11 Boys Removed at Faith-Based Reclamation Ranch (AL)

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In the meantime the investigators found the BDSM toy in the ranch.

What are they going to say? It was not intended for use on the children? It was only for use as a part of adultplay during breaks between staff? We did not inhale?

Copying out that article for posterity's sake...

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NBC13.com
Investigators probing boys ranch abuse claims find shackles
By JON PAEPCKE
Investigative reporter
Published: November 25, 2008

BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. — Saturday's raid at Blount County's Reclamation Ranch led to 11 boys placed in Department of Human Resources custody.
 
It was prompted by claims from a 17 year old who attended the ranch.

According to prosecutors, the boy accused the ranch of committing serious abuse.

Abuse prosecutors say rises to the level of torture under Alabama law.

Court records show investigators seized hand cuffs and shackles from the ranch.

Roman Lupekha spent 22 months at the ranch before a judge released him today to go home to Modesto, California.

"I got push-ups. It helped me more than it hurt," Lupekha responded when asked what kind of punishment he saw used at the ranch.

Many of the 11 boys were released to their families like Lupekha during Tuesday's custody hearing.

It was unclear late Tuesday whether all of them went home with their parents.

Ranch supporters held a rally outside of the Blount County courthouse earlier Tuesday morning.

The ranch claims one of its goals is to help troubled youth through character building and religious education.

"That place was a vessel.  All they did was show me the truth and they just helped me out.  They gave me a good schooling and worked with my problems.  I was going through family problems and all they did was show me scripture," Lupekha responded.

Prosecutors say statements by other boys supported the original abuse complaint.

While ranch director Jack Patterson wouldn't comment at the hearing Tuesday, he denies any wrongdoing on the ranch's web site.

Prosecutors expect to present the case to the grand jury in the next few weeks.

Jon Paepcke can be reached at [email protected]

©2008 Birmingham Broadcasting (WVTM-TV), Inc.

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This piece was in the Birmingham News a few days later, sans attribution. I am guessing that perhaps the local fever in support of Reclamation Ranch may have reached such an unhealthy frenzy, that the local news source saw fit to inject a voice of reason into the mob. Perhaps the writer did not wish his or her house to be fire-bombed, and thought it best to remain anonymous?  

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The Birmingham News
Removing boys from that Blount County program where abuse is alleged was the right move at the right time.
Monday, December 01, 2008

THE ISSUE: Removing boys from that Blount County program after allegations of abuse was the right move at the right time.

Torture. Beatings. Severe abuse.

These are serious accusations, to be sure. They are the kind we have made against our enemies during war. The kind of accusations made against us, where Abu Ghraib and Gitmo are concerned.

 Except these accusations are being made right in this area, against a faith-based program that cares for troubled boys in Blount County. While the investigation continues and those who represent the Reclamation Ranch Ministries' Lighthouse Academy strongly deny the accusations, calling them false and misleading, the state Department of Human Resources did what it has to do when responding to serious charges: It removed the 11 juveniles who had been at the home and, after a court hearing last week, returned them to their parents and guardians while the investigation into the Lighthouse Academy continues.

That action is appropriate because the safety of the boys enrolled in the program, located near the west Blount County town of Empire, must be the top concern. If the boys being cared for were, in fact, being abused, those who run the program must be ready to accept responsibility and the consequences.

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation and Blount County sheriff's deputies removed the boys from the home on Nov. 22 after a complaint of "severe abuse, beating and torture" of a 17-year-old at the academy, according to the Blount County district attorney's office.

"The search by law enforcement and the questioning of involved minors yielded corroboration of the original allegations and evidence of other instances of mistreatment," said Blount County District Attorney Tommy Rountree last week. One report said investigators seized handcuffs and shackles from the facility.

The evidence is going to a grand jury.

Reclamation Ranch Ministries, according to its Web site, operates two facilities in the Empire area for boys and girls ages 12-17 and one program for men ages 18-35. The girls home, called Rachel Academy, is in Walker County about a mile and a half from the Blount County boys' ranch. The accusations of abuse do not involve Rachel Academy.

Reclamation Ranch Ministries denied the accusations on its Web site. And some of the former academy residents had positive comments about their time in the program, described as "a minimum one-year program that incorporates Bible teaching, character training and respect for the family."

While we hope the accusations against Reclamation Ranch Ministries truly are a misunderstanding and are not true, whether true or not, the state acted appropriately in removing the boys once the charges were found credible. And if the charges are true, thank goodness for the quick action, which may have saved these boys from serious injury or worse.

© 2008 The Birmingham News.