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16
Public Sector Gulags / Richland County SC Scared Straight Jail Program
« on: January 06, 2012, 12:44:14 AM »
http://www.thecolumbiastar.com/news/201 ... ional.html

RCSD goes national

Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s READY program airs on A&E

By Julia Rogers Hook


In 2010, a story was published in The Columbia Star about the Richland County Sheriff ’s Department’s program for troubled teens that imitates a night in jail. The teens are brought to the Sheriff ’s Department by parents who are frustrated and feel like their children are headed for trouble or worse…. going to jail for real.

Headed by Investigator Gerald Walls, the program is called the READY program, an acronym for Richland (County) Educating And Deterring Youth. The basic idea is to give problem teens a taste of what jail is like before it becomes a reality. The department does it twice a month, one time with male teens and one time with female teens. Walls said there is no difference in the treatment of the kids. Boys and girls alike are still treated as prisoners.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said that when he started the program he wanted it to be tough, but he also wanted the area youth to realize the community and the police cared about their well-being.

The officers working with the kids in the READY program do not treat it as a trial run. An actual arrest is imitated from the handcuffing and searching of the teens to traveling in a paddy wagon to a real jail cell at the court house and all that goes with it. “ It’s not just about locking them up and leaving them to the justice system,” Lott said. “It’s about helping to get them on the right track. This program, under Investigator Walls, has proven to be invaluable for the students in the county.”

And the agenda is clearly working because earlier this year, the program grabbed the attention of A& E’s series “Beyond Scared Straight” producers, and they ran a segment of Columbia’s version on their nationally aired show.

“ When they got in touch with me, they said they had found us online,” Walls said. “ They came down here in April to see what we did, and then they decided to run it.”

The segment ran December 8 and showed troubled male teens spending a terrifying night in jail with the participating deputies doing their best to show exactly how hard institutional life can be. Now, the RCSD and Investigator Walls is receiving calls from across the country from other law enforcement agencies that want help starting a similar program in their area and even some from parents themselves who want to send their children to Richland County.

“It’s amazing…I got a call from a mother in California who wanted to bring her daughter to our program,” Walls mused. “This morning a detective in Wyoming called and wants our help in starting up a program there. Parents are willing to fly themselves and their kids across the country to do this program. I guess it just shows how many parents are frustrated and at their limit.”

Sheriff Lott said he was pleased with the national reaction to the show and the READY program.

“ To have so many parents and other agencies interested in what we are trying to accomplish lets us know that we are on the right track in saving our youth one by one with each session we conduct,” the sheriff said.

The RCSD program is one of the toughest out there as most deterrent programs just involve a visit to a jail and maybe speaking with inmates.

“ The difference in our program is that, as far as I know, we are the only program that keeps the kids overnight,” Walls said. “ We do have a program that just takes the kids to talk to the inmates as well, but the READY program is intense and intended to really scare these kids.”

Walls said the point is to reach the kids before they get into serious trouble.

“A lot of these kids are not really bad kids,” said Walls. “ They may be from a single parent home, or they may have hooked up with the wrong crowd. The purpose of our program is to make them realize that the paths they are choosing are not necessarily the paths they want to take.”

To get the teens into the READY program, parents have to agree to drop them off at the Sheriff ’s Department and leave them there overnight. They sign a permission slip and pay $10 to cover the uniforms and food for the night. And then the parent must leave the kids, often with both the parent and child in tears.

“It’s not an easy thing to do because we explain to the parents that it will be a tough night,” Walls said. “But one night of a mock arrest can prevent years of real nights in jail. These parents are at the end of their ropes.”

The officers working with these kids do not treat it as a trial run at all though. An actual arrest is imitated from the handcuffing and searching of the teens to traveling in a paddy wagon to a real jail cell at the court house and all that goes with it.

The officers are waiting for the kids to arrive and are bellowing out orders that echo in the parking garage of the jail as the teens are hurried out of the paneled van while still in cuffs. No one is smiling, and it all seems real. If a teen cracks a smile or tries to act tough, one of the officers will quickly end it, as can be seen on the A&E show.

