New guest: the Who is lying to you! Do NOT send your child to Aspen Achievement Center!
Nice going, Who. How dare you make referrals on Fornits? You deceived a parent who was looking for information.
New guest: PLEASE READ! Be aware the unscrupulous industry people like the who will deceive you in order to get your child into their program.
http://www.isaccorp.org/aspen/aspen-ach ... 05.91.htmlMOTHER SUES, ACCUSES EX-WILDERNESS THERAPIST OF ABUSING DAUGHTERChris Jorgensen
Salt Lake Tribune
December 5, 1991
For $15,000, the Orem-based Aspen Achievement Academy promises to turn around wayward lives in 56 days.
A California mother who took up the popular wilderness-therapy program on its promise claims her 14-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted repeatedly by a female Aspen counselor.
When confronted by academy officials about the assaults, the counselor allegedly admitted sodomizing the girl and was fired.
One of the assaults came on the October night of the girl's graduation from the program and was witnessed by the mother, claims the family's attorney, who filed a $2.3 million lawsuit Wednesday in 3rd District Court.
Aspen administrator Doug Nelson refused to discuss the allegations.
"The kids sent to these programs have all kinds of problems going in. What could something like this do to a child that already has problems?" attorney Charles Thronson said.
The academy was negligent in not supervising the counselor more closely and should have known better than to hire her in the first place, the attorney claims.
Therapists in Utah cannot have a criminal record. Before any therapist is hired, a background check is mandatory.
In Wayne County, where Aspen Achievement operates, Sheriff Leon Brinkerhoff routinely performs the background check on the academy's prospective employees.
"I normally run all the backgrounds. Aspen insists on it," the sheriff said. "But I've never received any information on this woman and she wasn't checked by me."
The sheriff first heard of the sodomy allegations in a November letter from Aspen stating the matter was being handled by state social-service officials and there would be no criminal investigation.
There is some question if the girl was 13 years old at the time of the alleged assaults, or 14, which in Utah is the age of consent, said Ken Stettler, licensing specialist with the Utah Department of Human Services.
Aspen acted properly in firing the counselor and the program won't be affected by the allegations, he said.
"As soon as Aspen was made aware of what happened, they fired her on the spot," said Mr. Stettler. "Any state investigation wouldn't have been working toward that end anyway."
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