentionally starved them, and forced them to sleep in handcuffs and wear them for as long as eight days. 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. Askins reached out to Child Protective Services and then shared the video with the Householders estranged daughter, Amanda. DSS added . 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. Once in the car, Bindley says, they took him to their home. Visit Website. 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. Please enter valid email address to continue. One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. Jim and Kathy Clemensen a married couple whom people call Brother Clemensen and Maam started Agap in the early 1990s. 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. One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. 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. Posted Apr 03, 2022 11:00 AM. 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. It was easy to get in trouble for stupid shit, Breshears recalls. 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. 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. The criminal division of the EPA investigated and charged Jim Clemensen for improperly disposing of hazardous material. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. They moved their wards in and set them to work clearing the site and fixing the property. The site, designed as a Christian camp, had cabins, a shower facility, a mess hall, and a small chapel. The Clemensens sent 100 boys home, and moved the rest to base housing. He is a manipulator, says Breshears. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The picture flashed on the big screen, and Brenda Gordon immediately . The staff often singled out members of Brown Town for abuse, depositions filed by former Agap students suggest. 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. Closing Agap wouldnt be so easy, but throughout 2021 and 2022, the lawsuits began. State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. 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. 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. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. STOCKTON, Mo. In November, a man who is reportedly a former Agap employee was charged with 215 counts of possession of child pornography. And I did get saved.. I dont want another kid to have to go through what I went through, Schrag said. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. By 5+ Local Business Owners! . Lack of oversight is not limited to Missouri. The report found those leaders had chronically mistreated survivors of abuse and spent decades trying to deny responsibility for abuse at individual . And its not just Missouri. Throughout the 1980s, Kathy and Jim fostered children whose parents were in jail. Tuesday, The Independent reported that DSS substantiated 10 preponderance of evidence claims of physical abuse at Agape. 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.. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. And that's what it's all about.. 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. The site was littered with old barrels, wood piles, abandoned cars, and insulation containing asbestos. Call us today and find long-term recovery. Agape Connection. 3/11/2021. 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. His outrage became open defiance. 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. 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. "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. As a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to providing high quality foster care in South Texas by supporting foster and adoptive families, we have been working diligently in the areas of prevention, foster care, adoption, and aging-out to provide support and mentorship for vulnerable children in our community. 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. NBC News reported on the allegations earlier this . Plaintiff was allegedly physically, sexually, and emotionally abused while under the care and supervision of . 2023 The Associated Press. 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. It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. 25, 2021 at 2:05 PM PDT. That's no secret, as news stories in The Christian. 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. 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 . Seth Duncan was charged with five counts of third . 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. Facebook Page. An investigation into the school began after The Star reported on the abuse allegations last year. Seven boys tested positive for tuberculosis. For a time, Breshears stayed out of trouble. 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.) Francis said that Robert Graves, a Cedar County sheriffs deputy who had worked at Agap, sat in on a meeting Francis had with a social worker who was looking into abuse allegations at the school. MANY OF THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST Agap staffers are easily found on podcasts and interviews on YouTube. He enjoyed watching movies, listening to Elvis, and playing soccer with his friends. 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.. His grandparents sent him to a mental hospital, then to Agap. They held a blood drive, organized a Fourth of July fireworks spectacular, and began holding an annual rodeo. Agape Baptist Church owns and operates the private boarding school for boys in Stockton, MO. "The healing process can start for so many.". (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. South Carolina is a possibility; it still does not require religious schools to register with the state. Minnesota has even less control. 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. The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. 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. Gaither says at this point, they dont know if there will be any charges. 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. Trending And they would never tell you how long your stay in Brown Town will be, Breshears says. 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. Regretfully, child abuse and neglect have continued to rise and the work of Agape Ranch is needed now more than ever. Five more alleged victims have filed civil lawsuits against Agape Boarding School of Stockton, Missouri, and the Baptist church that supervises the Christian boarding school, bringing the total number of cases alleging negligence and abuse to 19. 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. Child welfare officials in Washington cited Agap for overcrowding and poor sanitation, according to a 1995 newspaper article. But then, Breshears made friends and began to reconsider his allegiances particularly, he says, after he witnessed classmates getting restrained. Hilton tweeted to Missouri's attorney general and governor on June 21. He ran the school on fear, says Colton Schrag, a former gang associate who attended the school twice between 2004 and 2010, and is not suing because the statute of limitations has expired. (Agap denies any knowledge of these allegations. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. 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. Within a few months, he says, three students ran away. THORNTON, Colo. Agape Bible Church canceled all church services last weekend after a FOX31 Problem Solvers investigation into whether its head pastor tried to cover up an alleged sexual abuse . Carlson said he never witnessed abuse and credited the school with temporarily keeping him off meth and teaching him how to lay tile. 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. The Agape Boarding School was in Othello from 1992-96. (888) 614-0077. . The foothills of the Ozarks sat in the distance. New court filings reveal some of the most brutal allegations of abuse at Agape Boarding School so far, including former students' account that two staffers sexually assaulted him. That was the last straw; they had him committed. Locals says the Clemensens ingratiated themselves by offering tours, and hosting Boy Scout breakfasts and luncheons for the local Methodist group. Pinehaven did not respond to a request for comment. 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. It could last for days on end. The most surprising thing is that nothing has been done so far to change anything, Ingle said. 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. If you resisted any, they would start kneeing you, hitting you, just mashing your face into the tile or concrete, wherever it was.. 