San Marcos Baptist Military Academy aka San Marcos Academy

[Deborah]

Following two incidents of sexual molestation, and decreased enrollment, San Marcos Baptist Military Academy decided it was time to change their name.
This is precisely why it is difficult for parents to find information on such facilities. I will post a series of articles on this facility because they are no longer available online and/or require one to register and endure a tedious search (sometimes unproductive) to find articles.
My interest My son was the one who reported the first pedophile, who is serving 95 years.

26 Jan 2000
San Marcos Baptist Military Academy
http://www.baptiststandard.com/2000/1_2 ... arcos.html
San Marcos Academy seeks to help students after dorm director accused
By Marv Knox
SAN MARCOS--Brad Bartlett-Dixon, a dormitory director at San Marcos Baptist Academy, has been charged with sexual crimes against minors. Authorities believe he may have victimized six boys who attend the academy's middle school.

Bartlett-Dixon, 34, has been a staff member at the academy since August 1997. He first was named assistant director of the middle school boys' dormitory, which houses 62 boys in grades six through eight. He was promoted to dormitory director last May.

Students reported the alleged sexual misconduct to academy administrators Saturday, Jan. 15.

The administrators immediately contacted the Hays County Sheriff's Department and notified parents of the students who made the report, academy President Paul Armes said. The school also has written to parents of all current students, as well as parents of former students who have attended the academy since Bartlett-Dixon was employed.

Bartlett-Dixon immediately was removed from the campus, Armes said. He has been suspended with pay pending investigation of the alleged incidents.

At least five boys have told sheriff's investigators that Bartlett-Dixon fondled them between September 1998 and late last year, the Austin American-Statesman reported. He reportedly told the boys not to report the incidents, and they complied out of fear of retaliation, the paper said.

An affidavit also claims Bartlett-Dixon showed pornography to the boys, the paper reported.

Bartlett-Dixon lived in the dormitory. In addition to his dorm duties, he was involved with recreational activities, field trips and the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

"We are shocked by the reports and saddened for all who may be involved," Armes said. "We are using every resource available to care for the well-being of our students as the investigation of these allegations progresses."

The academy has formed a task force to direct the school's support for students during the crisis that has ensued the allegations, Armes said. Additional counselors have been secured to help all students who need spiritual and emotional support, he added, noting, "Our chief concern has been for the students.

"Brad was very popular in the middle school. The kids are frustrated. Some are very angry at him; others are angry at the Sheriff's Department."

Bartlett-Dixon was subjected to the same procedure the academy uses to screen all new employees, Armes reported. School administrators studied his application, contacted references and also conducted a criminal background check.

The man used "Bartlett-Dixon" as his last name when he applied for employment, Armes said. He used "Bartlett," his apparent birth name, as his last name at the school. He apparently gave "Dixon," his stepfather's name, as his last name to the Sheriff's Department.

The academy conducted a background check on both names and "did not receive any indication" of prior criminal activity or complaints, Armes said.

San Marcos Baptist Academy is a 330-student boarding and day school affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. It receives about $440,000 of its $6 million budget from BGCT appropriations. Its 15-member board of directors is elected by the BGCT.

"Pray for us," Armes asked of Texas Baptists. "Our chief concern is not for the institution, but for the students, especially those who may be scarred by this."

[Deborah]

16 Oct 2000
http://amarillo.com/stories/101600/tex_indicted.shtml
Man indicted in death of A&M student commits suicide in jail

The Associated Press
SAN MARCOS (AP) - A man accused of killing a Texas A&M student he had lured by posing as a woman on the Internet has committed suicide in the Hays County Jail.

Kenny Wayne Lockwood, 32, of San Antonio was found dead Saturday on his cell bunk, his wrist cut.

Lockwood's cellmate, Bradley Wayne Dixon, 35, was found in the shower, also with his wrist cut, Hays County sheriff's Sgt. Allen Bridges said Sunday.

Dixon was taken to an Austin hospital, where he was reported in good condition Sunday night. He will be returned to the Hays County Jail, officials said.

Lockwood was indicted in July on murder charges in the April shooting of Kerry Kujawa, 20, a Texas A&M honor student

Police say Lockwood, an unemployed 6-foot-2 nurse, posed as "Kelly," a female Texas A&M prelaw student, on the Internet. Lockwood's alter ego was so convincing that Kujawa asked to see her, which led to his death.

