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Agape Boarding School Faces 5 More Abuse Lawsuits, Bringing Total to 19

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Five more alleged victims have filed civil lawsuits against Agape Boarding School of Stockton, Missouri, and the Baptist church that supervises the Christian boarding school, bringing the total number of cases alleging negligence and abuse to 19.

The plaintiffs in the newest cases, filed June 15 in Vernon County Circuit Court, are all now in their late teens to mid-20s and are identified in court documents only by their initials. They allege they were physically and emotionally abused “by multiple agents, servants, and employees of Defendant Agape” from 2014 to April 2022, the Kansas City Star reported. 

The civil suits claim Agape violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, committing fraud and deception and misrepresenting or concealing information given to the students—who are from California, Florida, Texas, and Mississippi—and their families. 

The Star also reported that a recently surfaced video from the late 1990s shows alleged abuse of a boy at the school. 

Allegations in the most recent lawsuits include the school withholding food and medical attention and allowing sexual assault and other forms of physical and emotional abuse. 

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Five employees of the school were charged in October 2021 with a total of 13 third-degree felony assault counts for allegedly abusing students. The charges came after the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated allegations of abuse at the school, Ministry Watch previously reported.

Among those charged are medical director Scott L. Dumar; Seth Duncan, the son-in-law of David Smock, a Stockton doctor who for years has provided medical care for Agape students; Christopher R. McElroy, Everett L. Graves, and Trent E. Hartman.

A nearby girls’ school, the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, closed in 2020 following accusations of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of the students there. The owners, Boyd and Stephanie Householder, await trial on 100 criminal counts, including statutory rape, sodomy, and physical abuse and neglect. 

In March 2022, the Householders were also sued by their adult daughter Amanda Householder, who alleged in a civil case that they made her perform forced labor, beat her for their sexual gratification, and forced her to impose punishments on other Circle of Hope students.

They pleaded not guilty to the criminal counts in a Cedar County, Missouri, court June 13 and will proceed to trial. 

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Anne Stych

Anne Stych is a writer in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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