Bethel Boys Academy

[hdavismhm]

I'm searching for anyone who has or knows of any one who has had to remove their child from this Academy within the last 6 to 8 months.  This Academy has had a terrible history of child abuse and torture but may have change their ways after the State of Mississippi entered into a Court Consent Decree to straighten out their act if they are to remain open.  Order made August of 2003.

Perhaps they have done just that.  If they haven't done so I really need to hear your story as my 16 year old son has been there for two weeks now and I didn't know about the past problems with Bethel until yesterday. Please e-mail me direct or respond to this post.

[cherish wisdom]

Posted: Tuesday, October 14 2003 8:02 pm Post subject: Bethel Boys Academy ABUSE & TORTURE Posted: Total Replies: 38

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This was from the internet.
 
This past summer of 2003 my husband and I placed our son at Bethel Boys Academy in Lucedale Mississippi. It is owned and run by Herman Fountain and his son John Fountain. My son was only there for a few days when I had changed my mind and returned to Miss. to claim him. Doing those few days he was beaten, tortured and deprived of food, sleep, water and bathroom privaleges. He was covered head to toe in bruises. We took our son to the Attorney General's office in Jackson, MS. They sent an investigator to get my son's deposition and also to try and take pictures of the bruises. Within the next month another 16 boys would be removed from that torture chamber. All with stories of abuse, beatings for no reasons, torture including electrical shock. Being locked in a foot locker for the whole day. Forced exercise for hours straight with no breaks and no water. The Attorney General's office had 13 of those boys testify before a judge asking to close the place down. Mike Moore publicly announced his intention to do just that in all the newspapers down in MS. We were all to appear in court on August 26th, 2003 to testify and show proof of the abuse the boys suffered at the hands of the Fountains and their evil Drill Instructors. Two days before court Mike Moore, the Attorney General made yet another deal with Bethel Boys Academy to allow them to remain open. I guess his political adgenda (possibly running for U.S. Senator) was more important to him than saving all those abused children's lives. The new decree with Bethel admits guilt right and left. It basically says they will no longer use electrical shock on the children. They will give them water to drink. I couldn't believe that the State of MS. knows about this abuse as this particular home has been in the news every year since they opened. The State even shut them down before only to have them reopen a few years later to continue with the abuse. We treat our P.O.W.'s better than that. These are innocent children. Herman and John Fountain love to blast their mouths in the paper that this is a last resort school. Only the bad children come there. My son wasn't bad, just getting off the right path. He wasn't in trouble with the law, never has been. My son was in there with children who thought Bethel was a private Christian Military Academy. They don't advertise as a teen boot camp where your child can be abused and tortured for a whopping $25,000 a year. The Fountains are liars and child abusers. The State of Miss. and Mike Moore are weak and too concerned about their own political agenda to do that right thing - which is to stop legalized child abuse.
 NOTE FROM POSTER:
I was warned about Provo Canyon School. But I thought that they must have made improvements since then (WRONG)  Go with your instincts MOM - they are there for a reason - to protect your offspring.  GET HIM THE HELL OUT OF THERE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Just tell them that you have since heard numerous reports of abuse and then demand (do not take no for an answer) to speak to your child in private. If they refuse - call the police and ask them to put him into protective custody until you arrive. I don't know if you have any reason - other than the numerous reports of abuse - to suspect that your child is being abused there.  If you don't feel comfortable knowing that others have reportedly experienced severe abuse there - then you have every reason as well as a responisiblity as his parent to get him out of there.  
These schools are protected by the authorities - and there is a lot of political corruption involved. These owners probably donate heavily to the campaigns of politicians and perhaps the Attorney Gerneral, judges and so forth. Look at
http://www.opensecrets.org
Type in the names of the owners to see if they give political contributions. You'd be surprized!

The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.


--William Osler

_________________
"If you lack wisdom ask of God and it shall be given to you."[ This Message was edited by: cherish wisdom on 2004-05-04 20:13 ]

[cherish wisdom]

Posted: Tuesday, November 18 2003 2:38 pm Post subject: RE:Bethel Boys Academy ABUSE & TORTURE

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everything hat you said is true. i was supposed to stay at bethel for 6 months to a year, but i got out in 10 days. i was lucky enough to get a call from my mom on the 10th day. i asked to her to come pick me up. the instructors listen in on everyones phone conversations and read everones mail so i had to say it before they could stop me. well that night just a few hours before my mom arrived, i wasnt allowed back in the upper barracks so i did not get any sleep and i was being yelled at by senior drill instructo elsworth. he tried to make me believe that he talked to my mom after we hung up and told her that everything was fine and for her not to come, but my mom knew it was all a lie so she came and got me. i had bruises on ym back because that morning they wore us out between the barracks and the school, where there were rocks and brahcnes all over he ground, they made us do many thigns but the exercise tha go my back bruised was "head over heels tumbling" i couldnt tumble anymore so instructor davidson came over and picked my up my my pants and threw me so could tumbel, when he threw me i landed on a huge rock and i was forced to keep tumbling. after a while of begging to sit out the chief drill insturctor told me to stand by the other cadets that were sitting out, i was unning over there and out of no where another cadet runs into me and sweeps me off my feet and got my back even more injured all the instrutors did is laugh, they didnt do anthing to the kid. that was only one of the things that happend to me there, i got kicked in my privates, had my back stompped on, deprived of water, deprived of sleep, got choked, and got worn out wiht the rest of the cadets in the bathroom with the heat on high with all the water on hot to make seam and with bleach all over the floor. so many things happened to me there that nobody has to go through...
 
