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St. John's Military School - Violence Alleged

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wdtony:
http://articles.kwch.com/2012-03-28/mic ... y_31252159

More Former Students Alleged Abuse at St. John's

March 28, 2012|By Melissa Scheffler | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News


(SALINA, Kan.) — Michael Kelly says he went to St. John's Military School to build a better future for himself. But Kelly says he couldn't move beyond the "culture of abuse" at the school. A picture that Kelly says shows him bound and blindfolded is now part of the latest allegations against the school.

"They sent it to my mother's phone. I think they took my cell phone and most likely got her number out of there. And then sent it to her,” Kelly said.

Kelly talked to FactFinder 12 via the internet from Tennessee. He's one of the three most recent former students to join a federal lawsuit against the school.  Kelly says the picture doesn't show the worst of it.

"I have a brand on my stomach, numerous cigarette burns, and about 30 scars on my right arm,” Kelly said.

Another new plaintiff says both of his legs were broken. The complaint says staff and students "dragged him by his ankles, shaking them wildly, kicked him in the knees, demanded he stand up on his broken legs." The complaint alleges an X-ray shows the student was abused so badly, "that the bone was displaced several inches below his knee."

St. John's Military School issued a new statement following these latest allegations. It says, it denies the existence of a culture of abuse. It also says some of the allegations in the lawsuit were investigated by law enforcement.  And, no charges were filed.

"I want to get it out there that this is real. This is happening. And, I don't want other kids to suffer like I did,” Kelly said.

Kelly says he tried to kill himself by over-dosing on prescription medication.

"I didn't really want to be there after seeing everything that was happening,” Kelly said.

The picture is now part of the lawsuit. St. John's says it will respond to each allegation in the upcoming days.

St. John's Military School issued a statement in regards to the picture allegedly showing Michael Kelly. It says, in part... "St. John's cannot confirm or deny the validity or authenticity of the photograph as no discovery has been conducted in the case. Plaintiffs' counsel continues to insist on trying this matter in the media where the rules of evidence do not apply."

Statement from Current St. John’s Parent

Our family has nothing but good things to say about our son’s education and safety at St. John’s Military School.  He has been enrolled there for two and a half years and throughout that time has never experienced any mistreatment by the school, or fellow students.

We visit our son and the campus about every six weeks and are extremely impressed with the school and the education our son is receiving there.

Our greatest fear is that allegations raised in this lawsuit could alter the terrific program at St. John’s.  We searched the country for a military school for our son before finding St. John’s, and we are so very pleased with our decision.  They have outstanding staff and the students are very respectful.  We fully support St. John’s and have the utmost confidence in our son’s attendance at the school.

Mark Johnson

Parent of St. John’s 6th Grader

Walnut Creek, California

wdtony:
Another link to news video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5MCsvD4 ... e=youtu.be

Reddit TroubledTeens:
A current student of St. John's Military School came to reddit and answered questions about the program and his experience there: http://www.reddit.com/r/troubledteens/c ... l_the_one/

Reddit TroubledTeens:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-new ... sas-school

Agency says it's still investigating Kansas school
By ROXANA HEGEMAN Associated Press
Posted:   04/11/2012 03:24:07 PM PDT
Updated:   04/11/2012 03:24:22 PM PDT

WICHITA, Kan.—The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services says it's still investigating abuse allegations made by a 14-year-old boy who attended a military boarding school, and the agency disputes the school's claims that a department investigation "found no validity" to the former cadet's accusations.

The boy suffered two broken legs during the four days in August that he attended St. John's Military School in Salina.

"The investigation is still in progress and SRS has reached no conclusion," spokeswoman Angela de Rocha told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday.

Jesse Mactagone, of Auburn, Calif., is among seven students whose families sued St. John's Military School last month. They claim the school allowed and encouraged older students, called "Disciplinarians," to discipline younger ones by beating and otherwise abusing them, including in the presence of faculty members. The plaintiffs come from California, Florida, Tennessee, Colorado, Texas and Illinois.

