Missouri boarding school tries to distance itself from doctor facing child sex charges
Agape Boarding School leaders on Wednesday issued a statement distancing the school from a southwest Missouri doctor who has been charged with several child sex crimes.
In the first public statement about the criminal counts against David Smock, who has treated Agape students for years, school leaders said the news of his arrest “saddens us deeply.” They also criticized some media reports that said Smock was a staff member of Agape and was also on its ministry’s board of directors.
“Both of these statements are completely false,” the school said. “Dr. Smock was never an employee or a board member of the ministry at any time.”
The Star has characterized Smock as the unlicensed Christian school’s longtime doctor who saw students at his clinic in Stockton, but has not said he was a staff member or on the board.
The southwest Missouri school’s only relationship with Smock, the statement said, “was the utilization of his clinic which was done in a professional setting at their clinic during operational hours like many in the community who also utilized the clinic’s services.”
“To be clear, Stockton Lake Walk-In Clinic was not the only medical facility utilized by Agape, and Dr. Smock never held a title, role, or designation of Agape’s primary medical resource or provide (sic) any medical oversight to Agape.”
But the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which has filed eight counts against Smock, referred to him as “the exclusive physician for Agape Boarding School.” And a key Agape staff member described the doctor’s close connections to the school in a March/April 2020 newsletter.
In a staff interview featured in the Agape newsletter, the school’s medical coordinator, Scott Dumar, spoke directly about Smock’s involvement. In the Q&A profile, Dumar was asked what training he has received.
“EMT and First Responder Training,” Dumar said. “The school is medically overseen by Dr. David Smock, M.D.”
Dumar’s interview went on to describe Smock’s guidance regarding COVID-19.
“Back in February (2020) Dr. Smock told me that the school needed to prepare in case the virus started breaking out in our area, so we immediately started ordering in an extra stock of medical supplies and food for the students,” Dumar said. “Now seeing where things are, I am so thankful we did. Only the staff are allowed around the students and Dr. Smock gave us protocols to follow if we had a case of the virus.”
Dumar was one of five Agape staffers charged in September with physically abusing students. The case is ongoing.
Smock has been featured on Agape’s website strongly urging parents to consider the school. He has said that he works with the school to wean boys off medications for behavioral issues.
“Agape has had a long history of helping boys,” Smock said in a testimonial on the site. “With improved behavior and impulse control, these young fellows learn to succeed and develop a healthy respect for authority figures, parents and loved ones. As a physician, I strongly support the model practiced at this boarding school.”
The testimonial has recently been taken down.
Former students have told The Star that if boys were injured at the school during an assault by classmates or staff, they would often be taken to Smock’s clinic for treatment. There, students said, a staff leader would tell the medical workers that the injuries were sports-related and that staffer would stay in the room during the visit.
Smock has been charged with a combined 11 child sex counts in Cedar and Greene counties. He was arrested last week in Arkansas and was transported Wednesday to the Greene County Jail in Springfield, according to Sheriff’s Deputy Paige Rippee. He is being held without bond while awaiting a court hearing next week in Springfield. His charges — all felonies — include first-degree statutory sodomy, child molestation and sexual misconduct involving a child younger than 15.
Besides his medical role with Agape, Smock has family ties to the school, The Star has found.
One son is married to the late founder’s granddaughter, and two daughters are married to former students. The wedding ceremonies of those three Smock children were performed by Frank Burton, an Agape pastor, court records show.
School leaders also said in Wednesday’s statement that reports saying students were in Smock’s home and that he took them on outings are “not true and did not occur.”
“Agape has a clear policy that does not allow students to be off campus in anyone’s personal Home,” the statement said. “All activities require trained and background-cleared staff of Agape to accompany the young people. … No individual is able to plan events and take young people from the campus.”
According to the criminal charges, Smock groomed a juvenile boy — who attended Agape — by inviting him to his house to play video games and use his gym and basketball court. Court documents also say that the juvenile lived with Smock from age 13 until just before his 15th birthday.
Two of the five Agape staffers charged in September listed Smock’s home as their address in court documents.
The Agape statement said that, like many in the community, the school is “grieved by the allegations against Dr. Smock.” The school also said it has “always had a zero tolerance for any type of child abuse in our ministry.”
“We believe that transparency, child safety, and accountability are essential for successful ministry,” the statement said. “And Agape continues to be fully committed to assisting in the investigation in whatever way possible to ensure justice occurs for the victims and all involved.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 3:52 PM.