Police believe Kujawa went to the San Antonio residence where Lockwood was living with his mother and may have been killed because he discovered Lockwood was posing as "Kelly."
Kujawa's body was found on a ranch near Dripping Springs, about 20 miles west of Austin April 19. He had been shot in the back of the head.
Nine days later, Lockwood was arrested at a San Antonio hospital, where he was a patient. He was jailed in San Marcos on $500,000 bond. If convicted, he faced up to life in prison.
Sheriff's officers said Lockwood and Dixon waited until an officer checked their cell at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. They were discovered on a later cell check Saturay night.

Dixon is under indictment on 13 charges, including indecency with a child, sexual assault of a child, possession of child pornography and sexual performance of a child with intent to produce, direct or promote. His bond totaled $335,000.

Bridges declined to say when jailers discovered the suicide and suicide attempt.

[Deborah]

26 Jan 2002
http://amarillo.com/stories/010602/tex_ ... ther.shtml
Student, mother allege sexual abuse at boarding school

HOUSTON (AP) - Two years after a dormitory director was charged with sexual abuse, a former student and his mother are suing a San Marcos boarding school for negligence, alleging that school officials knew of the abuse and did nothing to stop it.

The family is also suing 35-year-old Bradley Wayne Dixon, also known as Brad Bartlett, the former dorm director at San Marcos Baptist Academy.

He is serving 95 years in a Texas prison on several charges of indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child.

He was arrested January 2000 after five pupils at the academy accused the man of showing them pornographic materials and molesting them.

The lawsuit states that the student's parents chose to send him to the private boarding school because of its reputation for academic excellence and emphasis on "superior moral uprightness."
The preparatory school is "patterned on the mold of Texas A&M University, including its cadet corps," the lawsuit states.

The Houston Chronicle reported in Saturday's editions that the lawsuit alleges school officials knew of Dixon's predatory behavior and "implicitly condoned it through inaction."

"Dixon often and repeatedly for years demonstrated sexually inappropriate behavior with children that was witnessed by employees, including supervisory employees at the academy," the lawsuit alleges.

Before the abuse, the lawsuit says, the boy had ranked high academically and was a cadet corps member. But he had to withdraw from the school and suffered an emotional collapse after officials discovered a pornographic video Dixon made in which the boy was an unwitting subject, the lawsuit stated.

The family's attorney, Robert D. Rapp, asked for unspecified monetary damages for the child and his family. Rapp could not be reached by the Chronicle for comment Friday.

San Marcos Baptist Academy officials did not return the Chronicle's request for comment.

Dixon failed in a suicide attempt after cutting his wrist in October 2000 while being detained in the Hays County Jail on the charges.

[Deborah]

3 Oct 2002
http://www.tjpc.state.tx.us/publication ... 2-4-10.htm
Criminal defendant has no discovery right to juvenile records of state's witnesses without showing that the records exist [Dixon v. State] (02-4-10)

On October 3, 2002, the Austin Court of Appeals held that the defendant in a criminal case of sexual abuse against minors has no discovery right to the juvenile records of the State's complaining witnesses in the absence of evidence that any of them had records.

02-4-10. Dixon v. State, UNPUBLISHED, No. 03-01-00459-CR, 2002 WL 31206210, 2002 Tex.App.Lexis ____ (Tex.App.?Austin 10/3/02) [Texas Juvenile Law (5th Edition 2000)].

Facts: Appellant Bradley Wayne Dixon was a dormitory director at a San Marcos boarding school. Over the course of several months, he committed a number of sex and sex-related offenses against the boys in his charge. Based on this evidence, a jury found him guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, four counts of indecency with a child by contact, one count of sexual performance by a child, and two counts of assault.

In four points of error, appellant contends the trial court erred by refusing to order the State to provide impeachment evidence to the defense, by denying the defense access to evidence in the court's possession, and by admitting at the punishment stage evidence that was unlawfully seized and of which proper notice had not been given.

Held: Affirmed.

