New Agape lawsuit claims ‘culture of pervasive physical, emotional and sexual abuse’
A second former student is suing Agape Boarding School for what he describes as years of abuse at the southwest Missouri boarding facility.
The lawsuit, filed under the name John Doe II, describes alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse by students and a staff member.
The man, now 19, was a student at the school from 2014 through 2016, the lawsuit says. It alleges the abuse occurred when the youth was left unsupervised with other students.
“No hotline calls were made of the abuses,” says the lawsuit, filed Monday in Cedar County Circuit Court. “By the time that John Doe II arrived at Agape, a culture of pervasive physical, emotional and sexual abuse existed at Agape that was not disclosed to the parents of John Doe II.”
The civil suit, which names Agape Boarding School and Agape Baptist Church in Stockton as defendants, is the second to be filed in two weeks that alleges physical, sexual and emotional abuse at the Christian reform school — one of four that has operated in Cedar County.
On Feb. 9, former student John Doe I sued Agape Boarding School for what he described as physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The man, who has autism, was a student at the school in 2015 and 2016.
Agape did not respond to a request for comment on either lawsuit.
John Doe II, who went to the Missouri school from Indiana, is requesting a jury trial and damages “in a fair and reasonable amount,” according to the suit.
The young man spoke to The Star in late November after reading stories regarding abuse allegations at the Cedar County Christian boarding school. He said his parents sent him there because he was disrespectful.
The abuse, he said, started shortly after he arrived.
“One day, I was actually showering and a kid came into my stall and told me if I say anything, then he would basically bash my head into the wall,” he said. “And I basically did whatever he wanted.”
That continued throughout the 2½ years he was there, the young man said, and over time, he was sexually abused by six students.
“At night, I felt safe, because everyone’s laying in their bunks. But when we wake up, it’s like, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Like, I have to be constantly like, aware.”
He said he made a schedule for himself, making sure that after he woke up he would either be the first to leave the sleeping area or wait to be the last.
“There’d always be students hiding,” he said. “So it was just like I said, you know, you’re always constantly aware. It’s like, it’s like prison.”
Agape is among the numerous facilities The Star has examined in an ongoing investigation into Missouri’s faith-based reform schools, which are exempt from state oversight. The school moved to the Show-Me State in 1996 after coming under scrutiny in Washington and California.
Former students have told The Star that Agape’s founder, James Clemensen, wanted to come to Missouri because of its lack of regulation and oversight. A 1982 law allows religious organizations to claim an exemption from Missouri’s licensing requirement.
Reporters have interviewed dozens of former Agape students in recent months, their time at the school spanning nearly a quarter of a century. The men have shared emotional stories of beatings, sexual abuse, physical restraints, long days of manual labor, and food and water withheld as punishment. Some said they reported the abuse but nothing happened.
A bill is currently before a legislative committee in the Missouri House that would, for the first time, give the state oversight over unlicensed boarding schools. At a Feb. 10 hearing on the measure, two former Agape students — one from New Mexico and one from Seattle — told lawmakers of abuse they said they and others endured at Agape. They said the law was desperately needed to protect children who reside in such boarding schools.
The House Children and Families Committee is expected to discuss the bill at a hearing on Wednesday and possibly vote on whether to send it to the House floor for debate.
The new lawsuit alleges that as a direct result of the defendants’ negligence, John Doe II “suffered permanent and ongoing emotional and psychological trauma that was and is both medically significant and diagnosable.”
On the day it was filed, The Star spoke to the young man again.
“Like literally, Agape is on my mind 24/7,” he said. “If I can help one person I will feel relief. But I can’t sleep at night knowing that kids there are getting abused right now.
“I really, really hope I help people. It is my dream to help people through this. I just want the kids safe.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 12:40 PM.
