Bethel Boys Academy Torture Chamber

[Watchaduen]

Until the lawsuit is filed by talking, talking and posting on every message board I can is the way to reach more victims of Bethel's abuse.  Employees have now been contacting me.  They are abused almost as badly as the kids there.  POWER IN NUMBERS is the motto of this lawsuit.  It will make national news and I can't wait.  I want to save all those children that are suffering there right now.  I was conned and lied to by the Teen Help agency (who is being named in the lawsuit also) and also by Herman Fountain and John Fountain.  Places like this shouldn't even be allowed to operate.  Then we have parents who truly don't care what is happening to their child.  They just give up.  Places like Bethel need to be closed so they aren't even an option for parents like this.  Either way CLOSE Bethel and send the Felony Child Abusers to prison.

[cherish wisdom]

I just read all about this, and I'm so glad you followed your maternal instincts and protected your son from further abuse. It's great that you were able to notify some of the parents and save other children. We tried to do the same by notifying the authorities in Utah of the abuse witnessed by our child - we named names and so forth. The police did not interview the children or notify their parents. We then went to the Attorney General of the State of Utah and Child Protective Services - still little has been done to protect these other children.  I truly believe it is time to file massive class action lawsuits against the States that condone and make excuses for this torture and abuse. GOOD FOR YOU :nworthy:  :nworthy:

Homeschool is self regulating. The school board is not going to have illiterate useless people living in their homes forever if they don't have a working education policy.

--Sisterbluerose

[Watchaduen]

Looks like Bethel Girls Academy, Petal, MS. (also owned and operated by the Fountains) have run into some abuse problems also.  REad the news story here.
Sheriff says girls moved from Bethel Home in Petal

The Associated Press

PETAL ? About 40 teenage girls have been removed from a privately run, at-risk home in Petal and the case was turned over to the Forrest County Youth Court.

The girls were transferred Wednesday night from the Bethel Home to an undisclosed location for their safety, said Sheriff Billy McGee.
State Department of Human Services spokesman Rick Whitlow said Thursday the agency would have no comment.

?We?re referring all inquiries to the youth court in the county,? Whitlow said.

Under Mississippi law, Youth Court proceedings are confidential.

Sheriff Billy McGee said several state agencies ? including DHS, the attorney general? office and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality ? were at the privately owned facility for teenage girls for most of the day Wednesday.

?Apparently, the state received some complaints regarding some sort of mistreatment of the girls,? McGee said. ?I really don?t know what those complaints are, we were just called in to provide security and to transport the girls to a different location.?

The sheriff said that the parents of the girls were being notified to come and pick up their children.

?Until they are picked up from that location, they are under the custody of DHS,? he said. ?Overall, there are about 30-40 kids involved.?

McGee said the Bethel Home is located in Petal, near the Jones County line. He said the facility was operated by a church but he was not sure which one.

[Watchaduen]

Bethel hearing delayed

By Antoinette Konz


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
A hearing before a Forrest County Youth Court judge on the removal of 38 girls from a Petal school for troubled teenagers has been postponed after an attorney for several parents said he had received new information in the case.

"Based on that information, we decided to ask for a continuance. I filed the motion this (Wednesday) morning," said Michael Reed, a Hattiesburg attorney representing three parents of students who attended Bethel. "I do not know at this point when the hearing will be continued."

The hearing, which stems from a multi-agency investigation of the Bethel Girls Academy which began May 19 was to have been before Judge Michael McPhail.

Reed would not comment on the nature of the information he received. He did say, however, that some parents of the girls have been notified about some of the allegations of abuse at the Bethel home, but he would not elaborate.

"I am unable to comment on the information at this time," he said. "I will be speaking with the parents later on today."

Reed had asked for the hearing last week on behalf of parents David Bakker of Chicago, Matthew Brown of Dallas and Jason and Lori Salo of Tacoma, Wash. The parents had said they wanted to ask the judge to reconsider removing the teenagers from the youth home.

Paul Walley, a Richton attorney representing Bethel Girls Academy and its director, Herman Fountain Jr., could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Walley and Fountain have denied any allegation of wrongdoing at the school.

Bakker, whose 12-year-old daughter was one of the girls removed from Bethel, said Wednesday that he had received some documents pertaining to the home's operation over the weekend. He did not elaborate.

"As far as the items I have received, I am not so sure about how credible or reliable they are. I still have a lot of questions," Bakker said. "I just don't know what to think right now."

Officials from the state Department of Human Services and the Attorney General's office were involved in the probe. Rick Whitlow, spokesperson with DHS, said Wednesday that his agency would not comment on the Bethel investigation.

The agency has refused to provide information on whether the facility was licensed, if it had been inspected and what the agency's policies and procedures are when it comes to monitoring facilities such as Bethel.

The Hattiesburg American filed a Public Records Act request on May 25 seeking the information. DHS has 14 business days from the filing date to respond.

Forrest County District Attorney Jon Mark Weathers said Tuesday that he has received two packets containing information about the investigation of the Bethel home. He would not elaborate on the contents.

"Based on what I have seen, it merits further investigation," he said. "But I have certainly not made the conclusion that there was any violation of criminal law that took place at Bethel.

"Right now, we just need to go a little further in the investigation and try to determine the facts and the motivation of those who have made these allegations," Weathers said.

A meeting with a representative from the state Attorney General's office and Weathers is scheduled to take place on Friday, he said

[Anonymous]

Bethel (Eagle Point) is a horrible place that I have, unfortunately, wittnessed first hand.  It certainly does more to change cadets for the bad then for the good.  The Fountians are racist and money hungry.  I saw what was written about Tommy Fortenberry above, and it needs to be said that he was a beacon of hope in that place.  I was there when he was there, and he was not involved in the abuse.  Any cadet that says so is lying.  He helped a lot of cadets maintain sanity there.

[Troll Control]

On 2005-09-16 07:36:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Bethel (Eagle Point) is a horrible place that I have, unfortunately, wittnessed first hand.  It certainly does more to change cadets for the bad then for the good.  The Fountians are racist and money hungry.  I saw what was written about Tommy Fortenberry above, and it needs to be said that he was a beacon of hope in that place.  I was there when he was there, and he was not involved in the abuse.  Any cadet that says so is lying.  He helped a lot of cadets maintain sanity there."

Who was involved in abuse and what types of abuses did you witness?