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. I was just like, Screw it, he says. Since last year, 19 former students have filed lawsuits against the school, alleging physical and emotional abuse, and in . Clemensen has said the move was necessary because negative publicity has caused enrollment to plummet, and it was not financially feasible to stay open. And its not just Missouri. The Clemenson family, who currently runs Agape, has been shut down in two states due to abuse allegations but no charges were ever made. MANY OF THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST Agap staffers are easily found on podcasts and interviews on YouTube. 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. State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. 25, 2021 at 2:05 PM PDT. None of these inspections are required at religious boarding schools. 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.". One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. Colton Schrag remembers the night at the Agap Boarding School when, he says, a staff member punched him in the face. In 1991, Todd Bindley, then 13, moved in. 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. The report, which also examined 10 cases where teenagers had died, noted that there are currently no federal laws that define and regulate residential treatment programs.. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Clemensen denied the allegations against him and explained his approach to reform. Missouri has been a particular hotbed for religious schools since 1982, when the state passed a law exempting faith-based residential child-care facilities from state oversight. 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. After the state removed students from the school in August, Circle of Hope voluntarily . Jan 5, 2023 9:58 am. Within months, Jim was both saved and married, and Bryan had a new stepdad. Cant make those decisions until weve had an opportunity to review the investigative reports, and those are being put together, said Gaither. 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. I got picked up by the Cedar County Sheriffs Department, and I tried to tell the guy, like, Theyre beating us, dont take me back there, he says. Alumni of Christian boarding schools for troubled teens in Missouri, including Agape and Circle of Hope, say state laws prevented inspections, enabling abuse to continue for decades. The evening began with a social hour and silent auction and continued with dinner and inspirational testimonies as we opened the next chapter of Agape Ranch. One morning, he overheard one of the Clemensen daughters asking for help with a math problem, to which Bindley shot back a smartass remark. 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. James Clemensen founded the Agap Boarding School in the early 1990s. Schrag says the verbal abuse was constant. 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. Paris Hilton's fellow PCS alums said they were stunned to see the heiress, who has amassed 12.6 million followers on Instagram alone, used the hashtag #BreakingCodeSilence in a social media post. He is a manipulator, says Breshears. Carlson said he never witnessed abuse and credited the school with temporarily keeping him off meth and teaching him how to lay tile. People who have care, custody, and control of those children have that right, as well. 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. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. The Thrive program will provide housing and mentorship for young adults during their college or trade school career. Colton Schrag, who spent years at Agape Boarding School in southwest Missouri, where dozens of former students have described experiencing abuse, testifies during a committee hearing on Feb. 10, 2021. Anne Stych June 27, 2022. "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. Its education and human services departments do not license religious schools, or any private boarding schools, and child protective services does not have the authority to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect at them; instead, they must refer those reports to law enforcement. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Clemensen, who left the school from 2008 to 2018, says he has two masters degrees, in education and counseling and psychology, and would challenge the boys thinking processes, and he still does that to this day., Breshears and others paint a different picture. ON SEPT. 7, 2022, ATTORNEY GENERAL SCHMITT and the State Department of Social Services (DSS) filed to close Agap. Schrag says he tried to escape around 2007, when he was 15. 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. 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. At least three Cedar County Sheriff's Department employees currently or previously work at Agape, including two full-time deputies, one of whom is married to the daughter of Agape's founder, the petition read. (Agap denies this.) (Knock her out! he can be heard saying.) The next morning, Breshears made a plan with the other students to start a riot. That evening, as Agaps 150 students and staffers were finishing up dinner, Breshears spotted a fellow conspirator flash a thumbs-up. DSS added . They held a blood drive, organized a Fourth of July fireworks spectacular, and began holding an annual rodeo. 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. The highway patrol says it began its investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at the facility in late February. 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 . When 19-year-old Rebekah Cooper started her mission, she had to give up her first name . 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. 180 Ministries, a ministry of Teen Challenge, located in Denver Colorado, is a residential substance abuse . (888) 614-0077. . When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. Full Gala Taping. Call us today and find long-term recovery. There wasnt really any training, said James Clidence, a pastor who worked as a teacher at Agap from 2012 to 2015. An investigation into the school began after The Star reported on the abuse allegations last year. 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. For example, when many foster children age out of the system, they have lived in an average of 12 foster homes. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Posted at 6:19 PM, Sep 01, 2022. and last updated 4:46 PM, Sep 01, 2022. Located just outside Stockton, Agape is the second unlicensed Christian boarding school in the state to be investigated for allegations of abuse. Bindley, who Clemensen calls one of Agaps top success stories, says the experience left him with lasting trauma, and left a stain on my childhood growing up., Colton Schrag says he decided to speak after PTSD drove him into counseling. One day after the FBI announced the arrest of a former Agape Boarding School dean, a civil right's . Youre dirtbags, youre hoodlums. Hymns blared in the classrooms. Share. Meanwhile, Agap has phased out the boarding school, instead running multiple group homes on its property, which detractors fear is a shell game aimed at shielding it from the new laws. Federal lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation to curtail abuses in the industry. The AG was on board. Throughout the 1980s, Kathy and Jim fostered children whose parents were in jail. It now has 12. After abuse allegations at Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a religious boarding school near Agap, began spreading on TikTok last spring, the Cedar County Sheriff's Department opened an investigation, which the state attorney general joined and is ongoing. 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.. After abuse allegations at Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, a religious boarding school near Agap, began spreading on TikTok last spring, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department opened an investigation, which the state attorney general joined and is ongoing. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. 2 min read. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. Agape Boarding School is located on a 200-acre ranch in Stockton, Missouri. Agape Connection. That is blasphemous.. And he said, No, theyre not. He cuffed me up and dropped me back off at Agap. 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