There’s a scene where a teen is told to do a sitting squat against the wall. He makes the mistake of telling RCSD Officer Kelvin Griffin “This hurts man.”

Griffin gets close to the teen and screams into his ear.

“ I ain’t your ‘man’ and you don’t call me ‘man’ do you understand me? Do you?”

The teens are told they are to answer with only ‘yes sir/ mam’ or no sir/mam’ and deputies do another search before the kids are given prison jumpsuits and are put through rigorous calisthenics and assessments. They speak to counselors who try to get them to tell them why they are acting like they are. Most of the time the crime is as simple as ditching school or breaking curfew.

“If we can get them before they move on to bigger mistakes or get caught for smoking pot or stealing CDs, then we have a really good chance of making an impression that can really change their lives,” Walls said.

Lott said that he hears good things from a lot of people involved in the program.

“I think the success stories we hear from both the parents and the students themselves tell the story,” he said.

One of the main requirements of the night is that each teen write a letter of apology to their parent or parents.

“ We want them to admit what they have done wrong,” Walls said. “ We want them to realize why they are there.”

Nothing is sugarcoated through- out the night in jail. They are roused from a troubled sleep in a solitary cell on a bench that serves as bed, table, and chair. On the A& E show one teen is shown pacing the small walking area before he finally tries to lie down and sleep the night away. A few minutes later the lights flash on and officers raid all the cells to get the boys up to once again work out.

“It’s to show that in jail, time is not your own,” Walls said. “In jail your life is not your own. You do as you’re told and when you’re told. It might seem cool to hang out with your buddies and act tough on a street corner, but I haven’t seen one yet that comes through one of these nights without breaking.”

One mother said that after her son spent the night in the READY program, he told her he never wanted to go back because that place smelled awful. When she related the story to Walls, he just smiled and looked satisfied.

“That’s what I like to hear,” he chuckled. “That’s the whole point of the program. We don’t do it to show them a good time. We do it to make them never want to see the inside of a jail again.”

17
Found Safe

http://crimeseekers.net/forums/showthre ... #post24504

Quote
http://crimeseekers.net/forums/showthre ... #post24504

LOCATED SAFE ON 1/3/2012 - Haley Faith Wilson's father received a call from the Carlsbad Police Department in California to inform him Haley was pulled over and he got to talk to her. Ray is flying out to see his daughter immediately. I don't know any other details.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiCTh54VMPk

18
News Items / Re: Gay teen flees to avoid Utah boarding school
« on: January 05, 2012, 08:19:05 PM »
Here's the story of another boy, Erik McBee, who got 'lost' on his way back to his boarding school.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=38442&p=410771#p410771

19
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Lost or Running Away?
« on: January 05, 2012, 08:17:24 PM »
The story of another boy, Cameron James Smith, who didn't want to go back to his program:

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=38053

20
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Lost or Running Away?
« on: January 05, 2012, 07:07:40 PM »
There's a Phoenix TV News interview with Erik and his mother and grandmother at this link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/0 ... 83520.html

Both of these women seem to think it's the airline's job to babysit their 15 year-old kid. Why didn't he have a cell phone and money?

21
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Lost or Running Away?
« on: January 05, 2012, 07:00:08 PM »
Yeah, this sounds like he was being sent back to a program. No money or cell phone.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/294777 ... wrong-stop

Missing Phoenix teenager flying Southwest fails to get off plane, gets off at wrong stop

By Kathleen Berger

St. Louis (KSDK) - A Phoenix teenager got lost after arriving in St. Louis by plane when he was supposed to be in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The15-year-old boy was flying alone on Southwest Airlines from Phoenix to Tulsa, but somehow ended up lost in Florissant, Missouri.

Erik McBee is home now in Arizona, but last Wednesday he said he fell asleep on the plane, missing his stop in Tulsa. He said he woke up confused,without money and a cell phone, and apparently without the insight to ask Southwest Airlines employees for help.

"I go to sleep. Just put my headphones in and fall asleep," said Erik.

Typical for many airline passengers, except McBee said he didn't wake up when his plane got to his destination.

