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St. John's Military School - Violence Alleged

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wdtony:
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/03/07/44476.htm


Violence Alleged at Christian Military School

By JOE HARRIS [/b]

Wednesday, March 07, 2012
         
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (CN) -

 Parents claim in Federal Court that a Christian military school lets students known as "the Disciplinarians" abuse younger students who are bound, gagged, beaten and urinated upon.

     Parents of four students sued St. John's Military School, of Salina, Kan., and The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

     The plaintiffs claim St. John's has settled nine lawsuits alleging abuse since 2006.

     The parents claim the residential boarding school for grades 6 through 12 allows senior students, known as the Disciplinarians, to discipline lower-ranking students.

     "Through this model, St. John's hands over to adolescent students the school's obligation to act as parent to each child enrolled at the institution," the complaint states. "These Disciplinarians abuse that power and take their authority beyond any reasonable limits while putting the younger boys in constant fear of physical and mental harm.

     "Because St. John's grants its Disciplinarians the authority to discipline the younger boys, it should have heightened security and increased personnel to monitor all activities and protect its children. Yet, in practice, it does quite the opposite.

     "St. John's students live in dormitories that even its former president called 'a terrible place.' The dormitories significantly lack monitoring in the form of personnel and cameras. At most, only one adult supervisor remains in the dormitory overnight to monitor the student activities.

     "By housing students in facilities with minor supervision, St. John's grants its Disciplinarians carte blanche to do what they wish and inflict harm upon the younger boys."

     One student says he was bound, gagged and beaten by multiple students, who took pictures of the assault and posted them on Facebook. This student says he was locked in a locker for 30 minutes, was forced to roll around in the mud in his uniform, then discard his clothes and was urinated on while showering.

     Another student claims he witnessed multiple suicide attempts by students, and an attempted rape.
     A third student says he was forced to perform physical training until he vomited.

     All of the student-plaintiffs claim they were victimized by multiple beatings, including one assault that led to a broken orbital socket and permanent loss of vision.

     The plaintiffs say the school encourages students to report abuse - but then tells the Disciplinarians which students made the complaint. Therefore, students who report abuse fear retaliation by the Disciplinarians, the complaint states.

     They seek damages for negligent supervision, intentional failure to supervise, intentional infliction of emotional distress or outrage, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy to assault and batter.

     They are represented by Daniel Zmijewski, with Miller Schirger, of Kansas City, Mo.
     St. John's is a member of the National Association of Episcopal Schools.


Program's website: http://www.sjms.org/



And....


http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/ ... ry_school/


Parents ‘Very Satisfied’ With Settlement From Salina, Kan., Military School

August 9, 2005

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/16cXs)[/b]

Aug. 10–The attorney representing a group of former cadets of St. John’s Military School in Salina said Tuesday the parents of a cadet who lost teeth and had his jaw fractured while being choked unconscious were “very satisifed” by a substantial payment made to settle the case.

Meanwhile, the civil cases filed against the school last fall have resulted in significant changes in policies concerning student conduct and in the school’s admission philosophy, the school’s president said.

The settlement resulted in a dismissal last month of a lawsuit brought by Martin Sure, father of former cadet Michael Shure, now living and attending school in Denver.

The suit was one in a series filed by attorney Patrick Neustrom of the law firm of Achterberg, Neustrom & Angell, 118 S. Seventh. An earlier suit representing another Colorado couple, Michael and Tess McCabe, on behalf of their son, Julian, also was dismissed. The sums of those settlements were not disclosed.

All the alleged incidents took place in 2003 or 2004. Some of the allegations involved beatings with broom sticks and coat hangers.

Two cases remain on file in court. Four others are in talks with the school’s insurance carrier to see if they can be resolved before suits are filed. All the cases could be settled through negotiations, Neustrom said.

“We’re negotiating in good faith with (the insurance company) and they’re trying to resolve these cases for the boys so they can move on,” Neustrom said. “We’re hoping to take positive steps.”

