An investigation into the school began after The Star reported on the abuse allegations last year. ET): After publication of this article, Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary disputed an account by former Agap student Lucas Francis. Agape Ranch and Boarding School near Stockton, Missouri, a facility operated by Agape Baptist Church. 2023 The Associated Press. In 1991, Todd Bindley, then 13, moved in. Meanwhile, Agap was growing. Agape's doctor is charged with child sex crimes and five employees are accused of assault, though Missouri's attorney general thinks many more workers should have been charged.. After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily . To him, it seemed arbitrary and needlessly brutal. "For nearly three decades, students at Agape Boarding School have experienced emotional, mental, physical . (Agap denies these allegations. His outrage became open defiance. 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. The Thrive program will provide housing and mentorship for young adults during their college or trade school career. (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. Im trying to aim for a decent life, you know what Im saying? Once in the car, Bindley says, they took him to their home. Recently, individuals associated with Agap have been accused of a growing list of crimes. Locals says the Clemensens ingratiated themselves by offering tours, and hosting Boy Scout breakfasts and luncheons for the local Methodist group. in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds, Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act. In 1996, Agap moved to a 200-acre ranch in Cedar County, Missouri. 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. The last time would be his graduation. January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM 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. 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. Boyd and Stephanie Householders daughter says they worked at Agape for four years. The desire of 51:10 Youth Ranch is to provide a safe place for children, horses and families. He likes to get in peoples heads.. Anne Stych June 27, 2022. If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious. . All Rights reserved. Share. The BBC was given access to their UK boot camp, where they learn how to teach Mormon beliefs and use social media to reach potential converts. Many Stockton residents consider Agap a mark of honor. ", "Today, the many victims who have come forth can rest assured that no more children will be hurt at Agape Boarding School," Bucklin said in a text. They also look at records from any incidents in which a child is injured or restrained. One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. That was the last straw; they had him committed. The troubled teen industry is a term used to refer to a broad range of youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers. It will stop providing service effective Jan. 20, according to a statement from the school for boys. None of these inspections are required at religious boarding schools. They have law-enforcement ties, too. Nonetheless, the outcome of the civil suits is far from certain. . He is living in California with his mother, Jennifer, and attending a public high school. Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near Humansville . 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. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. The video was posted Sunday by Robert Bucklin, who says he survived physical and sexual abuse at Agape Boarding School near Stockton. 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.. Our rehabilitation center in Fort Lauderdale for substance abuse embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances. If there is a question about a policy or rule, do not ask your son.. One former student said he was raped at Agape and called "seizure boy" because of his epilepsy. The Agape Boarding School was in Othello from 1992-96. In Missouri, parents are allowed to discipline their children, he said. It won't be long here in Missouri, he said. We are gathered here, former students,. 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. It could last for days on end. 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. And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. 25, 2021 at 2:05 PM PDT. Agape's trouble began in 2020 when former students came forward with abuse allegations. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at jorden@agaperanch.org or click the button below. In Missouri, at least, this could be changing. 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. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images), Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect. 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. The argument grew heated, he says, and the staffer told the kids they were going to Brown Town. The Clemenson family, who currently runs Agape, has been shut down in two states due to abuse allegations but no charges were ever made. 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 . Agape Connection. In 23 states, including Missouri, religious boarding schools do not even have to tell their state education department that they exist. Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. Former Calallen ISD teacher Joseph Sandoval sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexual abuse . . 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. These punishments, former students say, were often administered in a small room down a dark staircase, in the basement of the church, with blue padded floors and holes punched in the wall. The report found those leaders had chronically mistreated survivors of abuse and spent decades trying to deny responsibility for abuse at individual . Sick with a heart condition, Jim left the force in 1979 and moved Kathy, Bryan, and his siblings to Stockton, a sweltering agricultural city on the once-mighty San Joaquin River. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? 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! They would put you down, says Breshears. He smacked me in the face with his elbow for saying the f-word. It appeared to be a vast improvement over his previous digs. In November, a man who is reportedly a former Agap employee was charged with 215 counts of possession of child pornography. He would later set up a transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to help him. 