in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds, Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act. They literally took the practices of Agape and opened up Circle of Hope, so we know for a fact that there is one other school that is ran just like Circle of Hope, and that place is what Circle of Hope modeled their school after, said Amanda Householder, daughter of Circle of Hope operators. They say theyre still haunted by nightmares, hypervigilance, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Schmitt last year asked a Cedar County judge to close Agape, but the judge had not yet issued a decision. Askins reached out to Child Protective Services and then shared the video with the Householders estranged daughter, Amanda. 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 . One student, identified only by his initials, describes being forced to run outside while a staffer tailed him in a four-wheeler with a stick attached to the front, threatening to ram anyone who wasnt moving fast enough. The most surprising thing is that nothing has been done so far to change anything, Ingle said. For example, Arkansas allows boarding schools and child welfare agencies operated solely by a religious organization to be exempt from licensing. 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. The cases against five people who worked at Agape Boarding school are moving forward. 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. Lack of oversight is not limited to Missouri. Thats where someone went too far. None of these inspections are required at religious boarding schools. And I did get saved.. Wednesday afternoon, a House committee questions Missouri Department of Social Services leaders about their investigations into boarding schools. (361) 742-6330. The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . They called the school Agap, meaning Gods love for man. 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. "Pinehaven has had challenges over the years, but so has everyone," Montana Family Foundation President Jeff Laszloffy said at a 2019 hearing. 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. 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. 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. J.M. Shrag is holding an Agape year book. "I would argue Pinehaven is doing a very good job with very difficult kids.". The Missouri Department of Social Services does not conduct regular inspections of private religious schools, but child protective services and police can investigate if there is a specific abuse allegation reported. The five employees of the Agape Boarding School near Stockton were charged with a total of 13 third-degree felony assault counts, Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither said. 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. It would be helpful for them to come in early on this one as opposed to come in at a later date, said Gaither. Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. Each worker is facing abuse charges. 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. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. STOCKTON, Mo. Master's Ranch Christian Academy which has had a facility in southern Missouri for more than a decade opened a new location . Its good to be back with family, he says. MANY OF THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST Agap staffers are easily found on podcasts and interviews on YouTube. They claim Clemensen was on a power trip and seemed to enjoy brutalizing the kids in his charge. Amanda Householder is suing her parents, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, owners of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School. It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. By JIM SALTER. (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) Some who attended and worked at the school said otherwise. The law many former students of schools like Agap see as a model comes from an unlikely state to scrap religious exemptions: Alabama. At least two other states Montana and Arkansas carve out licensing exemptions for religious facilities. 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. Missouri's Agap Boarding School will close its doors due to a lack of finances, school officials say but the . Graves did not respond to a request for comment. Im trying to aim for a decent life, you know what Im saying? Agape Baptist Church owns and operates the private boarding school for boys in Stockton, MO. Still, administrators at many of these schools insist they are a force for good. They promoted me I was the youngest person to go red. 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. Its just a very scary place to be, Bradney said. Via Fox13, the local news station out of Salt Lake City, we get a detailed response to the lawsuit from ranch management: "We at Turn-About Ranch strongly deny the allegations put forward in Ms. Allred's press conference. 79 were here. ON SEPT. 7, 2022, ATTORNEY GENERAL SCHMITT and the State Department of Social Services (DSS) filed to close Agap. Contact Agape International Missions Email: info@aim4asia.org Phone: 916.784.2800. 2023 The Associated Press. Sandoval, Agaps dean of students, worked shifts at the county jail. Agape Ranch plans out programs, fund raisers, and community outreach monthly. 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. (NBC News presented a copy of Clidences nondisparagement agreement to Agap to confirm or dispute its authenticity, but the school did not respond.). By then, Circle of Hope had shut down after the state removed dozens of its students. In March 2020, a former Agap student named Joseph Askins stopped in to visit, and witnessed abuse that shocked him. I was just like, Screw it, he says. I tried to find a record of it, but there was none. (The Cedar County Sheriffs Department did not return calls seeking comment.). Its about getting these kids to a place in their life where they have to look to God for help, he says. 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. By 14, Breshears says, he was fully in staffers crosshairs. Roloff was perhaps best known for starting boarding homes in the 1960s to reform youth he described as parent-hating, Satan-worshipping, dope-taking immoral boys and girls, utilizing corporal punishment and isolation for children who disobeyed. The newly appointed attorney general, Andrew Bailey, had said he planned to continue pursuing closure. 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. One former student reportedly mentioned Agap in a suicide note. But the bills essentially became a referendum on one unregulated facility, the Pinehaven Christian Children's Ranch in St. Ignatius, Montana, whose founder showed up to hearings with supporters to argue against the change. Passing under the majestic cross affixed to its towering arched entryway, Breshears gazed over a beautiful campus. Gaither says at this point, they dont know if there will be any charges. 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. That was the last straw; they had him committed. NWS confirms EF-1 tornado near Goodman, Mo. (Agap denies any knowledge of these allegations. But under Missouri law, it was up to Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither to file charges. 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. The allegations of abuse were filed at the Cedar County Circuit . The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . The curriculum included traditional math and English. Soon theyd be in a place where they were untouchable. He would later help stage an uprising as an attempt to get thrown out of the school. 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. When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. ), Such alleged retribution was not necessarily confined to Brown Town. 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. All Rights Reserved. 4/5/2021. . But in some states that have tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like Montana, lawmakers have met with resistance. 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. And that's what it's all about.. That . The state has been fighting to close Agap ever since. 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. 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