They claim Clemensen was on a power trip and seemed to enjoy brutalizing the kids in his charge. The staff often singled out members of Brown Town for abuse, depositions filed by former Agap students suggest. I can at least try to show others that you dont have to keep it inside. Appalled, he used his phone to surreptitiously record Boyd Householder, who appeared to be ordering Circle of Hope students to physically assault one of their classmates. 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. DSS added . Master's Ranch Christian Academy which has had a facility in southern Missouri for more than a decade opened a new location . Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. It received initial passage in the house and needs one more vote before going on to the Senate. It also taught creationism and that women should be subservient to their husbands, while weaving biblical references into the materials. "Pinehaven has had challenges over the years, but so has everyone," Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy said at a 2019 hearing. The site was littered with old barrels, wood piles, abandoned cars, and insulation containing asbestos. We want to hear it. I tried to find a record of it, but there was none. (The Cedar County Sheriffs Department did not return calls seeking comment.). One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. 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. Shrag is holding an Agape year book. 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. Agape Boarding School Abuse Lawsuit - Pennsylvania Schools Details: WebFormer students of Agape from Alabama, Texas, and Michigan have filed two civil lawsuits against the Boarding School for multiple charges that include physical, agape ranch abuse Verified 5 days ago "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. On March 9, 2021, AG Schmitt announced 102 charges against the Householders, including rape and physical abuse. Tuesday, The Independent reported that DSS substantiated 10 preponderance of evidence claims of physical abuse at Agape. For example, when many foster children age out of the system, they have lived in an average of 12 foster homes. It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. It won't be long here in Missouri, he said. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. 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. Bryan Clemensen was not among those charged. 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 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. People had reported Circle of Hope at least 19 times since it opened to three sheriffs departments, state child welfare and education officials, the highway patrol, and the state attorney generals office, according to interviews and records obtained by NBC News. In Missouri, parents are allowed to discipline their children, he said. The allegations of abuse were filed at the Cedar County Circuit . Those details were outlined in motions filed in 19 civil lawsuits requesting that the Cedar County judge overseeing those cases allow . 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. Netflixs Outer Banks Buries Itself in Ridiculous Season 3 Yet the delays have frustrated state lawmakers. 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. Trump White House Pressured Disney to Censor Jimmy Kimmel Staffers grabbed Breshears and, he claims, threw him onto the glass. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? So they were all, in my book, guilty of association, said Schrag. They were very detailed and professional. 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. 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 . 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. 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. Trending 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. 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. 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. Jan 5, 2023 9:58 am. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The picture flashed on the big screen, and Brenda Gordon immediately . 180 Ministries, a ministry of Teen Challenge, located in Denver Colorado, is a residential substance abuse . He is a manipulator, says Breshears. We felt they needed God in their lives. The state, he says, had no clue how to get to a kids heart.. That . Recently, individuals associated with Agap have been accused of a growing list of crimes. The video was posted Sunday by Robert Bucklin, who says he survived physical and sexual abuse at Agape Boarding School near Stockton. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. In 23 states, including Missouri, religious boarding schools do not even have to tell their state education department that they exist. 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. I was sheltered, Breshears says. 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. Its good to be back with family, he says. Agape Connection. "For nearly three decades, students at Agape Boarding School have experienced emotional, mental, physical . When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. Their lawyer denies the allegations and says that their innocence will prevail in court. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch was a reformatory boarding school located in Humansville, Missouri.The school opened in July 2006 and was closed in 2020 amid reports and lawsuits filed by former students alleging child abuse, as well as due to an investigation conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.. Before the school's closure, parents, former students, and staff filed multiple reports to . Lawmakers held hearings and introduced a bill that would give the state some oversight. A judge ordered the school closed only to put the order on hold after Agap fired the staffer in question. Im trying to aim for a decent life, you know what Im saying? (Agap denies this.) Editors Note: This story, which appears in the January 2023 issue of Rolling Stone, has been updated to include additional details on court cases that had not been decided until after the print deadline. 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. Montana carved out a religious exemption when it set up a new system for licensing youth facilities and reform schools in 2007. He would later help stage an uprising as an attempt to get thrown out of the school. 2 min read. Bucklin wrote the video shows a staff . Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. One former student said he was raped at Agape and called "seizure boy" because of his epilepsy. 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. 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. Circle of Hope was opened in 2006 by Boyd Householder, a former Agap employee, as a school for rebellious teenage girls. For so long, nobody cared.. In Missouri, at least, this could be changing. And in at least 14 other states, education and child welfare agencies exempt boarding schools from licensing requirements if they are privately owned or privately funded. Seven former students said staff members had assaulted them. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. 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. The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. 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. 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. They would say, Youre nothing. 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. They called the school Agap, meaning Gods love for man. 79 were here. 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. Graves did not respond to a request for comment. Schrag says he tried to escape around 2007, when he was 15. Staff called it the intake or restraint room. The state Public Health and Human Services Department and the local sheriff did not fulfill NBC News records requests for information about any more recent complaints. The Kansas City Star reported that the Householders deny all allegations . Meanwhile, Agap was growing. If there is a question about a policy or rule, do not ask your son.. SPRINGFIELD DRIVERS: Construction at Campbell and Republic starts soon. Relevance: This course is designed for master's level counselors, addiction professionals, and nurses who have direct client contact. 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. Passing under the majestic cross affixed to its towering arched entryway, Breshears gazed over a beautiful campus. One killed in officer-involved shooting in Branson, Mo. . They allowed it to happen.. 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. 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. Bindley remembers learning quickly that retribution for breaking the rules was swift and sometimes painful. McCrary said in an email on Friday that Graves was not present for social workers interviews with students. But then, Breshears made friends and began to reconsider his allegiances particularly, he says, after he witnessed classmates getting restrained. 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. Amanda, then 29, says her parents kicked her out when she was 17. 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. Moments later, Bindley says, Bryan yanked him backward, slamming his chair and his head into the concrete floor. 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. We are faith-based, free, and swift to respond. But in some states that have tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like Montana, lawmakers have met with resistance. / AP. 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. On Dec. 21, a judge issued a preliminary injunction that will keep him off the list until he receives a full trial (with testimony and subpoenaed witnesses) or until further Order of this Court. In the meantime, Clemensen is prevented from having physical contact with students, but can continue working at the school. Missouri's Agap Boarding School will close its doors due to a lack of finances, school officials say but the . He tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like montana, lawmakers have met with resistance their! 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