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. But many lawmakers are also oblivious to the consequences of lax oversight until there's a scandal. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at jorden@agaperanch.org or click the button below. It will stop providing service effective Jan. 20, according to a statement from the school for boys. That . For many survivors of Agap, that would be tough to accept. Jim and Kathy Clemensen a married couple whom people call Brother Clemensen and Maam started Agap in the early 1990s. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. In May 2021, the law requiring religious schools to register with the state passed. The way Bryan tells it, in the 1970s, Kathy was a single mom whod found Jesus but still had a mischievous streak. 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 . Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud. He is pleased to hear the Missouri attorney generals office is now investigating Agape Boarding School. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. He smacked me in the face with his elbow for saying the f-word. Hilton tweeted to Missouri's attorney general and governor on June 21. Shrag is holding an Agape year book. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. . The Clemenson family, who currently runs Agape, has been shut down in two states due to abuse allegations but no charges were ever made. One former student reportedly mentioned Agap in a suicide note. It now has 12. Agape Ranch plans out programs, fund raisers, and community outreach monthly. 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. He grabbed the bat, charged toward the front of the cafeteria, and shattered a plate-glass window. We are the best rehab . 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. The site was littered with old barrels, wood piles, abandoned cars, and insulation containing asbestos. But then, Breshears made friends and began to reconsider his allegiances particularly, he says, after he witnessed classmates getting restrained. They were marched downstairs, where things escalated, until, Breshears alleges, he was lying facedown with a staffer sitting on his legs and two others digging their kneecaps into his pressure points. By 5+ Local Business Owners! 1.0 Stephen H. Winter Haven, FL. By then, Circle of Hope had shut down after the state removed dozens of its students. 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"I would argue Pinehaven is doing a very good job with very difficult kids.". By JIM SALTER. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at. Schrag says he tried to escape around 2007, when he was 15. 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. Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. To keep order, Agap instituted a military-like hierarchy, indicated by colored shirts that denoted ranks. ), Other students describe staffers encouraging classmates to fight one another, and cutting off communication with loved ones when they complained. That meant calling out and even disciplining classmates for infractions like cursing, talking in line, refusing to pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, or talking about their pasts. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. Each worker is facing abuse charges. 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. The Kansas City Star reported that the Householders deny all allegations . (They do so much good for this town and you cannot believe the difference they have made in these young men, says Jackie Cargell, who has lived in the town for 57 years.) We want to hear it. One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. They would put you down, says Breshears. 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. Jennifer says she knows it will take a while to reconnect, and she worries about the psychic scars left by the school shes already noticed that her son hates horses now. They insisted everyone call them Brother Jim and Maam, and their son Brother Bryan.. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. But in some states that have tried to close this oversight gap in recent years, like Montana, lawmakers have met with resistance. When more severe penalties were required, according to students, civil suits, and a search warrant filed later by state investigators, Agap staffers would hold the boys facedown on the floor while pressing their elbows, knees, and fingers into students pressure points, a pain compliance method known as a restraint. Or worse. 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. Though Ms. Allred's office has spent months soliciting a cash settlement, we were unaware that a suit would be filed. 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. 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. It was Clemensen who introduced the practice of restraints in the early 2000s, says Ryan Frazier, attorney for Monsees and Mayer PC, which is representing 18 former students in suits against the school. They led to a front-page story in the Cedar County Republican. Christian Reform School Accused of Abuse Shuts Down After Rolling Stone Expos. The BBC was given access to their UK boot camp, where they learn how to teach Mormon beliefs and use social media to reach potential converts. It has not come up for a vote yet, but key Republicans in the Legislature have already signaled support. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. A student at Agap Boarding School near Stockton, Missouri, performs push ups when his student guide ruled his clean up work was not good enough in September 2002. The team at Agape Ranch said they wanted the youth there Friday night to know that they are valued. Though the area is largely Baptist, Cedar County has a tradition of religious tolerance. 180 Ministries, a ministry of Teen Challenge, located in Denver Colorado, is a residential substance abuse . (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images), Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect. McCrary said in an email on Friday that Graves was not present for social workers interviews with students. But he would soon come to suffer horrifying abuse, he says experiences in line with what at least 18 former Agap students have recently alleged in lawsuits. State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. Meanwhile, Agap was growing. And he said, No, theyre not. He cuffed me up and dropped me back off at Agap. 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. Bryan, by then in his twenties, was working in a state-funded group home. The school closed in 2020 amid investigations. 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. 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 . Gaither says at this point, they dont know if there will be any charges. There was a small room down a dark staircase with blue padded floors and holes punched in the wall. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? 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. 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. 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. Mrs. Vicki Loeffler & Mrs. Rodney Johnson, DDS, Faithful Witness Photography, Photographer. Agape's trouble began in 2020 when former students came forward with abuse allegations. 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. Ellie Hill Smith, a state lawmaker from Missoula, was concerned that this meant the state had no way of ensuring children were safe in these programs. The posts went viral even receiving a thumbs-up from Paris Hilton. Jan. 23, 2023. ", "Today, the many victims who have come forth can rest assured that no more children will be hurt at Agape Boarding School," Bucklin said in a text. He is a manipulator, says Breshears. Updated: Dec 13, 2022 / 12:48 PM CST. 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. Yet Agaps neighbors insist they never had any idea. The action galvanized Agap alumni, as well, and they began telling their stories to local media and on podcasts. 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