In this post, we will be reviewing the testimony of DHS Agent Jennifer Richardson. She initially was called to Midwest Academy early in 2015 and several times after. We will post the link to the full testimony after reviewing the highlights.
The first time that DHS was called out to Midwest Academy, they were called out of concern for victim 1 and victim 2. When Richardson arrived at the facility, Ben Trane was already waiting for her and appeared to have been tipped off about their impending arrival. Ben blamed disgruntle ex-employees on the report against him.
Q. So you go out to the academy. What was your purpose of going out there on March 25, 2015?
A. The purpose was to basically ask for the seven children so that we could do interviews. We also had court orders to have the children be removed from Midwest Academy so we could conduct the interviews. We were going to conduct them at the South Lee County DHS office, and then also to gather the records of each of those children.
Q. So you had a court order in hand to take the children off site for interviews and to obtain records of those children?
A. Yes.
Q. So what happens when you go out to the academy?
A. We go out to the academy. We meet Mr. Trane shortly after we arrive. And he appears to be aware, and then he lets us know the children’s names.
Q. I want to stop you there. What do you mean he appears to be aware? Aware of what?
A. That we were coming.
Q. And why did you believe that?
A. Because he appeared prepared. He talked about a former employee that was disgruntled, and he believed that they had stolen records, confidential records, from the Midwest Academy and made this report against the academy.
Q. Did you find out at a later point that someone had tipped off the Defendant that you were coming out to the academy?
A. Yes. I believe he was told.
Q. All right. So let’s go back to when you first arrived. The Defendant met you. He seemed to be aware that you were coming?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he bring the kids out for you?
A. Yes. Mr. Trane informed us that of the seven children, only two children were still there. The other five had already left the academy an d were no longer students at the academy.
Q. So what did you do?
A. So they provided the two children that were there, which were Axxxxx and Bxxxxxx. And then we left and went back to the Department of Human Services to begin individual interviews with each child.
Q. Did you take both boys at the same time?
A. Law enforcement transported the children. They were interviewed separately.
One of the victims was asking for food over and over again. He was quiet and withdrawn. He had bruises on his face. The boy was shocked when he saw himself in the mirror since it had been so long since he looked at himself. He immediately commented about how thin he had become. The victim was very fragile and tired.
Q. How did the interview go with Bxxxxxx?
A. The interview with Bxxxxxx was somewhat difficult. He didn’t make eye contact. He looked down a lot. He had trouble focusing. He had trouble giving much detail. He was hungry, so we fed him while he was ther e.
Q. How do you know he was hungry?
A. He expressed that he was hungry. He was in OSS when we came to get him on March 25th.
Q. What did he look like to you?
A. He looked very thin. He had clothing on, and it looked like it was hanging off of him. He had some bruising to his face, his cheek. He had some bruising in the wrist area. He looked pale.
Q. You said he was hungry. What did you feed him?
A. I think he ate some Ramen noodles. We have a snack box at the office. I’m sure that–our secretary was the one actually trying to feed him and deal with that piece of it. I’m not really sure of everything he ate, but he kept asking for food.
Q. So he didn’t just ask for food once, he asked for food several times throughout the interview?
A. Several times, even going into the kitchen and opening our refrigerator to look for food.
Q. And where is the kitchen compared to where he was being interviewed at?
A. The conference room is at the back of the office, and the kitchen is right next to the conf erence room. So you have to go out of the conference room, but then you can see the kitchen easily.
Q. Did you keep giving him food?
A. We did. We continued to give him food.
Q. And he kept eating it?
A. And he kept eating it.
Q. You said he looked pale; he was thin; you saw some bruises on him. Was there a point in time that you showed him a mirror?
A. Yes. Because we asked about the bruise on his face, and he had no idea that he had a bruise on his face. So we — I got a mirror out of my office and allowed him to look in the mirror.
Q. What was his reaction?
A. He was shocked. He hadn’t seen himself in a long time. They’re not allowed to look in mirrors at certain levels. And so he said right away he looked very thin. He knew he’d lost weight.
Q. Were you able to do a full interview of Bxxxxxx?
A. I believe that we did the best interview we could. He was difficult to focus. He was tired, he said. And at some point we decided we had asked him enough questions.
Q. Was there a point that –you said he was tired. He ate a lot. Did he sleep or act as if he wanted to lay down when he was there?