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. The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Plaintiff was allegedly physically, sexually, and emotionally abused while under the care and supervision of . 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 next evening, a man found Jacob begging for change at a neighboring county supermarket 10 miles from Blue Creek and called Clay County Child Protective Services. At least two other states Montana and Arkansas carve out licensing exemptions for religious facilities. 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. Lawmakers held hearings and introduced a bill that would give the state some oversight. People who have care, custody, and control of those children have that right, as well. A judge ordered the school closed only to put the order on hold after Agap fired the staffer in question. The school closed in 2020 amid investigations. Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither asked the governors office for help in his investigation of the Agape Ranch and Boarding School west of Stockton. In 2021, Agape's longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. 180 Ministries, a ministry of Teen Challenge, located in Denver Colorado, is a residential substance abuse . Others said they suffered permanent injuries from being disciplined or forced to work long hours of manual labor. 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. 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. 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. Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". Those details were outlined in motions filed in 19 civil lawsuits requesting that the Cedar County judge overseeing those cases allow . Meanwhile, tales of abuse continue to emerge. The glass flew everywhere, he says. (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. 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. The founders, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, received 99 charges of sex crimes, child abuse . Missouri previously had virtually no . Colton Shrag, age 16 on a home visit from Agap in 2008. Exposing Agape is about exactly what it's name says. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, FBI chief says agency feels pandemic likely started with Chinese lab leak, House select committee hearing paints China as a strategic antagonist, JetBlue flight forced to abort landing in close call at Logan Airport, Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Vanessa Bryant, family settles claims over Kobe crash site photos for $28.5M, Agape Boarding School, Stockton, Cedar County, Missouri. Seven former students said staff members had assaulted them. 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 foothills of the Ozarks sat in the distance. 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. It was a video secretly recorded at nearby Circle of Hope Ranch that finally moved state authorities to get involved. The campus is also home to Agape Baptist Church. Related: 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. The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. Woody Harrelson Spreads Anti-Vax Conspiracies During SNL Monologue This results in many children being separated from their siblings and the only community that they know. 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. Staff called it the intake or restraint room. 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. 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.. (Agap denies this.) Gaither says at this point, they dont know if there will be any charges. Colton Schrag remembers the night at the Agap Boarding School when, he says, a staff member punched him in the face. 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. That's no secret, as news stories in The Christian. 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. So far Clemensen has kept his name out of the registry; he lost an appeal on Nov. 17, and filed for a judicial review in circuit court, which granted him a temporary restraining order keeping him off the list. 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. (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.) It now has 12. Right away, staff shaved his head, handed him an orange shirt and a pair of Wranglers, moved him into a dorm that looked like Marine barracks, and introduced him to a dizzying litany of rules. The state has been fighting to close Agap ever since. It received initial passage in the house and needs one more vote before going on to the Senate. It would be helpful for them to come in early on this one as opposed to come in at a later date, said Gaither. Graves did not respond to a request for comment. The most surprising thing is that nothing has been done so far to change anything, Ingle said. Riley Olson and His crew-help the students start and progress colts raised on the ranch, and each year they have a public auction and the young men that are a part of the program show the horse and ride him through the sale. One student said staffers had branded him with a cross. One killed in officer-involved shooting in Branson, Mo. NBC News reported on the allegations earlier this . Located just outside Stockton, Agape is the second unlicensed Christian boarding school in the state to be investigated for allegations of abuse. 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. 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. Earlier this year, Smock, the schools longtime physician, was charged with 12 felony sexual-molestation crimes against those in his care. It was time to go. Jan. 18, 2023. 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. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. Children said pastors and staff members at both facilities choked and punched them, kept them in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds and forced them to box each other. Whatever the case, Clemensen has many allies where it perhaps counts the most: in the community. James Clemensen was a California State Highway patrolman with a death wish so extreme the wives of his fellow troopers forbade their husbands from hanging out with him. 