Instead, he said he slept through the 40 minute layover, slept through the Southwest flight's take-off for Lambert Airport, and its landing. He got off the plane in St. Louis, and walked off. Somewhere in the terminal, Erik said he asked airport police for help.

"I saw one of the security guys, so I talked to him and told him my situation, and he said he couldn't do anything," said Erik.

So Erik left the airport on foot, walking aimlessly in the direction of Florissant. Because he didn't have a cell phone or money, Erik said he just walked off. All the while, his family was panicked because he never arrived in Tulsa.

His mother, Keena McBee, said, "Nobody could give me an answer. I called Southwest Airlines, they said I had to talk to customer relations the next morning."

Missing now for almost a full day, December 28th through the 29th, all Southwest Airlines could tell the family is what they told KSDK: the head count from Tulsa to St. Louis was accurate, so they had no indication that Erik was on the flight.

So the morning of the 29th, the family called Lambert Airport. And sure enough, Erik was seen leaving the airport on airport surveillance.

"He left security and left the building, and there's no information he sought any assistance after he got off that flight," said Lambert International Airport Spokesperson Jeff Lea.

Missing for more than 24 hours, Lambert got a call from the Florissant Police Department. Police say a couple of women found him in Florissant. They took him to the police station where police called his family.

"Florissant P.D. and Airport P.D. came in contact at that time, made arrangements to bring the young man back to airport," said Lea.

Upon further investigation, the airport said none of their officers recall a teenager asking for help.

Southwest said none of their employees were approached by Erik.

About that accurate head count: a Southwest spokesperson said it's possible someone got off the plane and re-boarded after the count.

Because Erik is 15, Southwest does not have a service available for flight attendants to watch over him. That's only for children ages 5 to 12.

KSDK

22
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Lost or Running Away?
« on: January 05, 2012, 06:49:33 PM »
I didn't look hard enough. Teen Challenge has a boys program in the area.

http://www.okteenchallenge.com/boys_center.html

Brush Creek Youth Ranch is a 915-acre working ranch in beautiful Northeastern Oklahoma. Our facility is a 12-15 month residential program licensed with the State of Oklahoma and accredited with Teen Challenge USA. New Life School is our private, accredited, year round school that the boys attend while at Brush Creek. Our program offers a very structured environment to help foster growth in each of our student’s lives.

Brush Creek Youth Ranch uses a level system to help teach the students appreciation, gratitude, responsibility, submission to authority, self-control, leadership, time-management, and a strong work ethic. The first levels are very controlled but as the students improve and progress, they are awarded higher levels. The higher levels allow for more privileges, freedom, and responsibilities.

23
The Troubled Teen Industry / Lost or Running Away?
« on: January 05, 2012, 06:42:39 PM »
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crim ... 0f31a.html

Phoenix teen says he ended up in St. Louis accidentally, got little help

By Jonah Newman

It seems crystal clear that Erik McBee got on a Southwest Airlines flight from Phoenix to Tulsa, Okla., that departed at 10:15 a.m. Dec. 28.

From there, things get a bit fuzzy.

As they told Phoenix TV station KPHO earlier, the 15-year-old and his mother told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday that on the flight that was supposed to take him to a boarding school, Erik popped on some headphones, fell asleep ... and woke up in St. Louis.

Erik said he slept through the landing in Oklahoma, the 40 minutes the plane spent on the ground there and through the takeoff as the plane continued on its way to St. Louis.

Not sure where to go after landing in St. Louis, Erik said he sought help from a man in a yellow uniform just outside the terminal at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and others after he left the airport and wandered the area on foot.

"I was just trying to find a city where people would actually help me," he said.

Little of what Erik and his mother told the Post-Dispatch could be verified. What can be checked leaves more questions than answers.

Erik had a ticket to Tulsa, Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said. Passengers Erik's age can fly alone on Southwest without being shepherded by airline personnel.

Once the plane landed in Tulsa and passengers got off, the flight crew did a routine head count to make sure the number on board matched the number of people who were supposed to be aboard continuing on to St. Louis and, after that, New Orleans.