A. He did. And while we were interviewing Axxxxx, I’m not sure what he did exactly. Another staff watched him.
Q. When you were done interviewing Bxxxxxx, did you have concerns?
A. Yes.
Q. That was based on what?
A. Concerns for being in the OSS room for long periods of time, concerns for his appearance, his weight; that he was on Level 1 and he had been there for quite a while. So that’s the very first level. He wasn’t progressing.
The other victim was much more talkative and outgoing. He told Richardson that he believed he had been in OSS for 180 days.
Q. Let’s talk about Axxxxx. Axxxxx’s interview was markedly different than Bxxxxxx’s; would you agree?
A. Yes.
Q. How was Axxxxx so different?
A. Axxxxx is a very talkative child. He also explains everything. He talks –he knows all the codes for the different infractions. The manual –the kids have to learn the manual, write the manual. He knew all the codes, so he would talk in codes.
Q. When you say codes, the numbers that go with each rule?
A. Yes. He would say, like, that’s a 304, something to that effect, and then we’d have to ask him, well, what does that mean?
Q. He knew the rules?
A. He did.
Q. And again, this is March 25, 2 015; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And that’s the first time you had ever met Axxxxx?
A. Yes.
Q. So he talked quite a bit to you about his experience at the academy?
A. He did.
Q. When you were done interviewing Axxxxx, did you have any concerns?
A. I did. He had been there May 28th, and this was March 25th, so May 28th of 2014 to March 25th of 2015, and he said he thought he had been in OSS for 180 days, not straight, but overall. So it was very concerning.
Q. And this was based just on the information that these kids would give you?
A. This was only based on what information they provided.
Q. And what you observed from them as well?
A. Yes.
Q. Was Axxxxx hungry too?
A. I remember he said that he’s always hungry in OSS. I’m assuming we fed him. That doesn’t stand out as much as Bxxxxxx.
After the interviews were done, they took the children back to Midwest Academy and notified their parents.
A. After the interviews were done, the children were transported back to Midwest Academy by the Lee County Sheriff’s Department, and we continued with the assessment.
Q. Did you notify Axxxxx’s and Bxxxxxx’s parents?
A. Yes.
Richardson went out to Midwest Academy a month later after another allegation of sexual behavior among the boys had been reported. DHS was concerned about the supervision of the boys and whether they were being kept safe since this activity was happening at night. One of the boys involved was the same boy she had previously interviewed. Upon arriving at the facility, Ben Trane seemed to be more upset about how this was making his image look instead of the welfare of the boys. The previously outgoing boy that was interviewed by Richardson was now more reserved and quiet. The victim’s parents decided to remove him from Midwest Academy. The mother of this victim testified here and stated that Ben told her there was nothing he could to keep her son safe – In fact, he tried to manipulate her into keeping her son there by alleging that her son would try to take advantage of her little sister. In an interview with FBI agent Thomas Pearson here, Ben Trane also stated he didn’t believe supervising these boys was his problem to prevent sexual abuses.
Q. So when is the next time that you met with the Defendant?
A. The next time we did an actual interview, I believe, was April 23rd at the Midwest Academy.
Q. So why are you back at the academy on April 23rd of 2015?
A. We’re back at the academy because we had an additional allegation made to the Department of Human Services in April.
Q. And was that in regards — Well, when you go back out to the academy, was Axxxxx involved in this again?
A. Yes. Axxxxx was one of eight male students involved in allegations of sexual acting out behaviors.
Q. After this report of sexual behavior, did you pull Axxxxx out and speak to him again?
A. Yes. Axxxxx was interviewed the second time on April 15th of 2015.
Q. So previous to April 23rd, you had spoken to Axxxxx?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. So based on those discussions, you’re back out to the academy on April 23rd; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Why?
A. Because we wanted to see the area where the supervision –the concern was for supervision of these children. The sexual abuse–the sexual acting out happened at night, and so the children had described where they were sleeping at and where they were at within the academy, so we wanted to see the location.
Q. And was it your understanding this was a particular family that this occurred in, the Pride Family?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. So when you go on April 23rd, were you given a tour of the facility?