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. Agape Boarding School is located on a 200-acre ranch in Stockton, Missouri. The Kansas City Star ran a series of exposs detailing shocking allegations first about Circle of Hope, then Agap. Bucklin wrote the video shows a staff . The curriculum included traditional math and English. 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. But in some states that have tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like Montana, lawmakers have met with resistance. Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. 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. I believe the community is aware. (The recommendations are not public, so the implicated staff members are unknown.) He is living in California with his mother, Jennifer, and attending a public high school. Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. 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 . After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. 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 . Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. A Christian boarding school in Missouri that's been under intense scrutiny over abuse allegations announced Wednesday that it will close later this month due to financial hardship. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. 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. Boyd opened the ranch in 2006 as a "school that he claimed could reform rebellious teenage girls," according to NBC News. He says staff would restrain boys on the ground and use pressure points to the point of bruising. They denied it. We need people who will financially contribute and volunteer at the event to help give these . These rules and policies are for their son's success and protection. In 1996, Agap moved to a 200-acre ranch in Cedar County, Missouri. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. In 1992, the Clemensens announced to their troubled wards that they were moving to a promised land of sorts: an old Air Force base six miles outside of tiny Othello, Washington. For many survivors of Agap, that would be tough to accept. 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. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. For $3,250 in tuition per month, the school claims on its website that it can turn around defiant and rebellious boys through spiritual growth., Parents, who are only allowed to visit with two weeks notice, are warned in the school handbook they should never try and interfere with the policies or rules of Agap Boarding School. Many of the kids my parents took in would be back six months later in worse shape, Bryan says. It now has 12. Earlier this year, Smock, the schools longtime physician, was charged with 12 felony sexual-molestation crimes against those in his care. It was late on April 20, 2007, he said, and the staff at the all-boys boarding school in southwestern Missouri wanted him to confess that he and two other boys were going to try to run away. And he said, No, theyre not. He cuffed me up and dropped me back off at Agap. Bindley remembers learning quickly that retribution for breaking the rules was swift and sometimes painful. 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. That . And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. We are gathered here, former students,. Their lawyer denies the allegations and says that their innocence will prevail in court. 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 highway patrol says it began its investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at the facility in late February. 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. Whatever the case, Clemensen has many allies where it perhaps counts the most: in the community. 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). abuse at agape I have spent the last 5 days at agape boys ranch helping with the annual horse sale. One morning, he overheard one of the Clemensen daughters asking for help with a math problem, to which Bindley shot back a smartass remark. 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. The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . The cases against five people who worked at Agape Boarding school are moving forward. None of these raised eyebrows until former Agap staffers Boyd and Stephanie Householder opened Circle of Hope Girls Ranch. Amanda, then 29, says her parents kicked her out when she was 17. Agape Ranch plans out programs, fund raisers, and community outreach monthly. Lawmakers held hearings and introduced a bill that would give the state some oversight. Agape also faces criminal charges . Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. Clemensen said the decision to close "is voluntary and solely due to the lack of financial resources to continue caring for the boys.". ), Such alleged retribution was not necessarily confined to Brown Town. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. Today, its home to at least 28 such institutions, though some estimates place the number at upward of 100, many of which are still operating under the radar. Upon completion, our self sustaining community will care for up to 132 foster children and young adults at a time. Though Ms. Allred's office has spent months soliciting a cash settlement, we were unaware that a suit would be filed. / AP. Missouri previously had virtually no oversight for religious boarding schools. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? Attendance at Agape plummeted after abuse allegations surfaced. Officials . Its education and human services departments do not license religious schools, or any private boarding schools, and child protective services does not have the authority to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect at them; instead, they must refer those reports to law enforcement. 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. Bryan Clemensen was not among those charged. Located just outside Stockton, Agape is the second unlicensed Christian boarding school in the state to be investigated for allegations of abuse. In 1995, county officials shut them down after health inspectors found the school which by then had 140 students and 25 staffers had rotting food, holes in the walls large enough to allow rodents to enter, and exposed wiring. They were marched downstairs, where things escalated, until, Breshears alleges, he was lying facedown with a staffer sitting on his legs and two others digging their kneecaps into his pressure points. Cant make those decisions until weve had an opportunity to review the investigative reports, and those are being put together, said Gaither. I watched him choke, slam kids into the floor, and just basically beat the shit out of them. Since last year, 19 former students have filed lawsuits against the school, alleging physical and emotional abuse, and in . Chapel was daily. By JIM SALTER. That shouldn't be happening., If not, he added, kids are going to wind up losing their lives.. "Pinehaven has had challenges over the years, but so has everyone," Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy said at a 2019 hearing. 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. Agape Boarding school has had its share of abuse allegations over the years. The school closed in 2020 amid investigations. We want to hear it. Youre never gonna make it out.. 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. It won't be long here in Missouri, he said. The troubled teen industry is a term used to refer to a broad range of youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers. Thanks to the generosity of others, Agape Ranch will now be able to provide housing and mentorship for foster youth who age-out while they pursue higher education or career training. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. Colton Shrag, age 16 on a home visit from Agap in 2008. Alumni from Agap and Circle of Hope feel the momentum is swinging in their direction. She thought heavy metal was like witchcraft, he says. (KY3) - Missouris attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. Jan. 23, 2023. In civil suits, Agap students describe being choked with rebar and electrical cords, pushed through drywall, having their noses broken, and hit in the testicles hard enough to cause traumatic groin injury. They say several boys attempted to hang themselves, in what they call a pandemic among students. Agap, through its attorney, denies the allegations, and says that no student there has ever killed himself. A 1995 newspaper article out of trouble the facility in late February witnessed and. And use pressure points to the U.S. Senate last year in November a... Financially contribute and volunteer at the facility in late February event to help give these particularly! 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