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. An investigation by NBC News and Dateline found that multiple states have similar gaps in the oversight of religious boarding schools, leaving children vulnerable to abuse. Locals says the Clemensens ingratiated themselves by offering tours, and hosting Boy Scout breakfasts and luncheons for the local Methodist group. His grandparents sent him to a mental hospital, then to Agap. Boarding schools fleeing abuse claims in other states find 'Promised Land' in Missouri . (Householder has denied that any abuse occurred at the ranch.). Schrags adoptive parents placed him in Agap which takes its name from the ancient Greek word Christians use to describe the love of God for humankind hoping the program would help him deal with anger issues and disobedience. At first glance, the facility for at-risk and unmotivated boys a Baptist institution in Stockton, Missouri wasnt so terrible. Since it claims to be a Christian organization, is not regulated by the state because of a religious exemption. Every year, Agape Ranch hosts our Adoption Connection event to help children in foster care find their forever home. That is blasphemous.. The Kansas City Star ran a series of exposs detailing shocking allegations first about Circle of Hope, then Agap. 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! Each worker is facing abuse charges. The school states on its website that its staff are trained in proper restraining tactics, which are only used if a child is a threat to others and last for just a few minutes. "The healing process can start for so many.". abuse at agape I have spent the last 5 days at agape boys ranch helping with the annual horse sale. Child welfare officials in Washington cited Agap for overcrowding and poor sanitation, according to a 1995 newspaper article. Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The picture flashed on the big screen, and Brenda Gordon immediately . Alumni from Agap and Circle of Hope feel the momentum is swinging in their direction. 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 Thrive program will provide housing and mentorship for young adults during their college or trade school career. They claim Clemensen was on a power trip and seemed to enjoy brutalizing the kids in his charge. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. 2023 The Associated Press. One killed in officer-involved shooting in Branson, Mo. Former Calallen ISD teacher Joseph Sandoval sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexual abuse . . It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. These rules and policies are for their son's success and protection. "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. A 2007 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found thousands of abuse allegations between 1990 and 2007 in 2005 alone, 33 states reported 1,619 staff members involved in incidents of abuse. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. Moments later, Bindley says, Bryan yanked him backward, slamming his chair and his head into the concrete floor. 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. STOCKTON, Mo. 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. "I would argue Pinehaven is doing a very good job with very difficult kids.". J.M. 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. The report found those leaders had chronically mistreated survivors of abuse and spent decades trying to deny responsibility for abuse at individual . Upon completion, our self sustaining community will care for up to 132 foster children and young adults at a time. 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. 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. 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. Gaither declined to comment, but told the Cedar County Republican that Agap has the right to administer corporal punishment. ), Other students describe staffers encouraging classmates to fight one another, and cutting off communication with loved ones when they complained. Bucklin wrote the video shows a staff . 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Recently, individuals associated with Agap have been accused of a growing list of crimes. (Clemensen denies this happened, but says he considers Bindley one of Agaps top success stories.). 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. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The staff often singled out members of Brown Town for abuse, depositions filed by former Agap students suggest. The team at Agape Ranch said they wanted the youth there Friday night to know that they are valued. They say theyre still haunted by nightmares, hypervigilance, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Former students wonder if its because of this that authorities failed to act sooner. 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. Staff called it the intake room. The founders, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, received 99 charges of sex crimes, child abuse . Officials . Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. 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. 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. And he encouraged that kind of crap from staff members.. 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 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! 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. Families looking to adopt are invited to meet, play, and talk to these children, and we need help putting it on. 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. Regretfully, child abuse and neglect have continued to rise and the work of Agape Ranch is needed now more than ever. 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. The posts went viral even receiving a thumbs-up from Paris Hilton. Missouri's Agap Boarding School will close its doors due to a lack of finances, school officials say but the . Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. Carlson said he never witnessed abuse and credited the school with temporarily keeping him off meth and teaching him how to lay tile. The AG was on board. Boyd and Stephanie Householders daughter says they worked at Agape for four years. The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . Alumni of Christian boarding schools for troubled teens in Missouri, including Agape and Circle of Hope, say state laws prevented inspections, enabling abuse to continue for decades. 