(Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) The group claims a wide range of abuse, from starvation to physical and emotional abuse. Stockton is located 130 miles south of Kansas City, a lazy drive down sunbaked roads lined with oak forests and rolling fields. Jan. 18, 2023. By JIM SALTER. 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. 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! Former Calallen ISD teacher Joseph Sandoval sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexual abuse . The state has been fighting to close Agap ever since. The Clemenson family, who currently runs Agape, has been shut down in two states due to abuse allegations but no charges were ever made. The team at Agape Ranch said they wanted the youth there Friday night to know that they are valued. 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. Agape had 132 students 13 months ago, its lawyer, John Schultz said. 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 . 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. For so long, nobody cared.. Im trying to aim for a decent life, you know what Im saying? These rules and policies are for their son's success and protection. Breshears spotted a baseball bat poking out of an equipment bag. Every year, Agape Ranch hosts our Adoption Connection event to help children in foster care find their forever home. Churches of Christ don't have enough preachers to fill all the open pulpits in our fellowship. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. 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). Officials . The troubled teen industry is a term used to refer to a broad range of youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers. Attendance at Agape plummeted after abuse allegations surfaced. He would later set up a transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to help him. Share. Many of the kids my parents took in would be back six months later in worse shape, Bryan says. UPDATE (Feb. 12, 2021, 2:33 p.m. But he struggled at home. More than a decade later, legislators are finally making headway. Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. 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. "The healing process can start for so many.". I was just like, Screw it, he says. He is pleased to hear the Missouri attorney generals office is now investigating Agape Boarding School. An investigation into the school began after The Star reported on the abuse allegations last year. In Missouri, parents are allowed to discipline their children, he said. However, the Cedar County prosecutor says no students have been removed from the school. I can at least try to show others that you dont have to keep it inside. As owners of the Circle of Hope Ranch, the couple faces 100 criminal abuse charges between them. 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. Shrag is holding an Agape year book. Five months later, authorities raided Circle of Hope, seizing evidence and removing 25 girls from the ranch. (KY3) - Missouri's attorney general is investigating a second Cedar County boarding school. One morning, he overheard one of the Clemensen daughters asking for help with a math problem, to which Bindley shot back a smartass remark. 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. RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE. Address . Schrag says he tried to escape around 2007, when he was 15. Agape Ranch-courtesy photo. Jan. 23, 2023. Moments later, Bindley says, Bryan yanked him backward, slamming his chair and his head into the concrete floor. 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. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? Pinehaven did not respond to a request for comment. We need people who will financially contribute and volunteer at the event to help give these . Tuesday, The Independent reported that DSS substantiated 10 preponderance of evidence claims of physical abuse at Agape. On March 9, 2021, AG Schmitt announced 102 charges against the Householders, including rape and physical abuse. It received initial passage in the house and needs one more vote before going on to the Senate. James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. But Breshears got a rude welcome. Meanwhile, the husband-and-wife founders of Circle of Hope, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, face a combined 99 charges that include child abuse and neglect, sex crimes and other counts. After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily . COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The picture flashed on the big screen, and Brenda Gordon immediately . He says staff would restrain boys on the ground and use pressure points to the point of bruising. Staff called it the intake or restraint room. The action galvanized Agap alumni, as well, and they began telling their stories to local media and on podcasts. The desire of 51:10 Youth Ranch is to provide a safe place for children, horses and families. The next home at The Ranch is for youth aging-out of foster care and the need is urgent. 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. We want to hear it. In other words, Grandmother can spank the children as can Agap.. 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. The AG was on board. Its just a very scary place to be, Bradney said. The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . One student said staffers had branded him with a cross. Lack of oversight is not limited to Missouri. We are faced with the horrifying truth that a network of immoral individuals have engaged in what amounts to organized crime against children, Rob Vescovo, the Republican speaker of the Missouri House, wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore, urging her to employ the FBI to investigate. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. 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. 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. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. KANSAS CITY, Mo. 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. First published on January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM. 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. This results in many children being separated from their siblings and the only community that they know. Advocates are watching the Agap case, and suggest it illustrates why federal legislation is needed. 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. 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 Ty Gaither asked the governors office for help in his investigation of the Agape Ranch and Boarding School west of Stockton. Hunt was one of a number of SBC leaders named in a 2022 report from the investigative firm Guidepost Solutions hired by the denomination in 2021 to resolve long-running conflicts over sexual abuse. The founders of Circle of Hope face around 100 charges, some alleging sexual abuse. Since last year, 19 former students have filed lawsuits against the school, alleging physical and emotional abuse, and in . Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate last year and sworn in this month. 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. I had a staff member tell me were wasting our time giving you a diploma because youre not even worth the paper its going to cost to print it on, said Schrag. Robert Bucklin, 28, who is identified in the motion and lawsuit as R.B. And he said, No, theyre not., In 1996, the Clemensens purchased 40 acres just outside of town. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) And its not just Missouri. Bucklin wrote the video shows a staff . At the time of reporting, he is not yet in police custody, and an arrest warrant has been issued in his name. DSS added . 2023 The Associated Press. Circle of Hope closed in 2020, and its owners, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, face 101 felony charges, including statutory rape, abuse and neglect of a child. But a Senate staffer helping to write the legislation cautions that in order to get a bill passed, they will likely have to tie compliance to funding, and are unlikely to mandate it. The Missouri AG launched a joint investigation with Cedar County authorities. 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. The Clemensens sent 100 boys home, and moved the rest to base housing. 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. Seven former students said staff members had assaulted them. By the time he ended up in the Padded Palace, he recalls, I was bleeding all over my head and hands. So he scrawled the words Fuck Agap on the wall using his own blood. 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. We are gathered here, former students,. Its about getting these kids to a place in their life where they have to look to God for help, he says. ON SEPT. 7, 2022, ATTORNEY GENERAL SCHMITT and the State Department of Social Services (DSS) filed to close Agap. 4/5/2021. Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud. 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. 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