I watched him choke, slam kids into the floor, and just basically beat the shit out of them. A decent life.. Agape Boys Ranch Entrance. He is a manipulator, says Breshears. 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. That . Agape Ranch is dedicated to making a difference within their community and building capacity within the team. 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. Missouri previously had virtually no . Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Child welfare officials in Washington cited Agap for overcrowding and poor sanitation, according to a 1995 newspaper article. But under state law at the time, the schools didnt have to tell the government they existed, and it took years of complaints before child welfare officials shut down their operations in 2015, and prosecutors charged the owners and a counselor at the facilities with aggravated child abuse. The Kansas City Star reported that the Householders deny all allegations . Allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Agape and Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch prompted a state law in 2021 requiring stricter oversight of such facilities. . 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. 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. Montana officials testified at hearings they had been frustrated by complaints registered against several programs that fell outside of regulation, and that some they didnt say which tried to avoid licensing by fraudulently claiming to be part of a church. In November, a man who is reportedly a former Agap employee was charged with 215 counts of possession of child pornography. Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. He liked Metallica and Garbage Pail Kids cards, and had a tendency to cause trouble. He has been a trainer for 10 years specializing in substance abuse. 3 KCPD officers shot; standoff continues into Wednesday morning. The Missouri AG launched a joint investigation with Cedar County authorities. 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. They insisted everyone call them Brother Jim and Maam, and their son Brother Bryan.. Master's Ranch Christian Academy which has had a facility in southern Missouri for more than a decade opened a new location . Former students of Agape from Alabama, Texas, and Michigan have filed two civil lawsuits against the Boarding School for multiple charges that include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. That shouldn't be happening., If not, he added, kids are going to wind up losing their lives.. 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! ET): After publication of this article, Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary disputed an account by former Agap student Lucas Francis. If I can save one kid, its worth it to me.. And that's what it's all about.. Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. Operators advertise it as a national boarding school for at-risk or unmotivated boys. His outrage became open defiance. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. Jacob smelled foul and the . Recently, individuals associated with Agap have been accused of a growing list of crimes. (Householder has denied that any abuse occurred at the ranch.). The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . It also lays out a set of childrens rights, banning corporal punishment and verbal and emotional abuse, and giving youth the ability to call their parents whenever they want. Staff called it the intake room. Robert Larsson, 89, a preacher and the founder of Pinehaven, gave folksy presentations about how his school improved the lives of children, who spent their days at the ranch wrangling calves, shoveling manure and learning Bible verses. 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. That was the last straw; they had him committed. (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.) Agaps handbook states it has a strict hands-off policy regarding the students, and does not use corporal punishment. Staffers grabbed Breshears and, he claims, threw him onto the glass. 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. It won't be long here in Missouri, he said. Whatever the case, Clemensen has many allies where it perhaps counts the most: in the community. 2023 The Associated Press. Ellie Hill Smith, a state lawmaker from Missoula, was concerned that this meant the state had no way of ensuring children were safe in these programs. 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. The last time would be his graduation. Indeed, the version of the school students describe, community members say, is starkly different from the Agap the town has come to know. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 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. Award honors influential children's minister. IN THE MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL, Breshears feelings about Agap changed. Passing under the majestic cross affixed to its towering arched entryway, Breshears gazed over a beautiful campus. 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. 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 . 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. 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. Colton Shrag, age 16 on a home visit from Agap in 2008. They promoted me I was the youngest person to go red. It now has 12. Former students wonder if its because of this that authorities failed to act sooner. Within months, Jim was both saved and married, and Bryan had a new stepdad. The criminal division of the EPA investigated and charged Jim Clemensen for improperly disposing of hazardous material. 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 . Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. If you resisted any, they would start kneeing you, hitting you, just mashing your face into the tile or concrete, wherever it was.. Weve had 6,000 students and only a small percent are making these claims, and I could give you the names of many who thank me. Rolling Stone contacted one of them, Matt Carlson, who says he spent the better part of a year at Agap in the early 2000s. Agape also faces criminal charges . The highway patrol says it began its investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at the facility in late February. It has not come up for a vote yet, but key Republicans in the Legislature have already signaled support. The action galvanized Agap alumni, as well, and they began telling their stories to local media and on podcasts. Children as young as four-years-old may have had up to five foster . We are faith-based, free, and swift to respond. Once in the car, Bindley says, they took him to their home. (Knock her out! he can be heard saying.) 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. Stockton is located 130 miles south of Kansas City, a lazy drive down sunbaked roads lined with oak forests and rolling fields. An investigation into the school began after The Star reported on the abuse allegations last year. 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. The report found those leaders had chronically mistreated survivors of abuse and spent decades trying to deny responsibility for abuse at individual . NWS confirms EF-1 tornado near Goodman, Mo. 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. After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. Montana carved out a religious exemption when it set up a new system for licensing youth facilities and reform schools in 2007. The foothills of the Ozarks sat in the distance. I got picked up by the Cedar County Sheriffs Department, and I tried to tell the guy, like, Theyre beating us, dont take me back there, he says. 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. Agape now has roughly 60 students, about half of the population the school had in early 2021 when the Missouri Highway Patrol and DSS launched an investigation into abuse allegations. One former student said he was raped at Agape and called "seizure boy" because of his epilepsy. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at. The way Bryan tells it, in the 1970s, Kathy was a single mom whod found Jesus but still had a mischievous streak. Breshears spotted a baseball bat poking out of an equipment bag. If there is a question about a policy or rule, do not ask your son.. 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. 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 state has been fighting to close Agap ever since. Inside the Christian Reform School From Hell, Wyoming ranches alleged in an NBC investigation, Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints. Jan. 23, 2023. He would later help stage an uprising as an attempt to get thrown out of the school. (Agap denies any knowledge of these allegations. 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. 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. For more on this story, watch NBC's "Dateline" episode, "Broken Circle". 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. Those details were outlined in motions filed in 19 civil lawsuits requesting that the Cedar County judge overseeing those cases allow . Sandoval, Agaps dean of students, worked shifts at the county jail. The reasoning for the exemptions varies, but states generally take a hands-off approach to oversight of privately funded schools, and officials fear stoking the anger of conservative voters. January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. Just last summer, former students at a pair of Wyoming ranches alleged in an NBC investigation that they had been forced to perform backbreaking manual labor and subjected to traumatic physical and emotional abuse. "For nearly three decades, students at Agape Boarding School have experienced emotional, mental, physical . The Montana Family Foundation, an anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage advocacy organization, lobbied against the proposals, as well, and Smith said their opposition scared lawmakers who didnt want a negative mark on the conservative groups legislative scorecard. 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