Charged with assaulting students, why do they still work at this Missouri school?
Three of the five staff members charged last year with assaulting Agape Boarding School students in southwest Missouri are still working there, The Star has learned.
Scott Dumar, the school’s medical coordinator, and staffers Everett Graves and Christopher McElroy continue their employment at the Cedar County school, multiple sources, including two recent students, have told The Star. After an investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Attorney General’s Office, they were charged Sept. 28, along with Seth Duncan and Trent Hartman.
Hearing that the men are still on staff at Agape infuriated some lawmakers and former students, who say the state has not done enough to protect youth at the school.
“This is horrific news that three of the alleged perpetrators are still in reach of children at Agape,” said Rep. Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka and one of the most outspoken lawmakers on child abuse and neglect issues.
“This needs to stop. Missouri should not be the bastion for child predators.”
Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, who co-sponsored last year’s bill implementing oversight on unlicensed boarding schools, agreed.
“I’m appalled that individuals charged with assault of children are still employed at a facility with access to children,” Ingle said. “It’s horrifying that Agape would allow anyone with charges of abuse to continue to be employed.”
Bryan Clemensen, who runs the boarding school, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The confirmation of the staffers’ continued employment comes as a push to shut down the Christian boarding school intensifies. This month, the “We Warned Them Campaign” — a grassroots advocacy coalition whose members include survivors of the “troubled teen industry” — wrote a letter to Gov. Mike Parson, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and the “people of Missouri.”
They’re calling for the state to shut Agape’s doors because of its “use of unsafe and controversial practices on youth in their current care.”
“We further urge the state of Missouri to take immediate action addressing the civil rights violations and to seek justice for the countless young people who have been victimized by Agape Boarding School,” the letter said. “The recent reports of abuse prove that youth are still not safe in their care.”
More than 20 advocacy groups, including Child USA and the National Youth Rights Association, have signed the letter. And numerous members of the Missouri Democratic Party Progressive Caucus who are running for the Missouri General Assembly and Congress are promoting it on social media.
Robert Bucklin, who attended Agape from 2007 to 2012 and has a lawsuit pending against the school, said Missouri must act now and close Agape.
“No one came to rescue me or my fellow survivors,” said Bucklin, 28. “(But) we won’t abandon them.”
The Star has interviewed more than 60 former Agape students whose time at the school spans nearly three decades. The men shared emotional descriptions of beatings, long days of manual labor, food and water withheld as punishment, and constant berating and mind games.
Only a fraction of accused staffers charged
After the Highway Patrol’s investigation of Agape last year, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt recommended that 22 staffers from the school be charged with a total of 65 criminal counts. But Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither, who had the final say, charged only the five staff members with 13 counts.
Dumar, a top Agape staffer, is facing four counts of third-degree assault. Court documents allege that between Aug. 28, 2020, and Feb. 26, 2021, he “knowingly caused physical injury” to the students by scrubbing their arms “with rubbing alcohol and a scouring pad to remove a tattoo.”
A former Agape student, Dumar began working for the school in 1995, according to a profile in its March/April 2020 newsletter. Former students told The Star that Dumar not only was abusive himself but covered up abuse by others at Agape. When they required medical attention, including stitches, they said, he would tell the medical personnel that they were injured while playing sports.
Graves is charged with one count of third-degree assault. According to the charges, between Aug. 28, 2020, and Feb. 26, 2021, he “knowingly caused physical injury to (name redacted) by striking the back of (name redacted) head causing forehead to hit the wall.”
Everett Graves is the brother of Robert Graves, a former Agape staff leader and current Cedar County Sheriff’s deputy who is married to the daughter of the school’s late founder, James Clemensen. Robert Graves also sits on the board of Agape Baptist Church, which oversees the school, according to its most recent corporation filing with the state.
McElroy faces one count of third-degree assault. Court documents allege that between Aug. 28, 2020, and Feb. 26, 2021, he “knowingly caused physical injury” to a student “by kicking him and stepping on (name redacted) fingers while (name redacted) was doing pushups.”