Erik said he snoozed in his seat through this part, but Southwest said somehow the count didn't show an extra person on board, and off the plane went to St. Louis. The airline is investigating what might have happened with the count.

When he didn't arrive in Tulsa, a teacher who was supposed to be meeting Erik to take him to a school he attends there approached a Southwest representative and then called his family, Keena McBee, Erik's mother, said.

From there, "hundreds of calls were made" to try to locate the boy, McBee said.

Erik said his various efforts to get help — from the uniformed man outside the airport, from 911, at a Bridgeton police station — were fruitless.

Southwest said it had no record that Erik approached any airline agent that afternoon.

Jeff Lea, a Lambert spokesman, said airport police started looking for Erik after the teenager's grandmother contacted them about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 29.

Relatives had also called Southwest, which contacted authorities in St. Louis, Dillon said.

"We did everything we could to locate him right away," she said.

Later that afternoon, Erik said, a good Samaritan dropped him off at a Florissant police station. Officers there called Erik's family and took him back to the airport, police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Boschert said.

Erik said a Florissant officer accompanied him until he was safely seated on a Phoenix-bound plane. The airline flew Erik home at no charge, Dillon said.

Erik plans to take another shot at getting back to his school next week. His mother said this time she will drive him.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crim ... z1id71Sq5P

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It sounds to me that Erik didn't want to go to his boarding school in Oklahoma. Maybe he hid out on the plane or slumped in his seat to avoid the flight attendants. The airport has no record of him approaching anyone in St Louis about the matter. Was this a poorly executed attempt to avoid being sent back to a program?

I think there are some regular boarding schools in Oklahoma for Native Americans, but I wasn't able to find any programs there. Is anyone aware of any BM facilities in the Tulsa Oklahoma area?

24
http://www.wdtn.com/dpp/news/local/shel ... not-guilty

Above link includes video

Shelby Co. employee pleads not guilty

Updated: Wednesday, 07 Sep 2011, 6:43 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 07 Sep 2011, 6:43 PM EDT

SIDNEY, Ohio (WDTN) - New information about a Shelby County worker accused of assaulting a teenager.

Officials say Whitfield Farley was working as night shift supervisor at the Clear Creek Juvenile facility when he attacked a 17 year old girl.

He pled not guilty to four counts of sexual battery in a Shelby County Courtroom Wednesday.

Farley's attorney says the allegations have ruined his client's reputation.

"He looks forward to clearing up his name. Obviously, when you're accused of sex crimes, your name is tarnished in the community," said Chris Bucio, Farley's attorney.

Farley's bond was set at $40,000.

He's not allowed to have contact with any children other than his own and is on unpaid administrative leave.

The girl he's accused of assaulting has returned to her home in Indiana.

25
http://www.whiotv.com/news/news/local/e ... -cr/nGGQ8/

Ex-corrections officer sentenced in sex crime

Staff Report
 

SHELBY COUNTY, Ohio —

A man from Anna who was sworn to uphold the law as a corrections officer was sentenced on Thursday for having sex with an underage Indiana girl who he brought across the state line into Ohio.

Whitfield Farley, 45, was given three years in prison on two charges of sexual battery today and ruled a Tier III sex offender.  

Farley first met the girl at the West Central Ohio Juvenile facility near Troy, where he was a guard and at the Clear Creek Farm near Sidney, where Farley also worked at the facility for children without families to care for them.

Farley recently took a plea bargain, pleading no contest to two counts of sexual battery in exchange for the plea pending charges in Miami County and with the FBI were dismissed.

 Judge James Stevenson ordered Farley to three years in prison and to pay an $800 fine. He was also labeled a Tier III sex offender, which means he must register with the sheriff's office in the county where he lives for life.

26
Facility Question and Answers / Re: Grove School Madison, CT
« on: January 05, 2012, 05:16:57 PM »
I like the fact that "Doe" is suing both the school and town. The report didn't make any mention of the staff being arrested when he/they broke down the door and punched Doe in the eye. Maybe lawsuits like this will cause some towns to be less inclined to automatically take the program's side in such altercations. If there are enough lawsuits the towns might decide that the program isn't welcome there anymore and revoke their business license or zoning permit or something.

