Missouri Abuse victims news conf MONDAY 11:15 am (4/15) in Jeff City
Victims beg MO AG to intervene in growing scandal
More abuse at Christian boarding schools is surfacing, they say
SNAP to Bailey: “Warn parents, launch an investigation & prod local prosecutors”
Group also asks lawmakers to reform MO's 'predator-friendly statute of limitations'
WHAT
After a sidewalk news conference - featuring signs and childhood photos - child sex abuse victims and their supporters will
--discuss recent revelations & reports of abuse at largely unregulated ‘faith-based’ boarding schools in Missouri,
--hand-deliver a letter to Missouri's attorney general urging him to warn the public, launch an investigation and prod local prosecutors to do likewise, and
--beg lawmakers to reform Missouri’s ‘archaic, arbitrary and predator-friendly’ statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.
They will also
--testify at a legislative panel urging legislators to reform outdated child safety laws and
--prod those who ‘saw, suspected or suffered’ wrongdoing at these facilities and other institutions to call law enforcement.
WHEN
Monday, April 15 at 11:15 a.m.
WHERE
On the sidewalk outside the Missouri Attorney General's office, 207 W. High Street (between Broadway and Washington) in Jefferson City
WHO
Three-four abuse survivors &/or supporters including an attorney and a St. Louis man who for 30 years headed SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and was molested as a youth
WHY
1) In recent years, at least four abuse and cover up scandals have surfaced at church reformatory boarding schools in remote parts of Missouri. Dozens of such ‘under the radar’ facilities have quietly moved to or opened across the state, in part to avoid regulatory oversight. SNAP suspects that child predators are drawn to these institutions and many operators ignore or hide child sex crimes to boost profits, maintain enrollments and avoid public scandals.
The group wants Attorney General Andrew Bailey to warn parents about them, open an investigation into them and urge local prosecutors to do likewise.
2) Also on Monday, at 2pm, the group – and other survivors and allies – will testify before a legislative panel that may make it much easier for victims of child sexual abuse to expose wrongdoers in court by dramatically expanding the statute of limitations on such crimes.
The Senate Judiciary is weighing SJR 64, a Constitutional amendment that would open a civil ‘window’ enabling victims to file suits against those who commit or conceal child molestation regardless of when the crimes happened. Roughly half of the states, most in recent years, have enacted similar ‘windows,’ including Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia and Maryland.
https://www.senate.mo.gov/24info/pdf-bill/intro/SJR64.pdf
DETAILS
(A short summary of this controversy is here: https://www.news-leader.com/story/opinion/2024/04/07/missouri-boarding-school-abuses-must-be-prosecuted/73181866007/
--This year alone, in Piedmont MO, three staffers at Lighthouse Christian Academy (a.k.a. ABM Ministries) have been arrested for alleged crimes against children, the academy was shuttered and 19 kids were sent to their homes.
--Last fall, a mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Agape School in Stockton (also now shuttered) on behalf of her son who was reportedly repeatedly violated at the facility.
--In 2020, Circle of Hope Girls’ Ranch in Humansville was closed amid an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigation and abuse lawsuits by ex-students. At least 24 youngsters were removed by local child protective services.
--At Kanakuk Kamps near Branson (one of the largest Christian camps in the US), an ex-employee pleaded guilty to child sex charges and may have victimized hundreds of kids. Legal records suggest that by 1999 or 2000, camp officials “knew or should have known” that he was sexually abusing children. In the years before and after his arrest, six other Kanakuk staffers have been convicted of child sex crimes.
CONTACT
David Clohessy 314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com
Ken Chackes 314 369 3902