Cedar County, Missouri, where Agap is located, is in the heart of the Bible Belt and Clemensen, his stepfather, Jim, who died in October 2021, and his mother, Kathy, long ago convinced the locals they answer to a higher authority. Former students wonder if its because of this that authorities failed to act sooner. 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. 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. On Jan. 11, 2023, Agap Boarding School announced it will close its doors, a decision former director Bryan Clemensen says is due to a lack of financial resources. Staff members at Agap don't have to go through background checks, and the facility is not required to document how or why children are restrained. Home to a population of 1,600, it has a tiny main square, the worlds largest processor of eastern black walnuts, and 21 churches. If I can save one kid, its worth it to me.. In May 2021, the law requiring religious schools to register with the state passed. Contact Agape International Missions Email: info@aim4asia.org Phone: 916.784.2800. Contact Jorden Tramp, Donor Relations & Event Coordinator at jorden@agaperanch.org or click the button below. The school has been operating in Missouri where until 2021, privately owned schools were not required to report to the state. (Householder has denied that any abuse occurred at the ranch.). It is a matter of time before youth aging out of the foster care system fall prey to the statistics. The Agap case is just the latest scandal to emerge from the billion-dollar troubled-teen industry, a loosely regulated network of therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, religious academies, and wilderness camps set up to help teenagers with drug addiction and behavioral problems. Children as young as four-years-old may have had up to five foster . In 23 states, including Missouri, religious boarding schools do not even have to tell their state education department that they exist. In September 2021, he charged five Agap staff members with a total of 13 counts of third-degree assault, the lowest degree of felony. Bryan Clemensen stops a tour of the group home to pet Sally, the ranchs beloved camel. 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. It also taught creationism and that women should be subservient to their husbands, while weaving biblical references into the materials. He says staff would restrain boys on the ground and use pressure points to the point of bruising. Relevance: This course is designed for master's level counselors, addiction professionals, and nurses who have direct client contact. Jim and Kathy Clemensen a married couple whom people call Brother Clemensen and Maam started Agap in the early 1990s. 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. Hilton tweeted to Missouri's attorney general and governor on June 21. (As of publication, one defendants case was dismissed, three pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, and one is awaiting a hearing this month.) McCrary said his office has received complaints about Agap, and that theyve all been investigated as far as it could go. He called Graves a very good deputy. McCrary said that he ensures there is no conflict of interest when investigating Agap complaints by involving other agencies, like the social services department. Agape Boarding school has had its share of abuse allegations over the years. One student said staffers had branded him with a cross. Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch, a nearby Christian boarding school for girls, was shut down in 2020. I was just like, Screw it, he says. I realized I cant be the only former student to have these problems, he says. A decent life.. Updated: Dec 13, 2022 / 12:48 PM CST. In 1996, Agap moved to a 200-acre ranch in Cedar County, Missouri. It was easy to get in trouble for stupid shit, Breshears recalls. The Clemenson family, who currently runs Agape, has been shut down in two states due to abuse allegations but no charges were ever made. 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. 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. One former Agape student who sued, Robert Bucklin, said the closure means justice "has finally prevailed. (Clemensen says this was a nickname the boys had for an elbow injury, and denies the abuse.) None of these inspections are required at religious boarding schools. 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 . (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.) More than 90% of young adults aging-out of the foster care system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. (Agap denies these allegations. I was scared I would get in trouble, and just make everything worse for me, said Francis, whose account was first reported by the Kansas City Star. Passing under the majestic cross affixed to its towering arched entryway, Breshears gazed over a beautiful campus. One former student, Colton Schrag, claims he was beat up and slammed into walls during his four years at Agape. Award honors influential children's minister. To keep order, Agap instituted a military-like hierarchy, indicated by colored shirts that denoted ranks. Trump White House Pressured Disney to Censor Jimmy Kimmel 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 . They denied it. February 28, 2023. For many survivors of Agap, that would be tough to accept. 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. Whatever the case, Clemensen has many allies where it perhaps counts the most: in the community. Agap, which according to its parent handbook costs $39,000 a year, is also influenced by Lester Roloff, a radio evangelist and pastor who founded schools for teenage girls in the late 1960s that relied on physical abuse and immersion in biblical teachings to reform them. In Missouri, parents are allowed to discipline their children, he said. We felt they needed God in their lives. The state, he says, had no clue how to get to a kids heart.. Exposing Agape is about exactly what it's name says. Moments later, Bindley says, Bryan yanked him backward, slamming his chair and his head into the concrete floor. Among other things, the new state law allows state or local authorities to petition the court for closure of a facility if children's safety or health are believed to be in immediate danger. Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". Closing Agap wouldnt be so easy, but throughout 2021 and 2022, the lawsuits began. 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. But the bills essentially became a referendum on one unregulated facility, the Pinehaven Christian Children's Ranch in St. Ignatius, Montana, whose founder showed up to hearings with supporters to argue against the change. They called the school Agap, meaning Gods love for man. Each worker is facing abuse charges. Since it claims to be a Christian organization, is not regulated by the state because of a religious exemption. We want to make it about the children's rights rather than taking away religious rights. 