 
Karen Poorman Posted: Tuesday, November 18 2003 7:14 pm Post subject: RE:Bethel Boys Academy ABUSE & TORTURE

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We sent our son there May 2,2003. he also had gotten off the right track. He was there till 9/18/2003. we picked him up at the airport that is 3 hours from our home. As soon as we got in the car he told us of the abuse. He never stopped talking till he reached our door step. He tried to tell me over the phone but being to afraid of being beaten up again, he never spoke of it again. They lied to us. Our children are our future and with these teachers what are they learning. We no longer have the internet. Should you want to contact me please write me . Karen Poorman- 2821 Beale Ave Atoona, Pa. 16601 We borrowed ever which way to send him there for 5 months and believing they were decent christian people. My son asked me to send him cameras to take pictures of the place before he left. They went with his plane ticket they were never given to him. He had $186.00 on his account it took till Nov. 12th. to get the refund along with the cameras. They also had his original birth certificate, they lost it and blamed him. I called them starting the first monday he was home. I also called the Attorney Generals office in Ms. to see about getting help with a refund for the abuse, lies, and not doing as we were believing, he said there was nothing he could do for us. A high job like that makes you wonder. Besides if they pulled one child out they should have pulled them all out. I by law cannot hit my children it is abuse but the Attorney General of Ms. says it is ok for me to pay Bethel Baptist Boys Academy $12,000.00 of my hard wages to do that? To our son along with how many others? I think he should be reported to his commanding officers as high as we all have to go. The Supreme Courts?  
 
If you want to find more just search the web there are hundreds of testimonials.  
Here's the link to the web site with the court report:

http://www.ago.state.ms.us/divisions/ch ... Decree.htm
Here's another website with testimonials:
http://www.hardtruth.net/abuse/index.php
http://www.freewebs.com/bethel-truth

I honestly don't know how much more information you need. NEVER TRUST THE AUTHORITIES - most take bribe in the form of political contributions and they protect the business, employer, contributor more than the individual child. This is a very evil industry where laws are broken daily and the authorities do not give a damn because to them your precious son is a "throw away kid" and "living abortion" a "defiant juvenile delinquent"  - the people running the business are doing a service keeping your little bastard off the streets.  
When I spoke to authorities about the program my child was in this is exactly what was said, "It's a good thing those kids are locked up. We don't want them roaming the streets of our beautiful city." To them your son is worthless, someone who deserves to be punished and locked up. Don't fool yourself.  

[ This Message was edited by: cherish wisdom on 2004-05-04 20:08 ][ This Message was edited by: cherish wisdom on 2004-05-04 20:59 ]

[Kiwi]

I'm searching for anyone who has or knows of any one who has had to remove their child from this Academy within the last 6 to 8 months. This Academy has had a terrible history of child abuse and torture but may have change their ways after the State of Mississippi entered into a Court Consent Decree to straighten out their act if they are to remain open. Order made August of 2003.

Perhaps they have done just that. If they haven't done so I really need to hear your story as my 16 year old son has been there for two weeks now and I didn't know about the past problems with Bethel until yesterday. Please e-mail me direct or respond to this post.

ARE YOU CRAZY?  We are talking about your son's safety here.  We are talking about CHILD ABUSE.  You're wondering about keeping him there because they MAY have stopped torturing their inmates?  If you even have to ask the question then GET HIM OUT!

More specifically, I don't know much about Bethel but I do know it has a terrible reputation.  I also know leopards don't change their spots.  They will find a way round the Court Consent Decree.  These people always do.  If you knew anything about this industry, and you obviously don't, you would realize that.

[Watchaduen]

I e-mailed with this person.  She wants so much to believe the Fountains.  Well, I did to.  I did believe it.  You also need to realize that before this backdoor deal with the State of MS. they were abusing the children.  They have been abusing the children from day one.  It never dawned on me to think that these people didn't know torturing kids was against the law.  Felony Child Abuse comes to mind.  It is also against the law (with or without a backdoor deal with the State) to starve a child, deprive them of sleep, break their bones, force them to urinate on themselves.  AGAINST THE LAW.  They were doing these things since the day they opened many, many years ago.  Now that they have this little piece of paper in hand that says "No longer torture children, no longer use electrical shock on the kids, no longer starve them or deprive them of water (after exercising in the MS. sun for 12 hours straight) causing severe dehydration, etc.  Well, I guess they won't do any of that.  Afterall, they have a piece of paper now saying "Things NOT to do to the children entrusted into your care".  Oh My.  The Big Eye Roll comes here. @@

[Anonymous]

In recent days, one year to the month another of the Bethel Homes has come under scrutiny. According to a Clarion Ledger article, approx 30-40 girls were removed from the Bethel Girls Home, a fully engaged partner home of Bethel Boys Academy. Although Herman Jr "runs" the home, Herman Sr has been banned form going near the Boys Home (AKA Academy, which it is anything but).
Rumor has it from fairly reputable channels (Herman Sr has mnade a lot of enemies) that he (Herman Sr) has been dabbeling in the operation of the Girls home since he is, at least on paper, banned from the boys home.

How ironic that after less than six months of Herman Sr's involvment at the Girls Home they get raided and kids taken out!

Those people have not changed! They will do it their way or else until the state stops them once and for all!

Do not send a child to either home, or if you have one there get them out immediately. Don't figure on getting your money back either.