All counts are Class E felonies. The maximum sentence for each count is four years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Gaither did not respond to questions from The Star regarding the three charged staffers working at Agape.
Conflict of interest claims
Bucklin, the former Agape student, reported Gaither to the Missouri Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates allegations of misconduct by lawyers. Bucklin alleged that the prosecutor has a conflict of interest and because he has close ties to the school didn’t file sufficient charges.
In his response letter to that complaint, Gaither said no conflict existed. He said the basis for most of the charges the patrol recommended were for physical restraints “allegedly involving pain compliance.”
After reviewing the students’ interviews and evidence obtained, Gaither said that “there was insufficient facts under the law and evidence to charge these counts.”
“Restraint is not discipline or punishment,” Gaither wrote. “It is an appropriate safety precaution necessary to protect staff or other students when a child presents violent and out of control behavior and becomes a danger to himself and others. It is used in all state operated residential care facilities.”
Gaither said several students interviewed last year by the Highway Patrol stated they had not been restrained and that they had only seen the procedure used on students who had attacked others or had been “out of control.” But he added that other students said that restraint, including pain compliance, was used “too often and for minor rules violations.”
Three months after Gaither charged the five staffers, David E. Smock — a Stockton doctor who has treated Agape students for many years — was charged in Greene and Cedar counties with several child sex crimes allegedly involving one boy. Additional counts were recently added — including another alleged victim — and Smock now faces 15 counts.
Two of the five charged Agape employees listed as their address a mansion owned by Smock.
News of Smock’s charges only escalated the resolve of some to close the boarding school.
In late 2020, stories of abuse at Agape and other unlicensed boarding schools in Missouri prompted legislators to propose measures — HB 557 and HB 560 — that would give the state some oversight of those facilities.
The legislation, which passed overwhelmingly last year and took effect in July, gives the state Department of Social Services and the Attorney General’s Office the authority to petition the courts to close a boarding school and remove students if there is an immediate health or safety concern for them.
Many are wondering why that hasn’t happened with Agape.
“Our laws, including HB 557 & 560, must be enforced and the children at Agape must be protected,” Ingle said. “If Agape is unwilling to follow the law, they must be shut down for the safety of children.”
The Star sent questions about the school to the new Children’s Division director and the AG’s Office asking whether the new law would be used to take action against the school. Both agencies responded but didn’t address the question about whether the school should be closed.
“We take instances of abuse very seriously, and have worked diligently to protect Missouri’s children,” said AG spokesman Chris Nuelle.
Another Cedar County boarding school, Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, closed in 2020 amid an investigation of abuse there. The Attorney General’s Office charged the school’s owners last year with more than 100 criminal counts, including for physical and sexual abuse.
“In both the Circle of Hope and Agape cases, we charged or attempted to charge every instance of criminal activity presented to us,” Nuelle said. “If we receive a referral detailing further abuse, we will consider all appropriate legal action.”
Darrell Missey, the new Children’s Division director, referred questions to a DSS spokeswoman. She responded but didn’t directly address Agape.
“As we have previously stated, under Missouri law, the Department of Social Services must contact appropriate law enforcement agencies when it receives a report that merits investigation,” wrote Heather Dolce. “Law enforcement agencies may co-investigate or provide other assistance. Information related to specific child abuse and neglect investigations is closed and confidential under Missouri law, except under very limited circumstances (please see §210.150 RSMo).”
Meanwhile, the calls to shutter the school continue.
On Tuesday, socialite and reality TV star Paris Hilton — who says she was physically and mentally abused at a Utah boarding school as a teen and has become an advocate for regulating the troubled teen industry — weighed in on Twitter.
“After sharing my experience with the #TroubledTeenIndustry, I promised to use my voice to help others,” she tweeted. “Today, I stand with Agape survivors in calling for its closure.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 2:19 PM.