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. It also lays out a set of childrens rights, banning corporal punishment and verbal and emotional abuse, and giving youth the ability to call their parents whenever they want. Andrew Breshears in his Agap uniform. He would later set up a transport business to collect teens, hiring off-duty deputies to help him. "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. Lack of oversight is not limited to Missouri. Posted at 6:19 PM, Sep 01, 2022. and last updated 4:46 PM, Sep 01, 2022. Clidence said Agap fired him in March 2015 when the school asked employees to sign a nondisparagement agreement, and he refused. January 11, 2023 / 6:04 PM Askins reached out to Child Protective Services and then shared the video with the Householders estranged daughter, Amanda. They moved their wards in and set them to work clearing the site and fixing the property. So they were all, in my book, guilty of association, said Schrag. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Clemensen said that the abuse allegations are lies, and suggests they are inspired by the political ambitions of State Attorney General Eric Schmitt who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November and a small group of disgruntled former students hoping for a big payday. What they are claiming would never be OK, he says. 90% of young adults aging-out of the foster care system will become homeless, incarcerated, in prostitution, sex trafficked, or dead within three years. Churches of Christ don't have enough preachers to fill all the open pulpits in our fellowship. One morning, he overheard one of the Clemensen daughters asking for help with a math problem, to which Bindley shot back a smartass remark. These courses are core requirements for Florida . Staff members would jump on you, said Schrag. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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. Jan 5, 2023 9:58 am. 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. The team at Agape Ranch said they wanted the youth there Friday night to know that they are valued. The next evening, a man found Jacob begging for change at a neighboring county supermarket 10 miles from Blue Creek and called Clay County Child Protective Services. These rules and policies are for their son's success and protection. And he said, No, theyre not., In 1996, the Clemensens purchased 40 acres just outside of town. State regulates church boarding schools after abuse allegations. Former students said their communication with parents and local authorities was censored. (Both have pleaded not guilty.) Many children in foster care feel unlovable because of the abuse they've suffered all their lives. I dont want another kid to have to go through what I went through, Schrag said. Circle of Hope was opened in 2006 by Boyd Householder, a former Agap employee, as a school for rebellious teenage girls. Agape Boarding School in Stockton has been the subject of state and local investigations and several lawsuits from former students. The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County . Federal lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation to curtail abuses in the industry. Agaps handbook states it has a strict hands-off policy regarding the students, and does not use corporal punishment. It took a disturbing criminal case to make it happen. By 14, Breshears says, he was fully in staffers crosshairs. 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. Five months later, authorities raided Circle of Hope, seizing evidence and removing 25 girls from the ranch. Agape Boarding School, a Christian reform school in Cedar County, is under investigation by local authorities and the Missouri Attorney Generals office. The more Ingle learned about Circle of Hope, the more she came to believe that the problem wasn't limited to one school, but pointed to a systemic failure of state oversight. 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. The cases against five people who worked at Agape Boarding school are moving forward. The committee is considering bills introduced by Ingle and a Republican colleague last month to give the Missouri Department of Social Services oversight of religious boarding schools. (888) 614-0077. . Where they stop looking to drugs, or their friends, and say to God, I need your help to feel better. If you dont save their souls, it aint going to stick.. 2022 maintained by Gibler Shaw Enterprises. (Agap denies this.) 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. 24, 2021 at 10:23 AM PDT | Updated: Mar. Related: More than a dozen people reported abuse at a religious boarding school in rural Missouri before the owners' daughter launched a campaign that got action. Missouri's Agap Boarding School will close its doors due to a lack of finances, school officials say but the . When I first got there, I just stayed on the low, trying to do my best, hoping to get out, he says. 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.. Within months, Jim was both saved and married, and Bryan had a new stepdad. 60% of the children in our county are being placed outside of our county due to the lack of foster homes in our community. 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. Weve had 6,000 students and only a small percent are making these claims, and I could give you the names of many who thank me. Rolling Stone contacted one of them, Matt Carlson, who says he spent the better part of a year at Agap in the early 2000s. More than a dozen people reported abuse at a religious boarding school in rural Missouri before the owners' daughter launched a campaign that got action. A Christian boarding school in Missouri that's been under intense scrutiny over abuse allegations announced Wednesday that it will close later this month due to financial hardship. Lawmakers proposed legislation to provide oversight for faith-based boarding schools in Missouri. McCrary said in an email on Friday that Graves was not present for social workers interviews with students. The Thrive program will provide housing and mentorship for young adults during their college or trade school career. In the aftermath of the criminal case, the state enacted the Alabama Youth Residential Facility Abuse Prevention Act in 2017. Child welfare officials in Washington cited Agap for overcrowding and poor sanitation, according to a 1995 newspaper article. Agap did not respond to repeated requests for comment and interviews via phone, email and a letter left at the schools reception desk. Editors picks It is one of the 2 times he saw his family between 2006 and 2010. 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. But under Missouri law, it was up to Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither to file charges. The 57-year-old is currently facing charges of second-degree statutory sodomy . According to AG Schmitts office, the Cedar County Sheriffs Department employs at least three people who used to work at Agap. Then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office contended that 22 workers should have been charged, and with more serious crimes. Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader/Imagn. 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