St. John's has settled nine other abuse lawsuits since 2006.

The comment from SRS comes in the wake of a court filing last week in response to the lawsuit in which the school claimed that SRS and Salina Police Department "investigated and found no validity" to allegations that Jesse's injuries were the result of cadets beating and kicking him. The school told the court all investigations into the matter concluded the boy was not hurt by fellow cadets.
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Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell told AP that the Salina Police Department asked her office to review Jesse's alleged beatings for possible criminal prosecution. No arrests were made, and no charges filed.

"There was insufficient evidence to show that a crime was committed beyond a reasonable doubt," Mitchell said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Daniel Zmijewski, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he had no knowledge of the SRS investigation. He wouldn't comment on de Rocha's statement about the probe.

The lawyer noted that the standard needed for criminal prosecutions is higher than that required for civil cases.

"St. John's stands behind its response as stated and will be making no additional comment beyond what is stated in the filing, at this time," the school's spokeswoman, Laurie Roberts, said in an email.

The Episcopal boarding school, which charges families nearly $30,000 per year for students enrolled in grades 6-12, draws students from across the nation.

The 14-year-old's injuries are among some of the most egregious alleged in the lawsuit. An X-ray of one of the boy's broken legs, included in the court filing, shows his right femur bone as being displaced several inches below the knee.

The boy alleges in the lawsuit that on his first day at the school, he was pushed from behind while running, which caused him to fall down several times and break his left leg. He went to the nurse's office multiple times about the pain, but the school demanded he continue participating in physical training, which included running on the broken leg, according to the suit.

By the third day, he was in so much pain he could hardly stand and was given crutches—only to have them taken away later in the day, the suit alleges. The boy later fell in the cafeteria, where the staff and students made him attempt to stand on what was now his broken right leg, according to the suit.

He then was carried outside and thrown on the ground, where staff and students decided to "play with" him, the suit claims.

"They dragged him by his ankles, shaking them wildly, kicked him in the knees, demanded he stand up on his broken legs and threatened to punch him in his mouth if he did not stop screaming," according to the complaint.

The staff and students then stuffed him into a shopping cart and returned him to his dorm room, where he was dumped on the floor. Different staff and students visited him there to tell him he was weak and others were tougher than him, the suit contends.

The next morning Jesse was found on his urine-covered floor. When he couldn't stand, he was then put in a chair and rolled to the nurse's office, where an ambulance was called, according to the claims. Hospital X-rays showed he had two broken legs. The boy underwent emergency surgery to repair his legs.

He spent a week in the Salina hospital before being flown by medical staff to California, where he spent two more days in a hospital.

wdtony:
In contrast to 9 lawsuits since 2006 and the horrible abuse described above, which clearly shows a culture of abuse, St. John's is Awarded, Accredited and received the "highest honor with distinction" from the United States Army Cadet Command according to their website. I thought it important to point out how a program like this can APPEAR to be so amazingly wonderful to those visiting or seeing a partial view. At the same time, this program is torturing children and maintaining such a damaging environment.


Dual Accreditation

As a result of the review, St. John's has, once again, received the rating of "Accredited" from both the Kansas Department of Education AND AdvancED, giving the school dual accreditation!

Top Private School Award

GreatSchools.net awarded St. John's Military School the Parents' Choice Top Private School Award, as published in Business Week magazine. St. John's was the only military school in the country to receive this distinction.


"Honor Unit With Distinction"

AFI (Annual Formal Inspection) was held April 16th, 2012.  This is an annual inspection given by the United States Army Cadet Command.  A minimum score of 950 (out of 1,000 total points) is required to maintain the standard of "Honor Unit With Distinction".

The 124th Corps of Cadets earned the highest AFI score of all military schools in the country with a 999 and is, once again, honored to receive "Honor Unit With Distinction" classification!

This is the second straight year St. John's has held the highest score of all military schools in the country with a 999.  The coveted "Honor Unit With Distinction" has been awarded to St. John's for over 20 consecutive years!


From their website: http://www.sjms.org/

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