27
http://www.abc-7.com/story/16448270/201 ... sons-death

Family sues wilderness camp over son's death

Posted: Jan 04, 2012 6:24 PM EST Updated: Jan 04, 2012 6:24 PM EST
COLLIER COUNTY, FL -

The family of a Bonita Springs teen is suing the Big Cypress Wilderness Institute for the death of their son. He voluntarily enrolled in the camp to turn his life around. Instead he was killed in a vehicle crash with an employee behind the wheel.

The family of 17-year-old Daniel Huerta says the man who was driving, Johnson Atilard, had no right to be working at the camp.

The accident happened in Ochopee December 8th as Atilard drove seven teenagers back to the Big Cypress Wilderness Institute – a camp for at-risk youth.

Florida Highway Patrol says Atilard failed to negotiate a near ninety degree turn, which caused the van to flip and land in a canal.

Both Atilard and Huerta were killed.

"You wouldn't trust this person to drive you down the block, let alone 500 miles in one day," said Huerta family attorney Stephen Schwed.

Schwed says the family is suing the camp, questioning why their son's life was in the hands of a man with 15 traffic violations in the past five years.

"They allowed this gentleman to drive that day on a long trip unescorted without any other employees. The question needs to be asked why he was employed there," said Schwed.

The lawsuit reveals the Huerta family is seeking damages for funeral costs, mental pain and suffering as well as medical costs.

At the site of the crash, a memorial is all the family has left of a son the Huerta's say had so much to offer.

"He wasn't a delinquent by any means - he was trying to make a life for himself," said Schwed.

We reached out to AMI Kids, which manages the program at the Big Cypress Wilderness Institute along with the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Shawna Vercher of AMIkids, Inc. issued the following statement:

    We have been provided with a courtesy copy of the lawsuit which apparently has now been filed on behalf of the parents of Daniel Huerta.  The general corporate practice is not to comment on matters involved in litigation.  As with any lawsuit, this matter has been turned over to the appropriate individuals and entities who will be handling the lawsuit on behalf of AMIkids Big Cypress.  Recognizing the tragic nature of the loss sustained by the Huerta family, we hope that an amicable resolution can be reached with the family.

    As to the status of the relationship between AMIkids Big Cypress or AMIkids, Inc. and DJJ, we continue to cooperate with them in their investigation of this matter.  Regarding the day-to-day operations at AMIkids Big Cypress, based on the internal investigation completed to date, and in the best interest of the kids who are in our program, a new executive director has been put into place and we are in the process of naming a new director of operations.

The Department of Juvenile Justice issued this statement after the accident

    On the evening of Thursday, December 8, a vehicle carrying seven youths and driven by an employee of the AMIkids program in Collier County, a Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) contract provider, was involved in an accident in the Florida Everglades. The employee was driving the youths back to the program from an athletic event earlier in the day. Emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene and transported the driver and youths to the nearest hospital.

    The driver, Johnson Atilard, 25, of Cape Coral, and one of the youths, Daniel Huerta, 17, of Bonita Springs, were pronounced dead at the hospital. The other six youths were treated for non-life threatening injuries.

    The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is investigating the accident and the DJJ Inspector General is conducting an investigation to determine compliance with agency and provider policies, procedures and standards.

    "All of us at DJJ are profoundly saddened at the loss of life and injuries sustained in this tragic accident," said DJJ Secretary Wansley Walters. "We express our deepest condolences to the relatives of Johnson Atilard and Daniel Huerta."

    "At this time, we remain focused on meeting the needs of the kids and staff at the AMIkids campus," added O.B. Stander, President and CEO of AMIkids. "We have provided mental health counselors to our students and staff who have been greatly impacted by this tragic loss. We extend our deepest sympathies to families during this very difficult time."

28
I think Eckerd uses/used Reality Therapy too.

http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.ph ... 46#p345717

http://www.wglasser.com/index.php?optio ... &Itemid=28

Quote
http://www.wglasser.com/index.php?optio ... &Itemid=28

Reality Therapy

Reality Therapy is the method of counseling that Dr. Glasser has been teaching since 1965. Reality therapy is firmly based on choice theory and its successful application is dependent on a strong understanding of choice theory. Reality therapy training is available to anyone...the first step in learning this tool is to enroll in a Basic Intensive Training.

