Posted on Sep 30, 2022
Bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers demand Agape Boarding School be shut down
266
3
2
2
2
0
The Stockton-based boarding school faces mounting allegations of staff physically and sexually abusing students, but its doors have remained open even as the Missouri Attorney General and local prosecutors pursue criminal charges.
A bipartisan chorus of Missouri lawmakers joined together on Twitter Wednesday to call for Agape Boarding School to be shut down.
Using the hashtag #ShutDownAgape, the tweetstorm was kicked off by House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, who has become a vocal proponent of closing the Stockton-based boarding school that faces mounting allegations of staff physically and sexually abusing students.
“I refuse to turn a blind eye! Let’s call out the corruption that has allowed this organized crime against children to persist,” Vescovo tweeted, along with a video compilation of news clips regarding abuse allegations at Agape.
A bipartisan chorus of Missouri lawmakers joined together on Twitter Wednesday to call for Agape Boarding School to be shut down.
Using the hashtag #ShutDownAgape, the tweetstorm was kicked off by House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, who has become a vocal proponent of closing the Stockton-based boarding school that faces mounting allegations of staff physically and sexually abusing students.
“I refuse to turn a blind eye! Let’s call out the corruption that has allowed this organized crime against children to persist,” Vescovo tweeted, along with a video compilation of news clips regarding abuse allegations at Agape.
Bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers demand Agape Boarding School be shut down
Posted from kcur.org
Stockton
Religion
Christianity
Sexual Assault
Children
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
1
1
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Republic, tweeted that Agape “has been allowed to continue to operate because of the good ‘ole boys club.”
Vescovo last week sent a letter asking the U.S. attorney’s office to intervene and shut down Agape, alleging “undeniable corruption” and “inaction” by local officials who he argues “could do the right thing and have consistently chosen not to.”
In Vescovo’s letter, he expressed concern that the judge overseeing the case had “refused to shut the school down despite the overwhelming evidence that abuse has occurred there frequently and continues to occur today.”
The “inaction” of local officials Vescovo wrote, “has helped perpetuate a culture of abuse at Agape, and contributed to a larger, darker network that has served to traffic children to other schools in Missouri and across state lines.”
The attorney general’s office successfully requested a change of judge earlier this week. The next hearing will take place Oct. 13 and 14, according to the court docket.
Two Children’s Division workers have 24-hour access to monitor children at the facility. There are currently 44 students at Agape, John Schultz, Agape’s attorney, said Wednesday, down from a peak of around 120.
Schultz referred to Vescovo’s allegations in his letter to the U.S. attorney’s office as false and “slanderous.”
“He has no understanding of our case,” Schultz said in an interview Wednesday, adding that Vescovo is “smearing the reputation of a 30 year institution.”
..."Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Republic, tweeted that Agape “has been allowed to continue to operate because of the good ‘ole boys club.”
Vescovo last week sent a letter asking the U.S. attorney’s office to intervene and shut down Agape, alleging “undeniable corruption” and “inaction” by local officials who he argues “could do the right thing and have consistently chosen not to.”
In Vescovo’s letter, he expressed concern that the judge overseeing the case had “refused to shut the school down despite the overwhelming evidence that abuse has occurred there frequently and continues to occur today.”
The “inaction” of local officials Vescovo wrote, “has helped perpetuate a culture of abuse at Agape, and contributed to a larger, darker network that has served to traffic children to other schools in Missouri and across state lines.”
The attorney general’s office successfully requested a change of judge earlier this week. The next hearing will take place Oct. 13 and 14, according to the court docket.
Two Children’s Division workers have 24-hour access to monitor children at the facility. There are currently 44 students at Agape, John Schultz, Agape’s attorney, said Wednesday, down from a peak of around 120.
Schultz referred to Vescovo’s allegations in his letter to the U.S. attorney’s office as false and “slanderous.”
“He has no understanding of our case,” Schultz said in an interview Wednesday, adding that Vescovo is “smearing the reputation of a 30 year institution.”
(1)
(0)
0
0
0
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google