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. 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. As owners of the Circle of Hope Ranch, the couple faces 100 criminal abuse charges between them. I can at least try to show others that you dont have to keep it inside. 1:00. And he said, No, theyre not. He cuffed me up and dropped me back off at Agap. For so long, nobody cared.. Selena Gomez Taking a Break From Social Media After Hailey Bieber Drama: I'm 'Too Old for This The organization did not respond to requests for comment, but in presentations to the Legislature, the group repeatedly highlighted reports that children had been assaulted at secular youth facilities regulated by the state. 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. 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. (Knock her out! he can be heard saying.) The Clemensens sent 100 boys home, and moved the rest to base housing. We want to make it about the children's rights rather than taking away religious rights. By then, Circle of Hope had shut down after the state removed dozens of its students. Lucas Francis, 19, said he regularly witnessed staff members slam boys into walls and onto the ground when he attended Agap from 2017 to 2020. 24 homes where foster children can receive the support they need in order to mature in all aspects of their lives. Yet Agaps neighbors insist they never had any idea. Former students and their attorneys allege that for years Clemensen has been a toxic presence at the school, encouraging his staff to use violence to maintain order. Agape had 132 students 13 months ago, its lawyer, John Schultz said. Andrew Breshears in his Agap uniform. Stockton is located 130 miles south of Kansas City, a lazy drive down sunbaked roads lined with oak forests and rolling fields. 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 . Some who attended and worked at the school said otherwise. 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. STOCKTON, Mo. The Kansas City Star ran a series of exposs detailing shocking allegations first about Circle of Hope, then Agap. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Carlson said he never witnessed abuse and credited the school with temporarily keeping him off meth and teaching him how to lay tile. Minnesota has even less control. He says staff would restrain boys on the ground and use pressure points to the point of bruising. His religious mother wasnt having it. They denied it. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. UPDATE (Feb. 12, 2021, 2:33 p.m. Facebook Page. Editors picks They allowed it to happen.. Agape Ranch is dedicated to making a difference within their community and building capacity within the team. 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. 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. 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. I was sheltered, Breshears says. So they were all, in my book, guilty of association, said Schrag. "If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious.". Children as young as four-years-old may have had up to five foster . In September 2021, he charged five Agap staff members with a total of 13 counts of third-degree assault, the lowest degree of felony. Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. At the time of reporting, he is not yet in police custody, and an arrest warrant has been issued in his name. but has gone public in the past year with his . Christian Reform School Accused of Abuse Shuts Down After Rolling Stone Expos. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. (Clemensen denies this happened, but says he considers Bindley one of Agaps top success stories.). 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. This created an environment ripe for abuse to happen. Several former Pinehaven students and staff members told CNN in 2012 that children were choked and assaulted at the ranch, accusations that Larsson denied and said were the work of Satan. Officials . They said that they were bringing me to my parents, he says. SPRINGFIELD DRIVERS: Construction at Campbell and Republic starts soon. After each event, the team assesses what went well, what could be done better, and how many children/foster families were positively impacted. After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily shut down. 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). 90% of young adults aging-out of the foster care system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. Munton allowed the school to remain open, with state supervision.Allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Agape and nearby Christian boarding school Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch prompted a . 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. But under Missouri law, it was up to Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither to file charges. In other words, Grandmother can spank the children as can Agap.. STOCKTON, Mo. I tried to find a record of it, but there was none. (The Cedar County Sheriffs Department did not return calls seeking comment.). KANSAS CITY (AP) Maggie Drew's dad sent her to Circle . Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? Agape also faces criminal charges . They would say, Youre nothing. She thought heavy metal was like witchcraft, he says. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) He remembers verbal abuse, such as being told, the world didnt want you and says withholding food was a punishment., Staff members would slam you on the ground, slam you into walls, pick you up by the collar and just slam you around. Visit Website. 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. Months ago, its lawyer, John Schultz said abuse allegations, he says staff would restrain boys on ground! Stories in the face Ingle said peoples heads.. Anne Stych June 27,.... Earlier this year, Smock, the schools longtime physician, was charged with 215 counts possession... Flash a thumbs-up fired the staffer in question lined with oak forests and rolling fields to., custody, and the staffer in question transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to him! 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