Since unsatisfactory or non-existent connections with people we need are the source of almost all human problems, the goal of reality therapy is to help people reconnect. To create a connection between people, the reality therapy counselor, teacher or manager will:

 

    Focus on the present and avoid discussing the past because all human problems are caused by unsatisfying present relationships.


    Avoid discussing symptoms and complaints as much as possible since these are the ways that counselees choose to deal with unsatisfying relationships.


    Understand the concept of total behavior, which means focus on what counselees can do directly - act and think. Spend less time on what they cannot do directly; that is, change their feelings and physiology. Feelings and physiology can be changed, but only if there is a change in the acting and thinking.


    Avoid criticizing, blaming and/or complaining and help counselees to do the same. By doing this, they learn to avoid some extremely harmful external control behaviors that destroy relationships.


    Remain non-judgmental and non-coercive, but encourage people to judge all they are doing by the choice theory axiom: Is what I am doing getting me closer to the people I need? If the choice of behaviors is not working, then the counselor helps clients find new behaviors that lead to a better connection.


    Teach counselees that legitimate or not, excuses stand directly in the way of their making needed connections.


    Focus on specifics. Find out as soon as possible who counselees are disconnected from and work to help them choose reconnecting behaviors. If they are completely disconnected, focus on helping them find a new connection.


    Help them make specific, workable plans to reconnect with the people they need, and then follow through on what was planned by helping them evaluate their progress. Based on their experience, counselors may suggest plans, but should not give the message that there is only one plan. A plan is always open to revision or rejection by the counselee.


    Be patient and supportive but keep focusing on the source of the problem - the disconnectedness. Counselees who have been disconnected for a long time will find it difficult to reconnect. They are often so involved in the symptom they are choosing that they have lost sight of the fact that they need to reconnect. Help them to understand, through teaching them choice theory and encouraging them to read the book, Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom, that whatever their complaint, reconnecting is the best possible solution to their problem.

29
From the above article:

Quote
Huerta enrolled in the wilderness program when he was deemed a juvenile delinquent after a school fight, Schwed said. Heurta was scheduled to complete the program on Dec. 23 and had spoken to military recruiters, Schwed said.

Part of the school to prison pipeline. When I was in school a fight might, at most, get you a paddling or detention. In middle school, if the coaches caught you fighting they'd give you boxing gloves and take you behind the gym and make you fight it out. It guess that was their brand of aversion therapy.

30
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jan ... sh-driver/

Lawsuit filed over fatal 'Swamp boys' crash; driver had 18 tickets, suspended license

    By AISLING SWIFT
    Posted January 3, 2012 at 10:05 p.m.

Johnson Atilard


The parents of a Gulf Coast High School student killed during an at-risk youth outing last month are suing the driver's estate and his employer, alleging they let him drive teens despite knowing his bad driving record.

José L. and Anita Huerta of Bonita Springs are suing the estate of Johnson Atilard, 25, of Cape Coral, and Big Cypress Wilderness Institute Inc. over the crash in Ochopee that killed their 17-year-old son, Daniel, as he and six other teens returned on Dec. 11 from a flag football game in Daytona Beach.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Collier Circuit Court, alleges Atilard's employer, a state Department of Juvenile Justice contractor, knew of his past driving and criminal history, that his license was suspended and warned him in a February 2011 memo that he was not fit to operate company vehicles for the AMIkids' Big Cypress program in Ochopee, Collier County.

Collier and Lee county court records show Atilard had been ticketed 18 times since 2006, including five times for speeding, once for driving on the wrong side of the road, driving an unsafe vehicle and leaving the scene of a crash.

"Here you have a guy who lied about his driving record and who provided alcohol to kids," said the Huertas' attorney, Stephen Schwed of Palm Beach Gardens. "He looks like an accident waiting to happen. ... And you're not going to fire him after he lied on his job application?"