4/5/2021. The video was posted Sunday by Robert Bucklin, who says he survived physical and sexual abuse at Agape Boarding School near Stockton. 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. 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 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time 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. Surprise! But instead of the therapeutic environment the schools leaders promised, Schrag and 11 others who were sent to Agap as children from the late 1990s up to last year, as well as four former staff members, told NBC News they saw Agap workers hold boys down and hit them. Church was on Wednesday and three times on Sunday. 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. Though the area is largely Baptist, Cedar County has a tradition of religious tolerance. Our rehabilitation center in Fort Lauderdale for substance abuse embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances. 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 desire of 51:10 Youth Ranch is to provide a safe place for children, horses and families. Agape Ranch is dedicated to making a difference within their community and building capacity within the team. A Tri-City Herald story from 1996 said that Franklin County officials ordered the facility to close for code violations over removing and . Many other states, such as New Jersey, Oklahoma and Texas, do not require religious boarding schools to be licensed by education or child welfare authorities because they are privately owned or privately funded. 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. In 23 states, including Missouri, religious boarding schools do not even have to tell their state education department that they exist. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. 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. Bryan Clemensen was not among those charged. / AP. There wasnt really any training, said James Clidence, a pastor who worked as a teacher at Agap from 2012 to 2015. KANSAS CITY (AP) Maggie Drew's dad sent her to Circle . Once they were done, staff members took away Schrags clothes and bedding, he said, and made him wear only a bathrobe and his boxers for two months. Jim and Kathy appeared at the hospital a few weeks later. Those details were outlined in motions filed in 19 civil lawsuits requesting that the Cedar County judge overseeing those cases allow . He lost his red shirt and became familiar with the one place no student wanted to end up: Brown Town. That status, characterized by the brown shirt a student was forced to wear, according to lawsuits and depositions, came with extreme workouts, the loss of talking privileges, and a restricted meal plan that often consisted of a slice of bread and peanut butter, or a tortilla with a scoop of cold refried beans. 90% of young adults aging-out of the foster care system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. . The site was littered with old barrels, wood piles, abandoned cars, and insulation containing asbestos. One former student said he was raped at Agape and called "seizure boy" because of his epilepsy. February 28, 2023. I have concerns about every inch of that place, County Commissioner Sue Miller said. NWS confirms EF-1 tornado near Goodman, Mo. I just kind of felt like I was on my own, said Schrag, 28, who now works in the oil industry in Texas. Missouri previously had virtually no . 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. They promoted me I was the youngest person to go red. Five months later, authorities raided Circle of Hope, seizing evidence and removing 25 girls from the ranch. Operators declined to comment about the investigation. 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 200 Greatest Singers of All Time However, the Cedar County prosecutor says no students have been removed from the school. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Clemensen said that the abuse allegations are lies, and suggests they are inspired by the political ambitions of State Attorney General Eric Schmitt who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November and a small group of disgruntled former students hoping for a big payday. What they are claiming would never be OK, he says. Then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office contended that 22 workers should have been charged, and with more serious crimes. The committee is considering bills introduced by Ingle and a Republican colleague last month to give the Missouri Department of Social Services oversight of religious boarding schools. One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. Facebook Page. By 14, Breshears says, he was fully in staffers crosshairs. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. NBC News reported on the allegations earlier this . 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. There were horses, a swimming pool, and a football team. "Pinehaven has had challenges over the years, but so has everyone," Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy said at a 2019 hearing. More than a decade later, legislators are finally making headway. 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 . Francis lied, he said, because Robert Graves a Cedar County sheriffs deputy who is on the board of Agaps church and has worked at the school was present for the interview. But he struggled at home. SPRINGFIELD DRIVERS: Construction at Campbell and Republic starts soon. Call us today and find long-term recovery. 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. Then-Attorney general Eric schmitt 's office contended that 22 workers should have been removed from the Ranch. ) 36! Second-Degree statutory sodomy invited to meet, play, and a football team receiving a from! Is swinging in their direction are claiming would never be OK, got. Then to Agap hospital, then to Agap prey to the consequences of lax oversight until there 's a.... 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