A. Yes.
Q. Who gave you that tour?
A. Mr. Trane.
Q. Who were you with?
A. Leslie Boyer.
Q. And who else?
A. Just Leslie Boyer.
Q. It was just the two of you that day?
A. Yes.
Q. Did the Defendant say anything to you regarding his concern over what DHS was doing to his image?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. What did he say?
A. He expressed frustration with a former co-worker and that there was slander and there was negative information being provided to the community about Midwest Academy.
Q. He was upset about that?
A. Yes.
Q. Going back again to April 15th when you re-interviewed Dxxx, did you notify his parents again that he had been pulled out of the school?
A. Yes. We notify parents whenever an allegation is made, so his parents were notified.
Q. I want to go back to something real quick. You were there when Axxxxx was brought in the second time in regards to this sexual misconduct, or whatever it was, that was going on ; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Was Axxxxx different that time?
A. Yes.
Q. What was different between Axxxxx ’s behavior and demeanor as compared to when you spoke with him the first time in March?
A. He was more reserved. He wasn’t as talkative. He was quieter.
Q. What happened that day when he left the academy?
A. That was the day that we had brought in eight male students to interview them regarding the allegations.
Q. I mean in regard to what happened for him?
A. Oh, his parents were contacted, as all the parents were contacted, and they came to the office.
Q. And they themselves then took Dxxx with them?
A. They decided to remove him from Midwest Academy.
On her April visit, Richardson was told by Trane that there are no children that spend months in OSS. Ben admits that he has the final say on whether or not a child is admitted.
Q. All right. So April 23rd you speak with the Defendant. When is the next time you’re back out at the academy?
A. The next time we went back out was May 7, 2015.
Q. Why?
A. That was the visit that an FBI agent, Laura Pearson, accompanied us. She had never seen the academy.
Q. All right. So she wanted to see the academy?
A. Yes.
Q. Who gave you the tour that day?
A. Mr. Trane.
Q. Is he present in the courtroom, the person you’ve been calling Mr. Trane?
A. Yes.
Q. Where is he at?
A. He’s right there (indicating), over to my left sitting with his attorney.
Q. With the white shirt and gray suit?
A. Yes.
MS. TIMMINS: May the record reflect the witness has identified the Defendant.
THE COURT: It may.
Q. (By Ms. Timmins) How long did you spend at the academy that day?
A. We arrived around 10:00 in the morning, broke for a meal at 2:00, and went back and probably didn’t finish the day until around 5:00. It was a very long day.
Q. So you spent a lot of time with the Defendant that day?
A. Yes, we did. There was some times we spoke to other staff, and he wasn’t always right there, but most of the time he was.
Q. Did he say anything, the Defendant, did he say anything about the length of time that kids spend in OSS?
A. He said that no child spends months in OSS.
Q. Did you talk about who made the rules and policies of Midwest Academy?
A. Yes. Mr. Trane stated that he had worked at a former school, used some of those policies, and he developed Midwest Academy’s rules and policies.
Q. The Defendant said that he developed the rules and policies?
A. Yes.
Q. What about–did you talk about who at the academy decides what students stay there, what students leave there, what students are admitted there?
A. We did discuss that.
Q. And what did the Defendant say?
A. The Defendant said that there’s an intake process conducted by a person that’s not on site, and that that information is then provided to Midwest Academy, Mr. Trane, other persons. Ultimately, he would make the final say of whether the child was admitted.
Ben Trane claimed that there were no dietary problems and that the children eat 7,000 calories a day and most gain 30 pounds of muscle within the first 3 months. This doesn’t seem possible since even adult male athlete only need to consume 3,800 calories a day. It could harmful to force children to eat 7,000 calories a day. Both fortunately and unfortunately, it seems that the children were not being fed this many calories a day and Ben Trane was likely lying.
Q. Did you talk to the Defendant about the amount of food that the kids were allowed to eat there?
A. Yes. We had a tour of the cafeteria. That’s when we discussed that.
Q. Did you express concerns to him that they weren’t eating enough?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say to that?
A. He said that they were feeding them too much. They were feeding them over 7,000 calories a day. He also said that in the first three months boys put on 30 pounds of muscle.