Opinion Text: Juvenile records
In point of error two, appellant contends his due process and confrontation rights were violated when the court refused to order the State to "provide the juvenile records (if any) of the minor witnesses the State intended to call during trial." See U.S. Const. amends. V, VI, XIV. More specifically, appellant argues that the court should have granted his request for an order directing the State to search juvenile court records to determine if any of its intended witnesses had been found to have engaged in delinquent conduct involving acts of moral turpitude. The court refused this request, saying it was "not ordering the prosecutor to go seek and search out every record possession of the State of Texas." The court did order the prosecution to make available to the defense any evidence in its possession bearing on the credibility of its witnesses.

No Sixth Amendment violation is shown. The right to confrontation is a trial right implicated, for example, when a defendant's cross-examination of a prosecution witness is unduly limited by the trial court. See Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39, 52 (1987) (plurality op.); Thomas v. State, 837 S.W.2d 106, 111 (Tex.Crim.App.1992). Appellant does not complain that he was denied the opportunity to use a witness's juvenile record for impeachment, but rather that he was denied the opportunity to learn if any such records exist. In effect, appellant urges that he did not receive a fair trial because he was denied discovery. This does not raise a Confrontation Clause issue, but rather a due process issue under the Fourteenth Amendment. Ritchie, 480 U.S. at 56; Thomas, 837 S.W.2d at 112.

Under the Due Process Clause, the State has an affirmative duty to disclose evidence in its possession that is favorable to the accused and material either to guilt or punishment. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963); Wyatt v. State, 23 S.W.3d 18, 27 (Tex.Crim.App.2000). Impeachment evidence is included within the scope of the Brady rule. United States v. Bagley, 473 U .S. 667, 676 (1985). Brady does not require disclosure of information that the State does not have in its possession and that is not known to exist. Hafdahl v. State, 805 S.W.2d 396, 399 n. 3 (Tex.Crim.App.1990); Thompson v. State, 612 S.W.2d 925, 928 (Tex .Crim.App.1981).

In this case, the prosecutor told the court that the State did not have any juvenile court records involving the complainant-witnesses. Appellant asserts that the prosecutor was merely claiming that she did not personally possess such records, and that the trial record demonstrates that the State's "prosecuting team" did have the records. See Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 154 (1972); Ex parte Adams, 768 S.W.2d 281, 291-92 (Tex.Crim.App.1989) (Brady applies to evidence possessed by any member of "prosecution team," including both investigators and prosecutors); see also Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U .S. 419, 438 (1995) (prosecutor's failure to disclose Brady material in possession of police not excused by lack of personal knowledge). Appellant does not refer us to any portion of the record supporting this assertion, and our review discloses no evidence that any investigator or prosecutor was in possession of any undisclosed juvenile court record of any witness.

Appellant relies on the opinion in Thomas. In that case, a capital murder defendant sought the production of crime stoppers information pertaining to the offense, including the names of informants and a tape recording of a telephone call. Thomas, 837 S.W.2d at 108. The trial court denied the request, citing statutes providing that crime stoppers reports are privileged and confidential. Id. at 108-09; see Tex. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 414.007, .008 (West Supp.2002). The court of criminal appeals, however, concluded that the defendant had a due process right to the production of the material he sought that was in the possession of the local crime stoppers program, the crime stoppers advisory counsel, or the district attorney's office. Thomas, 837 S.W.2d at 113-14. The court went on to prescribe a procedure by which the crime stoppers information was to be inspected by the trial court in camera to determine if it contained Brady material. Id. at 114.

Appellant urges that the procedure outlined in Thomas should have been employed by the trial court in this cause. There is, however, a crucial distinction between Thomas and the case before us. In Thomas, the information sought by the defendant was known to exist; it was a matter of record that crime stoppers tips had been received, and that one person in particular had spoken to a crime stoppers operator for fifteen minutes. Id. at 108. In this case, on the other hand, there was no showing that any potential State witness had been adjudicated delinquent. The court of criminal appeals did not hold in Thomas, as appellant would have us hold here, that the prosecutor was obligated to search for information not known to exist.

Brady does not require the State to seek out evidence for the defendant's use. Palmer v. State, 902 S.W.2d 561, 563 (Tex. App .-Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, no pet.). The district court did not violate appellant's due process rights by refusing to order a search for juvenile records that were not in the State's possession and were not shown to exist. Point of error two is overruled.