Safer for students Col. Jack Fox, president of St. John’s Military since September 2004, said Tuesday that he and the staff and the board of directors of the school have gone through adjustments to create a safer environment for the students.

Staff members are now required to undergo regular training for dealing with alcohol and other drug problems and anger management.

Cadets who bring discredit to the institution will be dismissed, he said.

This year when the new students, known as “new boys” report on Aug.

26, they will face a zero tolerance policy on hazing, he said.

“If a boy has a history of violence, fighting and fighting again, what I tell staff is don’t bring in any boy that you wouldn’t want your son living with,” Fox said. “We’re not going to take a boy we can’t help. Parents look to us for academics, too. We took a hard look at ourselves, and that’s healthy.”

The Episcopal school, which Fox expects will enroll up to 130 students this fall, serves boys in grades six through 12.

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/16cXs)



And....

http://www.ire.org/resource-center/stories/21860/

From Investigative Reporters and Editors


St. John's Military School

Number   21860
Subject   Schools
Source   KWCH-TV (Wichita, KS)
State   KS
Year   2004

Publication Date   July 18; Nov. 4, 23; Dec. 3

Summary   This KWCH investigation revealed a 10-year pattern of abuse at a Kansas military school. A tip from a former employee of the school prompted the TV station to FOIA police records, which noted 28 cases of abuse including boys being beaten with broomsticks, burned with lighters and kicked repeatedly. A related civil suit alleged staff negligence, and other discussions of abuse were found in an alumni chat room on the Internet.
Category   None
Pages   25
Keywords   TAPE;TRANSCRIPT;military schools;military academy;military cadets;St. John's Military School
Related Links   
Related Video   
Ordering info   Want to place an order? Email us or call us at 573-882-3364 (Stories are only available to members of IRE. For membership information, please refer to our membership page)


Also...

The Truth About Military Schools:

http://militaryschoolsfacts.webs.com/in ... chools.htm

Reddit TroubledTeens:
Wow, that's ridiculous! It sounds like the abuse is systematic and has been going on for decades. In 2004 it came out that the abuse had been happening for 10 years, there were 28 cases of abuse reported, and now this is the tenth lawsuit against St. John's Military School? How is this place still open?? I'm just beside myself.

Well....here's another article about the latest suit....

http://www.postcrescent.com/usatoday/article/38798349

Parents claim Kan. military school abused sons
2:54 PM, Mar. 14, 2012  |  

SALINA, Kan. (WTW) — Parents of four former cadets at a Kansas military school have filed a lawsuit claiming their sons were repeatedly beaten by older students who were in charge of handing out discipline to younger boys.

The Salina Journal (http://bit.ly/yyWts2) reported Wednesday the federal lawsuit was filed last week in Kansas City, Kan., against St. John's Military School in Salina and the Episcopal Church. It seeks more than $75,000, plus costs and punitive damages.

The suit accuses the school and church of shirking their duties to make sure students were safe at the residential boarding school, which serves boys in sixth through 12th grades.

The plaintiffs claim the school allowed experienced students, called "Disciplinarians," to abuse students, including in the presence of faculty members.

"The school allows and encourages older students to abuse young students — physically, mentally, emotionally and sexually," the lawsuit alleges. "Although St. John's requests that students inform school personnel if beatings occur, it subsequently tells the Disciplinarians which individuals reported the beatings. It is commonly known throughout the school that if a student reports any beatings, he will suffer significant retribution."

The suit does not claim any of the four plaintiffs was sexually abused, but alleges one of the students did witness an attempted rape.

School President Andy England said he didn't have any immediate comment and was meeting with legal counsel to decide how the school would respond. He said Wednesday the school was "due diligence" before coming up with its response.

Two of the plaintiffs are from Colorado, and one each is from Texas and Illinois. All are under 18 years old. Attorney Daniel Zmijewski said more students could be added later.