Q. Based on what you had seen and what you learned through your investigation, was that reasonable?
A. I don’t know of anybody that eats 7,000 calories a day. I don’t think that’s a normal intake.
Q. And according to the Defendant, the boys were putting a lot of weight, muscle weight?
A. Yes.
Ben Trane told Richardson that he was 100% sure that both children had been helped by their time in OSS. He insisted that Bxxxx had been helped 100% by being in there for as long as he had. Remember that Bxxxx was the victim that the clinical director identified here as not being a good fit for Midwest Academy within the first week or two and who deteriorated so much that Michael Davis had to send a blast email to many people in the facility of his concerns about the student’s health. Bxxxx is the same victim in which Stephen Jansing references in his testimony here that he did not belong in Midwest Academy due to his mental issues. Bxxxx’s mother also testified here that she was told by Ben Trane eventually to get her son because he couldn’t be helped by Midwest Academy and who had to be hospitalized immediately after leaving due to malnutrition. Ben Trane also claimed he only knew about one boy – neither of victims – who lost weight during their time in OSS.
Q. What about Axxxxx and Bxxxxxx specifically? Did you talk to the Defendant about those two boys?
A. We did. We talked about those two boys and other children on our –that we had allegations against, yes.
Q. What did he say about Axxxxx and Bxxxxxx?
A. He said that they were helped 100 percent by OSS.
Q. Did he use that phrase, “100 percent”?
A. He said that it was a miracle from where they had started, from when they first came to when they left. Because they had both–by May 7th they both were gone from the academy. And that Bxxxxxx had been helped 100 percent by being in OSS, and that when he arrived Mr. Trane said his 3 year old had better skills than Bxxxxxx.
Q. And then followed up with, it was the OSS that helped Bxxxxxx improve supposedly?
A. That was how I took it.
Q. Did the Defendant say anything about kids losing weight there?
A. Yes. He stated that the only child that he knew of to lose weight was Lxxx and that they provided Lxxx with Ensure drinks.
Even though Ben Trane claimed that he didn’t know of the victims losing weight in OSS, Richardson was able to get their student records. Bxxxxx came to Midwest Academy in early September weighing 115 pounds. By November, he weighed 93 pounds. When he finally left Midwest Academy, he weighed 89 pounds. Axxxx weighed 123 pounds when he started at Midwest Academy at the end of May 2014. By December, he weighed 99 pounds.
Q. All right. You and Leslie Boyer received files on Dxxx and Bxxxxxx; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. What types of documents did you have in their files?
A. Every child’s file contained similar documents: an in take form, medical request forms, Out -of-School Suspension Assessment forms, and Out-of-School Suspension logs–OSS logs, and they also contained e -mail communication between staff members. They were very thick files.
Q. Did their files have charts of their weight at the academy?
A. Yes. Each child they would weigh them monthly. So there was usually one document, one page, in each child’s file that had the starting weight, you know, and how much they weighed every month.
MS. TIMMINS: May I approach, Your Honor.
THE COURT: You may.
Q. (By Ms. Timmins) I’m handing you what has been marked as State’s Exhibits 90 and 91. Could you tell us what Exhibit 90 is?
A. Exhibit 90 is the monthly weights for Axxxxx.
Q. And Exhibit 91, what is that?
A. This is the monthly weights for Bxxxxxx.
Q. And that came to you from the file that was provided to you by Midwest Academy?
A. Yes.
MS. TIMMINS: The State would offer State’s Exhibits 90 and 91. (State’s Exhibit Nos. 90 and 91 were offered in evidence.)
THE COURT: Ms. Schaefer, do you have any objection to Exhibits 90 or 91?
MS. SCHAEFER: No objection.
THE COURT: They will be admitted. (State’s Exhibit Nos. 90 and 91 were received in evidence.)
MS. TIMMINS: Permission to publish.
THE COURT: Go ahead.
Q. (By Ms. Timmins) Well, actually, I’m just going to have you read those instead of putting them up.
A. Okay.
Q. Let’s start with Axxxxx, Exhibit 90.
A. Okay.
Q. What weight did he start out at?
A. Axxxxx started out at 123 pounds on May 29th of 2014.
Q. Can you tell from that chart, did he start losing weight?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. Why don’t you just go through each month. So start at the beginning. You said he came in May?
A. He came in May and he weighed 123. Then in June he weighed 119.8. July he weighed 115. In August he weighed 107. In September he weighed 102.2. In October he weighed 103.6. In November he weighed 100 pounds. In December he weighed 99 pounds. In January of 2015 he was at 100 pounds. In February he as at 110.2. In March he was at 108, and April he was at 112.4.