[Deborah]

http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke ... y&pid=1377
Posted: 2/19/04
Former San Marcos Baptist Academy staffer
charged with molesting 17-year-old student
By Ferrell Foster
Texas Baptist Communications

SAN MARCOS--A San Marcos Baptist Academy employee has been dismissed and subsequently arrested on charges of molesting a 17-year-old academy student.

Santiago "Jimmy" Morales Jr., 25, was charged with "improper relationship between an educator and a student," a second-degree felony, the San Marcos Daily Record reported

The academy, affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, is a school for sixth to 12th graders. Of the 219 students, 54 are "day students" living off campus, and the remainder are boarding students, President Vic Schmidt told Texas Baptist Communications.

The incident allegedly occurred at Morales' off-campus apartment early Jan. 24. The student subsequently told his dorm parents and counselor. The academy terminated Morales Jan. 27, and police arrested him Jan. 30.

Morales had been a student activities/recreation assistant and dormitory residential assistant since August 2002.

Schmidt said the academy had checked Morales' background thoroughly prior to employment and "had seen no indication at all" that such an incident might occur. "We basically thought we were doing everything possible."

The president held a "parents' day" shortly after the incident to speak with parents of students. All 219 students have remained enrolled at the academy, Schmidt said.

The incident marked the second time in four years that an academy employee has been charged with molestation, the Daily Record reported. Bradley Wayne Dixon, arrested in January 2000, was convicted on nine counts and is serving a 95-year sentence.

"It is always most regrettable when an unfortunate incident such as this occurs within any setting," said Keith Bruce, coordinator of the BGCT Institutional Ministries Section.

"I have the utmost confidence that the board and administrative leadership of San Marcos Baptist Academy have made every reasonable effort to prevent such incidents and will respond with the highest degree of integrity and candor as they cooperate with the investigation. Certainly the welfare of the students is the foremost concern for everyone."

San Marcos cooperated fully with authorities, said Schmidt, who made available an internal e-mail on the subject from Monty Lewis, academy treasurer.

"This is absolutely the worst thing that can be done," he wrote. "If the administration of the San Marcos Baptist Academy learns of any possible inappropriate behavior with a student, the first call is to Child Protective Services, the second is to the police. ...

"If the reporting is conducted as required by the state, and the offender is identified, our churches and agencies will have more confidence in the background checks and references that we are obtaining," Lewis continued. "In our case, the background check was without flaw; and the job references did not reveal any problems.

"Reporting a possible offense is painful for the organization. Betrayal is always painful. The victim, the family, the supervisor, the co-workers ... we have all been betrayed. The reporting does result in some level of embarrassment and 'bad press,' but it is absolutely the right thing to do."

Lewis expressed his hope that the "greatest outcome of our recent event would be to serve as a response model to our fellow organizations who minister to children and families. It is very likely that at any given time predators are among us, actively pursuing some innocent victim. Unfortunately, that seems to be the nature of our society."

The case against Morales appears to be limited to one student. Morales has been charged under a law that took effect Sept. 1, 2003, the newspaper said. As a second-degree felony, it is punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

[Deborah]

Imagine!!

23 Mar 2004
http://www.strugglingteens.com/archives ... heard.html
SAN MARCOS DROPS MILITARY STRUCTURE
(Mar. 23, 2004) Victor Schmidt, President of San Marcos Academy, San Marcos, Texas, 512-753-8008, http://www.smba.org, announced that based on input from parents, students, alumni and several IECA consultants, the board of trustees opted to drop the military structure in favor of more family-style supervision and closer emotional interaction with teachers. With the advances in brain and learning research, the Academy is also expanding its commitment to learning skills, and to the professional development of faculty to teach multiple learning styles across the board.

[Deborah]

15 Nov 2005
http://www.bgct.org/bgctroot/sectionart ... 450DE05077
San Marcos Academy makes changes to reach more students
By: Ferrell Foster

SAN MARCOS ? Students and faculty alike talk about San Marcos Baptist Academy as if it?s a family. To describe it, they use words like nurturing, supportive, caring and helpful.  :roll:
Despite the warm feelings, enrollment at the residential secondary school has declined in recent years. So the academy called in an outside consultant to evaluate its program.

As a result, the 97-year-old school made changes this semester.
-- The military program is no longer mandatory for boys.
-- A program to help students with ?learning differences? has been expanded.
-- It?s ?advisory program? has been enlarged to include all full-time employees working with assigned students on an almost daily basis.

