It was a video secretly recorded at nearby Circle of Hope Ranch that finally moved state authorities to get involved. One student said staffers had branded him with a cross. They would put you down, says Breshears. 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. Some former students have made the allegations against Agape Boarding School and Legacy Boys Academy in Stockton, Masters Ranch in far southern Missouri, and Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near . (Photo by Tim Bommel/House Communications) 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. Clemensen said the decision to close "is voluntary and solely due to the lack of financial resources to continue caring for the boys.". 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. New court filings reveal some of the most brutal allegations of abuse at Agape Boarding School so far, including former students' account that two staffers sexually assaulted him. Recently, individuals associated with Agap have been accused of a growing list of crimes. It was time to go. Please enter valid email address to continue. Jim and Kathy appeared at the hospital a few weeks later. It was easy to get in trouble for stupid shit, Breshears recalls. 3/11/2021. Pour Salt Down Your Drain At Night, Here's Why, Tyler Kingkade and Liz Brown and Keith Morrison and Rachel White and Andrew Williams and Javier Rodriguez. in solitary confinement, handcuffed them to beds, Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act. Soon theyd be in a place where they were untouchable. At first glance, the facility for at-risk and unmotivated boys a Baptist institution in Stockton, Missouri wasnt so terrible. Lawmakers held hearings and introduced a bill that would give the state some oversight. Alumni from Agap and Circle of Hope feel the momentum is swinging in their direction. 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. 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 staff often singled out members of Brown Town for abuse, depositions filed by former Agap students suggest. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. For so long, nobody cared.. More than 60% of the children in our county are being placed outside of our county due to the lack of foster homes in our community. 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. Robert Bucklin, 28, who is identified in the motion and lawsuit as R.B. The Agape Boarding School was in Othello from 1992-96. Still, administrators at many of these schools insist they are a force for good. But in Missouri, only the local prosecutor can file charges, and Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither has said no additional employees would be charged. Cedar . At a hearing in the Missouri Legislature on Wednesday, a department official said it has been difficult to substantiate abuse allegations at religious boarding schools due to "a culture of restricted access.". The charges come after the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated allegations of abuse at the boarding school. Amanda, then 29, says her parents kicked her out when she was 17. 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.. Agape bills itself as a 30-year-old Christian outfit that "has helped thousands of troubled teens" in part "by showing God's love daily to these boys." But those who identify as abuse survivors . That's because Agap is a religious school, which makes it exempt from the state rules governing secular boarding schools and childrens homes. According to AG Schmitts office, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department employs at least three people who used to work at Agap. Missouri previously had virtually no oversight for religious boarding schools. Each worker is facing abuse charges. The founders, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, received 99 charges of sex crimes, child abuse . Hymns blared in the classrooms. The way Bryan tells it, in the 1970s, Kathy was a single mom whod found Jesus but still had a mischievous streak. Agape Treatment Center offers Drug and Alcohol Rehab as well as Primary Mental Health Treatment. As owners of the Circle of Hope Ranch, the couple faces 100 criminal abuse charges between them. Several lawsuits filed on behalf of former students also have named Agape and Circle of Hope. Jim and Kathy Clemensen a married couple whom people call Brother Clemensen and Maam started Agap in the early 1990s. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Earlier this year, Smock, the schools longtime physician, was charged with 12 felony sexual-molestation crimes against those in his care. Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. Mow Grass and Maintain Landscaping. 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. Sandoval, Agaps dean of students, worked shifts at the county jail. Cedar County Sheriff James Jimbob McCrary denied that Graves was present for interviews with students. Church was on Wednesday and three times on Sunday. KANSAS CITY (AP) Maggie Drew's dad sent her to Circle . The industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that claims to help or fix troubled teenagers . The three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The state of Missouri has opened a criminal investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at Agap Boarding School, a Christian institution in the rural southwestern part of the state, a spokesman for the state's Highway Patrol confirmed Friday. For example, when many foster children age out of the system, they have lived in an average of 12 foster homes. 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. 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. 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. And they would never tell you how long your stay in Brown Town will be, Breshears says. First published on January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM. 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. Agape Ranch is dedicated to making a difference within their community and building capacity within the team. The site was littered with old barrels, wood piles, abandoned cars, and insulation containing asbestos. The campus is also home to Agape Baptist Church. 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. In August, Sandoval was charged with arranging the kidnapping of an emancipated teen in Fresno, California, on behalf of the boys estranged mother, and then having him driven, handcuffed, 27 hours to Agap. 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. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. We want to hear it. 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 . More than a decade later, legislators are finally making headway. Agape Boarding school has had its share of abuse allegations over the years. 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. After each event, the team assesses what went well, what could be done better, and how many children/foster families were positively impacted. Boyd and Stephanie Householders daughter says they worked at Agape for four years. At the time of reporting, he is not yet in police custody, and an arrest warrant has been issued in his name. For many survivors of Agap, that would be tough to accept. 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. Yet the delays have frustrated state lawmakers. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) Seven former students said staff members had assaulted them. Since Circle of Hope opened in 2006, at least 15 people said they reported abuse at the ranch to at least six local, state and federal agencies in Missouri, an NBC News investigation found, based . 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. That . 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 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. Interested in learning more about the 2023 Legacy Gala? In September 2021, he charged five Agap staff members with a total of 13 counts of third-degree assault, the lowest degree of felony. 25, 2021 at 2:05 PM PDT. The cases against five people who worked at Agape Boarding school are moving forward. 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. 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