Bethel hearing delayed
By Antoinette Konz
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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