Q. So with Axxxxx you saw a marked decrease, and then he put on a little bit of weight right there at the end; is that right?
A. Correct.
Q. Look at the next exhibit, which is State’s Exhibit– Is it 91?
A. Yes.
Q. And that’s Bxxxxxx’s sheet; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. When did it start?
A. Bxxxxxx’s chart started on September 4, 2014, at 115.2 pounds. On September 9th, he was 113.6. In October he was 102.2. In November he was 93.6. In December he was 95.6. In January he was 96. In February he was 92.2, and in March he was 89 pounds, and there’s a note that says he left on 3/31 of ’15.
Q. Bxxxxxx’s weight went down, and he never bounced back from that, did he?
A. That’s correct
Richardson received the OSS records for both boys. There were some OSS records missing but from the records she had, she was able to verify one victim spent a minimum of 133 days in OSS or at least 63% of his time at Midwest Academy and the other child had spent a minimum of 163 days in OSS or about 50% of his stay at Midwest Academy. Since there were some missing OSS records, it’s entirely possible that it could have been more.
Q. You said in the records that you also had received the OSS records for Dxxx and Bxxxxxx?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you go through all of those, you and Leslie Boyer?
A. Yes. We went through all seven children’s entire records.
Q. And we’re just talkin g about Dxxx’s and Bxxxxxx’s. For the most part were those complete?
A. They had some missing OSS logs. And the logs were –when they’re in OSS, every fifteen minutes is documented. So there was some missing but fairly complete.
Q. And it covered basic ally the day that they arrived there to the day that they left?
A. Correct. The Out-of-School Suspension form tells why they were put in OSS, and then the logs just go through their behaviors in OSS; if they’re sitting in structure; if they stopped sitti ng in structure, or break structure; their behaviors, what they do.
Q. Did you and Leslie Boyer put together a formula in order to calculate the amount of time that both of those children spent in OSS?
A. Yes, we did.
Q. And did you go through and calculate that time for both boys?
A. Yes, that was calculated.
Q. All right. Let’s talk about Bxxxxxx. How many days was he at Midwest Academy?
A. Bxxxxxx was there for 210 days.
Q. And I think you said earlier it was September 3, 2014, through March 31, 2015?
A. Yes. That was the time period he was at Midwest Academy.
Q. And how many of those days did he spend in the OSS room?
A. He spent 133 minimum, and then there was logs missing, so we could only validate 133 days.
Q. Did you figure out wh at percentage of his time that he spent in the OSS room?
A. Well, based on what we knew for certain, it would be 63 percent amount of the time.
Q. In OSS?
A. In OSS, yes, while he was at Midwest Academy.
Q. How about Dxxx? What dates was he there?
A. Dxxx came on May 28, 2014, and then he left April 15, 2015, so he was there for 323 days.
Q. How many of those days were spent in the OSS room?
A. He had some missing logs, too, but a minimum of 163.
Q. Which came up to what type of percentage?
A. 50 percent of the time spent in OSS while at Midwest Academy.
Q. Now, you said Dxxx left on April 15, 2015. Isn’t that the same day that you interviewed him and pulled him out that second time?
A. Yes.
Even though Ben Trane advertise the school as a therapeutic boarding school, he felt only 50% of the children needed therapy. Richardson was concerned about this.
Q. Did you have discussions with the Defendant about the therapy that the kids were or were not receiving?
A. Yes. We discussed therapy, different types of therapy used.
Q. What did he say about that?
A. He said only about 50 percent of the children at the academy need therapy.
Q. Did you express concerns to him that these kids did need some therapy?
A. Yes. And it’s called a therapeutic boarding school.
After the sexual abuse allegation, Richardson knew from her coworker that Ben Trane was not supposed to be around the female students. Richardson was doing some shopping at Coral Ridge Mall – which is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes away from Midwest Academy and further away from Keokuk than Quincy Mall – the mall that Ben Trane used to take girls Victoria’s Secret shopping. While she was shopping in Victoria’s Secret at Coral Ridge Mall, she spotted Ben Trane in the store with what looked like multiple students. There did not appear to be any other adults accompanying them. It seems like Ben Trane went to a store that was further away because it was a larger Victoria’s Secret to take his students shopping at or because he was hoping to avoid anyone catching him there since he knew he was under investigation for a sexual allegation. Pictures dated on December 22nd of Victoria’s Secret purchases were found on Ben’s phone and submitted to evidence to confirm Richardson’s account. You can read about it here.