" ... He was driving like a lunatic," said Schwed, co-counsel on the lawsuit with Howard Kanner of Delray Beach. "The family of another kid said they were telling him to slow down."

Atilard was returning the seven teens to AMIkids Big Cypress center, a wilderness institute for at-risk youth known as "Swamp Kids," and lost control while negotiating a nearly 90-degree turn on Wagon Wheel Road, about three miles west of Turner River Road. The 2003 Ford Expedition hit a traffic sign and flipped into a canal at about 10 p.m., killing him and Huerta and causing minor injuries to the six others.

Records show, Atilard's license had been suspended six times and that night, his license had been suspended three months.

His record also includes providing alcohol to a minor, a misdemeanor charge that ended in a no-contest plea, but didn't end in conviction due to a deferred prosecution agreement. And in the months after his July 2010 hiring, records show, he racked up nine tickets, including four for speeding, failure to obey a traffic control device, a red light running violation and improper right turn.

The president of Big Cypress Wilderness Institute, Scott Hennells, was out of town and couldn't be reached for comment, but the vice president, Jim Meerpohl, said the institute is a local board for AMIkids that provides local input and insight into what would benefit the kids and community.

He referred questions to AMIkids, but called the crash a tragedy the board would discuss at its meeting next week.

"It's a horrible curve," Meerpohl said. "It's dicey during the day, let alone at night."

Shawna Vercher, a spokeswoman for AMIkids, which provides 50 programs in nine states, said they can't comment on pending litigation. However, she said an internal investigation is continuing and as a result, AMIkids Big Cypress has a new director and will soon announce a new director of operations.

"Recognizing the tragic nature of the loss sustained by the Huerta family, we hope that an amicable resolution can be reached with the family," Vercher said.

Atilard's relatives couldn't be reached for comment.

The lawsuit cites Atilard's history of driving infractions and his misdemeanor arrest and no-contest plea for providing alcohol to minors.

"Despite actual and/or constructive knowledge of all of these facts, Cypress entrusted the lives of seven boys to Atilard for a drive covering hundreds of miles in each direction on a single day," the lawsuit says, alleging that Cypress' negligent entrustment caused Huerta's death.

The lawsuit also seeks damages for the negligence of Atilard, contends Cypress is vicariously liable for his negligence because it employed him, and was negligent for hiring and retaining him.

"Cypress became aware that Atilard had falsified his application for employment regarding his past traffic and criminal history," the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit seeks damages for medical and funeral expenses, pain and suffering and mental pain and suffering for the Huertas.

"The liability issues rise to the level of recklessness and carelessness that result in punitive damages," Schwed said of punitive damages, which often result in hefty jury awards and are meant to punish and deter wrongdoing by sending a message.

AMIkids' insurance policy is $11 million, he said, and a settlement conference is expected soon.

"I already know the circumstances," he said of liability, adding that he's looking into who authorized the trip and knew Atilard was driving. "This is a nightmare for an employer. I just think it's pathetic that they would hire this guy. ... I'm sure there are a lot of people embarrassed by this and the firings aren't over."

He doubted this was Atilard's first drive since the February memo.

Huerta enrolled in the wilderness program when he was deemed a juvenile delinquent after a school fight, Schwed said. Heurta was scheduled to complete the program on Dec. 23 and had spoken to military recruiters, Schwed said.

"He was going to come home for Christmas and tell his parents as a Christmas present that he was going to join the Marines," Schwed said. "He was a success story and they killed him."

A Florida Highway Patrol crash report, which shows Huerta sitting behind Atilard, says air bags didn't deploy, but Atilard and Huerta wore seat belts, as did four others.

The report says Atilard was driving in a careless or negligent manner and was speeding, at least 45 mph in a 30-mph zone before veering left onto a grassy shoulder. The SUV hit a traffic sign and overturned into the canal, where troopers found it partially submerged.

"His parents want to know 'How did this happen? Did he die peacefully?' " Schwed said, adding that they were told he drowned.

They learned of the crash after a friend called at 2 a.m., he said, adding that AMIkids paid for the funeral, but didn't speak to them or send flowers.

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