Posted on Aug 23, 2022
Lawsuits are mounting against Missouri religious schools accused of abusing students
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Maggie Drew, who attended Circles of Hope Girls Ranch from 2007-2013, alleges the now-shuttered boarding school illegally took her inheritance money and required her to endure forced labor, and that the school's co-owner sexually abused her.
Thirty lawsuits have been filed over the last two years against a pair of southwest Missouri boarding schools accused by former students of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
The latest, filed Aug. 12 against the now-shuttered Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in Cedar County, is the first to proceed in federal court. Maggie Drew, 30, filed the lawsuit against the school she attended from 2007 to 2013.
Drew alleges Circle of Hope illegally took her inheritance money and required her to endure forced labor that permanently injured her back. She also alleges that the co-owner of the school sexually abused her.
Thirty lawsuits have been filed over the last two years against a pair of southwest Missouri boarding schools accused by former students of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
The latest, filed Aug. 12 against the now-shuttered Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in Cedar County, is the first to proceed in federal court. Maggie Drew, 30, filed the lawsuit against the school she attended from 2007 to 2013.
Drew alleges Circle of Hope illegally took her inheritance money and required her to endure forced labor that permanently injured her back. She also alleges that the co-owner of the school sexually abused her.
Lawsuits are mounting against Missouri religious schools accused of abusing students
Posted from kcur.org
Religion
Christianity
Sexual Assault
Lawsuit
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Robert Bucklin, an outspoken former Agape student who is also suing the school, argues Schmitt has the authority to shut down the school under the law passed last year, and should do so. The law allows the Department of Social Services, as well as law enforcement or the prosecuting attorney, to file for injunction to close the school.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office declined to comment.
Asked about the status of DSS’s investigation into Agape, the agency said they cannot comment on specific cases, and that, “to date, no action has been taken against a facility under the Residential Care Facility Notification Act.”
Rep. Keri Ingle, who co-authored the oversight bill, could not be reached Thursday. She previously told The Daily Beast that the state might be waiting for a criminal conviction or DSS’s official findings of abuse in order to file for injunction to close the facility.
Bucklin said the lawsuits filed by former students who suffered abuse “aren’t about money.”
“Money can’t buy us justice or closure for our being molested. You can’t hand me $5 million and say, ‘Here’s your justice for being molested, starved, or tortured.’
“That justice and closure only comes knowing that the school shut down and can’t hurt anybody else.”
..."Robert Bucklin, an outspoken former Agape student who is also suing the school, argues Schmitt has the authority to shut down the school under the law passed last year, and should do so. The law allows the Department of Social Services, as well as law enforcement or the prosecuting attorney, to file for injunction to close the school.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office declined to comment.
Asked about the status of DSS’s investigation into Agape, the agency said they cannot comment on specific cases, and that, “to date, no action has been taken against a facility under the Residential Care Facility Notification Act.”
Rep. Keri Ingle, who co-authored the oversight bill, could not be reached Thursday. She previously told The Daily Beast that the state might be waiting for a criminal conviction or DSS’s official findings of abuse in order to file for injunction to close the facility.
Bucklin said the lawsuits filed by former students who suffered abuse “aren’t about money.”
“Money can’t buy us justice or closure for our being molested. You can’t hand me $5 million and say, ‘Here’s your justice for being molested, starved, or tortured.’
“That justice and closure only comes knowing that the school shut down and can’t hurt anybody else.”
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