The Episcopal Church of the United States and the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas are named as defendants because St. John's is affiliated with the Episcopal Church.

The lawsuit claims that if students or their parents reported abuse to school officials, the information was passed to the Disciplinarians and more beatings followed.

One plaintiff who attended the school in the spring of 2011 claims he was bound, gagged and beaten by several students, and photos of the abuse were posted to Facebook. He also claimed he was forced to roll in mud, then several students urinated on him in the shower.

Another plaintiff claims he tried to leave the school and hitch-hike home, but was tracked down by several students and a ranking faculty member on a highway. He claims he was beaten, hooded and beaten again in the presence of the faculty member while being driven back to the school.

A third plaintiff said he was sent to a hospital with a broken eye socket after being kneed in the face by a ranking student.

The lawsuit claims parents whose sons claimed they were abused were told by the school that the children were exaggerating or making up stories because they wanted to go home.

Zmijewski said St. John's has settled nine such cases since 2006.

"This case is similar, the same kind of allegations," Zmijewski said. "I don't think the school is going to be shocked by this."

Ursus:
Here's a copy of the recent lawsuit, provided by Courthouse News, from the first above article in the OP, "Violence Alleged at Christian Military School":


* Lawsuit (pdf)

Ursus:
Another source for Pixie's above article:


* "Parents claim Kansas military school abused sons" (Mar 15, 2012; Dodge City Daily Globe)
And... here's yet another article from HuffPo:

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

Huffington Post
St. John's Military School Sued For 'Disciplinarians,' Allegedly Let Students Punish Each Other Through Gagging, Urination

Laura Hibbard
First Posted: 03/12/2012 2:59 pm · Updated: 03/12/2012 2:59 pm


• Promotional YouTube clip: SJMS TV Commercial

Parents of four students have filed suit against the St. John's Military School in Salina, Kan., claiming the Christian school allowed a group of students -- known as the "Disciplinarians" -- to punish other students by binding, gagging, beating and urinating on them, the Courthouse News Service reports. The suit also names the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America as a defendant.

The plaintiffs claim that St. John's has settled nine suits since 2006 that also claim similar abuse. School officials allowed the seniors to punish the younger students, the complaint alleges, arguing that since the school employs a model of student-to-student discipline, it should have extensive security and surveillance in the dormitories where students reside.

The parents also allege the abuse that underclassmen endured at the hands of seniors has been extensive -- with one student claiming he's witnessed multiple suicide attempts because of it. Other alleged abuses include one student being locked in a locker for 30 minutes, forced to roll around in the mud, then being urinated on in the shower. Another describes one student being beaten so badly that the victim suffered permanent vision loss from a broken orbital socket.

The plaintiffs seek damages for negligent supervision, intentional failure to supervise, intentional infliction of emotional distress or outrage, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy to assault and batter.

(Read the full complaint below.)

Earlier this month, two janitors from Gregory Elementary School in Long Beach, N.J. were placed on paid suspension after they allegedly bound and gagged two 10-year-olds in the school's bathroom.

Despite the janitors' dismissal, a spokesperson for the school district told My FOX New York the incident was a "practical joke gone bad."

In February, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy confirmed that he had seen a few of the more than 400 photos of former teacher Mark Berndt reportedly spoon-feeding his semen to blindfolded and gagged students.

"It's sick. It makes you sick to your stomach," Deasy said, according to FOX 11. "I think the thing that is just so horrifying for us is we have thousands of amazing teachers. And we put our trust in them as they supervise students. And to violate that trust is just unforgivable."

The former teacher has since pled not guilty to committing lewd acts with the 23 children -- despite the photo evidence. The entire teaching staff was also temporarily replaced in light of the investigation.

• St. John's Suit


# # #

wdtony:
Heard you didn't win any SIA awards...... they need a new category: "major researcher". There's always next year.

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