His outrage became open defiance. 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. 25, 2021 at 2:05 PM PDT. Facebook Page. I shadowed a staff member for about three days, we didnt go over procedures, no restraint training, no discipline training really no clear set of rules that the students werent allowed to break., It was not unusual for physical restraints to last four hours or longer, and leave bruises on the children, according to Clidence and three former students. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. 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. 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. 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! According to AG Schmitts office, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department employs at least three people who used to work at Agap. 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. Another describes a staffer holding a pocket knife to his throat. NWS confirms EF-1 tornado near Goodman, Mo. I watched him choke, slam kids into the floor, and just basically beat the shit out of them. 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. You can start to heal., For his part, Breshears is grateful to be free. Many of the kids my parents took in would be back six months later in worse shape, Bryan says. The way Bryan tells it, in the 1970s, Kathy was a single mom whod found Jesus but still had a mischievous streak. The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. He has been a trainer for 10 years specializing in substance abuse. 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. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. I was sheltered, Breshears says. Church was on Wednesday and three times on Sunday. When 19-year-old Rebekah Cooper started her mission, she had to give up her first name . MANY OF THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST Agap staffers are easily found on podcasts and interviews on YouTube. 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. The glass flew everywhere, he says. And that's what it's all about.. Though he is 16, he is a freshman; Agaps curriculum is often not compatible with local requirements. Boarding schools fleeing abuse claims in other states find 'Promised Land' in Missouri . 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. Plaintiff was allegedly physically, sexually, and emotionally abused while under the care and supervision of . Woody Harrelson Spreads Anti-Vax Conspiracies During SNL Monologue Indeed, the version of the school students describe, community members say, is starkly different from the Agap the town has come to know. Former Calallen ISD teacher Joseph Sandoval sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexual abuse . It will stop providing service effective Jan. 20, according to a statement from the school for boys. Meanwhile, Agap was growing. 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. Its just a very scary place to be, Bradney said. Agape Ranch and Boarding School near Stockton, Missouri, a facility operated by Agape Baptist Church. 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.. 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. 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 . Hed hoped to get kicked out, which didnt happen. "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. Full Gala Taping. But then, Breshears made friends and began to reconsider his allegiances particularly, he says, after he witnessed classmates getting restrained. 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. 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. 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 . I just kind of felt like I was on my own, said Schrag, 28, who now works in the oil industry in Texas. After a months-long investigation, the AGs office recommended 65 charges against 22 staff members, accusing them of abusing 36 children. It took a disturbing criminal case to make it happen. For more on this story, watch NBC's "Dateline" episode, "Broken Circle". Chapel was daily. 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. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com, State of Missouri investigating Agape Ranch and Boarding School near Stockton, Deputy seriously hurt in crash with driver opening beer, Greene County prosecutor files charges against man accused of crashing truck into a house. Cant make those decisions until weve had an opportunity to review the investigative reports, and those are being put together, said Gaither. The result, experts said, is that in much of the country, no one from the government checks to ensure that these facilities, often in remote regions, meet basic standards before children are enrolled. 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. Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. Five more alleged victims have filed civil lawsuits against Agape Boarding School of Stockton, Missouri, and the Baptist church that supervises the Christian boarding school, bringing the total number of cases alleging negligence and abuse to 19. After each event, the team assesses what went well, what could be done better, and how many children/foster families were positively impacted. In November, Schrag joined close to two dozen men and women protesting outside Agap, holding signs that read Torture Is Not Treatment and Lies Wont Protect You Anymore.. ), Other students describe staffers encouraging classmates to fight one another, and cutting off communication with loved ones when they complained. Since then, former students testified at legislative hearings that they tried to report the abuse at Agape and the now-closed Circle of Hope Girls Ranch for years, but that Cedar County authorities and other officials did not respond to the . (Clemensen denies this happened, but says he considers Bindley one of Agaps top success stories.). W hen Andrew Breshears arrived at the Agap Boarding School in 2018, he was a sandy-haired 12-year-old who weighed less than 100 . STOCKTON, Mo. 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. 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. In 1996, Agap moved to a 200-acre ranch in Cedar County, Missouri. 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.. One day after the FBI announced the arrest of a former Agape Boarding School dean, a civil right's . It could last for days on end. Agape Boarding School was moving away from the "nonbelievers" in Washington and California and heading east. Many Stockton residents consider Agap a mark of honor. 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. To him, it seemed arbitrary and needlessly brutal. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. We are gathered here, former students,. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Call us today and find long-term recovery. Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. If you're using the Bible or God to justify any of these things, that is sacrilegious. 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. The site, designed as a Christian camp, had cabins, a shower facility, a mess hall, and a small chapel. . 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. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. 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 Ranch is a thriving faith-based non-profit offering a forward-thinking and compassionate community-based solution to the foster care crisis facing America today. One night, he got into an argument with his mom and stepdad that turned physical, and they accused him of being possessed. He says he was once ordered to perform 4,500 pushups for cussing and told if I didnt get it done, I couldnt eat my next meal. (Though Breshears says he couldnt do it, Agap denies ever denying a student a meal.) But he struggled at home. Operators advertise it as a national boarding school for at-risk or unmotivated boys. 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 next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. A Tri-City Herald story from 1996 said that Franklin County officials ordered the facility to close for code violations over removing and . Nonetheless, the outcome of the civil suits is far from certain. 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. Officials . He says one told local police that he had escaped from a Nazi camp.. And he said, No, theyre not., In 1996, the Clemensens purchased 40 acres just outside of town. In 2021, Agape's longtime doctor, David Smock, was charged with child sex crimes and five employees were charged with low-level abuse counts. 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