San Marcos Baptist Academy has 206 students in grades six-12 ? three-fourths living in campus dormitories and the rest being ?day students.? The school is supported through the Cooperative Program of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

For years, many people viewed SMBA as a military school, said Vic Schmidt, president of the academy since 2001. ?We didn?t see ourselves as a military school,? but others ?perceived? it that way.

Byron Robinson, who has taught 37 years at the academy, said, ?I?ve seen it always as a Christian school? with three programs ? academic, military and athletic.

With this year?s changes, SMBA still has a Junior ROTC military program. Boys must be in the program at least one semester, but girls are not required to be involved.

One of the visible changes on campus is how the students dress. Military style uniforms have given way to polo shirts with khaki pants or plaid skirts.

A less visible change related to the military is seen in the boys? dorm. It no longer functions as a military residence hall with ranking upperclassmen having special duties. It, like the girls? dorm, is organized by halls with dorm directors and resident assistants.

The change in approach regarding the military has been difficult to swallow for some alumni and long-time supporters, Schmidt said. He hopes they will understand the change was not based on a ?whim? but on information derived from the independent study and on the NEED TO INCREASE ENROLLMENT.

Leadership training, a major component of J-ROTC, will continue to be stressed with all students, Schmidt said.

The corps of cadets at the school is now about 80, he added.

Kameron Allison, a junior day student from San Marcos, said he likes the J-ROTC change, because the new uniforms ?feel more casual.?

Garrett Day, a senior resident student from Sugar Land and a J-ROTC battalion commander, preferred the old military approach but said the new way ?benefits others,? so he understands the need to change.

While San Marcos Academy turns away from some its past identity, it has its sights set firmly on becoming known for something else ? its Learning Skills Program.

Children learn in different ways, said Margo McClintock, director of the program; and SMBA is helping students determine their preferred learning styles and then fashioning programs that help them learn.

For instance, there are ?analytic? learners who do best with details and sequential information, while others are ?global? learners who want ?the big picture? and react quickly. Traditional classroom teaching favors analytic learners, McClintock said.

That?s just one example of different learning styles.

SMBA?s Learning Skills Program seeks to help those students who struggle with the limitations of traditional teaching. It already had been a part of the academy?s academic approach, but this year the school added two more staff members, Tom and Keri Rhodes, to work with McClintock.

The academy also provided extra training on learning styles for all of its teachers prior to the start of classes, Schmidt said.

McClinton said students will give an ?amazingly different kind of response? to testing when learning styles are understood and appropriate help is given. Thirty-two of the academy?s 206 students are in the Learning Skills Program this fall, including honor students.

Jojetta Steptoe, a senior from Houston, is one student who benefited from the precursor to the Learning Skills Program when she came to SMBA two years ago. ?My grades are a lot better, and I got more help than I was getting in other schools,? she said.

Another new effort, the school?s Advisory Program, is one of special interest to President Schmidt. Every full-time employee is involved, he said. ?Student advising is just as important as the primary job? of an employee.

Advising involves being with students during devotional times and chapel services, visiting them in their dorm and contacting parents to keep them informed of their child?s progress or needs.
The connection between students and adults showed up in comments from several students.

?Everybody cares about you a lot,? said Adelita Ayala, a junior resident student from Tabasco, Mexico. The teachers ?all know who you are and what kind of person you are.?

Eighth grader Rachel Blewett, from Kingsbury, boiled everything down to its simplest. The academy is ?really cool,? she said. ?The teachers are really nice, everybody?s nice. ? It?s really fun.?

While the academy has gone through some tough times, including running ?deficits the past few years,? it still is deft free, Schmidt said.
?We are working for a zero-loss budget,? he said. SMBA needs about 20 more students this year to reach that level, and enrollment remains open and more students are expected.

The need to grow enrollment motivated this school year?s changes, but there are deeper motivations, as well.

The academy is a ministry, Schmidt said. ?We?re helping a lot of kids, both Christian and non-Christian. ? You don?t have to be here long? before the ministry aspect becomes apparent.

Schmidt remembered the words of a long-time SMBA employee, the late Katherine Schultz. The president quoted her saying, ?When you first come to the academy it can sometimes get under your skin, but if you stay here for any length of time it will get embedded in your heart.?

I-ya-ya-ya-ya.