Bryan, contact Joe Nelson at the San Bernadino Sun. I'm sure he would be interested in learning more about your experience at Running Springs.
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Girl says she was raped multiple times at private school
15-year-old tells deputy her complaints ignored
By JOE NELSON , Staff Writer
RUNNING SPRINGS - A 15-year-old girl and former Cedu High School student has told sheriff's detectives two students repeatedly raped her over a six-month period on campus and that school officials did nothing to stop it.
The teen "is alleging the school covered it up they didn't tell anybody,' Detective Chuck Wyatt of the sheriff's Twin Peaks station said Thursday.
The girl, an Oklahoma native, was sent to the expensive boarding school for troubled teens in September 2001. She said she was raped shortly after by the 18-year-old men. She immediately reported it to school officials, who did nothing, Wyatt said.
She said that she was raped at various locations on campus, Wyatt said.
"She was restrained. Overpowered if you will,' Wyatt said. He said he is trying to track down the suspects for questioning, but declined to name them, saying it would jeopardize his investigation.
It was unclear if there were any other reported rapes or other victims.
"That's what I'm trying to find out,' the detective said.
A team of 16 sheriff's detectives and deputies served a search warrant at the school in the 3500 block of Seymour Road on June 1. They searched the premises from about 9:25 a.m. to about 8 p.m., according to a sheriff's dispatch log.
Wyatt wouldn't disclose what was taken during the search and said the file has been sealed.
Sheriff's detectives launched the investigation into the school in May after another California law enforcement agency that Wyatt refused to name submitted to the Sheriff's Department the rape report the girl gave the agency on March 19, Wyatt said.
George Condas, vice president of operations for Cedu, which has campuses in rural areas across the country, said Friday he was unaware of the allegations.
"I'm not really sure what this investigation is about. We had a search warrant and are cooperating with the authorities. We're still waiting to hear back,' Condas said, declining further comment.
Wyatt said he will eventually submit the case to the District Attorney's Office for review but has more investigating to do before that happens.
Tuition at the school typically runs $5,000 a month. Students with problems ranging from drug and alcohol abuse, depression and prior run-ins with the law are its main clientele.
Historically, the sheriff's Twin Peaks station has received numerous calls from the school reporting runaways or disruptive youths, said sheriff's Detective Mark Rodgers.
Between Jan. 7 and April 25, the Twin Peaks station took 18 reports of runaway teens from the school, and there were 41 calls for service, Rodgers said.
He said some students have gotten trapped or lost trying to hike down the mountains toward San Bernardino through dense brush.
On Feb. 8, student Daniel Yuen, 16, of Edison, N.J., ran away from the school after his second week of attendance. He remains missing.
There have been recent sightings of him in the San Diego area, as early as three days ago in Mira Mesa, said his father, Wayne Yuen.
News of the reported rapes at the school did not come as a surprise to the elder Yuen on Friday.
"My son told me that other students there were 10 times worse than him. I feel that that is why my son ran away,' Yuen said in a telephone interview. "Maybe that's why he's so scared. Maybe he doesn't want to go back to that school, and that's why he keeps hiding.'
Others praise the school. Myrna Steinman, of Chatsworth told The Sun in a previous interview that her 15-year-old grandson's experiences at the school have been nothing but positive and productive.
"Cedu is not a lockdown school. Any kid can walk off that campus any time they want to,' Steinman said.
Certain types of youths with a propensity for running away belong in a lockdown school, she said.
She said she has never seen or experienced anything that would change her opinion of the school, and added that her grandson flourished during his two years there.
"He has done so well that anyone who meets him now can't believe it's the same child who went into the school,' Steinman said. "What moves me most is the love the staff has for the children.'