Q. Was there a point in time that you were made aware that a complaint was made regarding sexual abuse at the academy?
A. Yes.
Q. When was that?
A. That was December 1st of 2015.
Q. And your colleague, Beth Webster, had testified about that she was the investigating DHS worker on that particular case; correct?
A. Yes. She was assigned to that report.
Q. You were aware of the situation
though?
A. Yes, when it was received.
Q. After that complaint came in on December 1st, was there a time that you saw the Defendant out in the community?
A. Yes.
Q. When was that?
A. I saw him on December 22nd.
Q. And where did you see him at?
A. I saw him at Victoria’s Secret in the Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville, Iowa.
Q. And who was he with?
A. He was with a number of fem ales. I believed them to be students of the academy.
Q. How did you come across — Tell us how this all came about? What were you doing?
A. Well, it was the Tuesday before Christmas, and one of my friends asked me if I would take the day off work and go shopping, last minute Christmas shopping. So I said yes, and we went to the Coral Ridge Mall. And we arrived there close to lunchtime, and that was one of the first stores I went into at the mall. And I was looking around, and I heard Mr. Trane’s voice. That’s how I first knew he was in there.
Q. You heard his voice in the store?
A. Yes.
Q. And you’ve spoken with him many times prior to this?
A. Yes, I have.
Q. So what did you do?
A. I stayed in the store, and I watched to see if there was stu dents there or what he was doing. And I saw females that I believed to be from the academy. I texted my co-workers, Beth Webster and Leslie Boyer, that I was at Victoria’s Secret and Ben Trane was in the store with females. I watched him direct the youn g women to the cash register to pay and leave.
Q. Did it appear that there was any other adult with him?
A. I didn’t recognize any. I didn’t see any other adult with them, and I do know other staff members. I didn’t see anybody that I recognized.
Q. Why did this stand out to you? What did this matter?
A. Well, it stood out because of Beth Webster’s assessment. And I know that Mr. Trane had stated he wouldn’t put himself in a position where he would be alone with female students because of the allegations. So that’s why it stood out.
Q. And how far is the Coral Ridge Mall from–that’s in Coralville?
A. It’s in Coralville.
Q. How far is that from here, from this community?
A. It takes about an hour and a half to an hour and forty-five minutes po sibly to get there from Keokuk.
Q. Is it farther away than the Quincy Mall?
A. Oh, yes.
Q. Would you say that more people from this area shop at the Quincy Mall as compared to going to Coralville?
A. I don’t know. I mean, I go to both malls.
Q. So you notified Beth Webster of what you saw?
A. Yes, I did.
The school was unlicensed and therefore unregulated. The only way that DHS could inspect was when a report was filed.
Q. When you were doing these investigations, because the Midwest Academy was a private boarding school, were you aware if there was any State regulation of the boarding school?
A. No.
Q. Is that because it was a private school?
A. Yes.
Q. Could you as DHS just go out there any time and do what you wanted there?
A. No.
Q. What’s the only way that you were able to go out to the academy?
A. The only way we would go out to the academy is if we rec eived an allegation of abuse on a student that was at the academy, or if another state requested that we interview a student at the academy.
Q. So basically if you received a tip on the hotline that something was going on, then you could go out with court approval and things to talk to kids; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. During this investigation that started in March, did you at some point and some of your co -workers make suggestions to the Defendant about, you know, here is what facilities who are licensed and who are regulated, here’s what they have to follow? Did you suggest that maybe Midwest Academy should be doing that?
A. We did speak to him about the licensing process. We did provide him with an Iowa Code for Children’s Centers, which we believe tha t Midwest Academy fell into because they had more than seven children there. It’s just like a guideline.
Q. But the bottom line is because they chose not to be licensed and they are private, there really was nobody that could tell them that you can’t do this, or that could walk in and regulate what was going on?
A. There’s no agency in Iowa that had many authority to go into the academy and regulate their policies.
Pictures of the victim were submitted to evidence showing bruises of the child. The boy didn’t know how he got the bruises but he was restrained and taken to OSS. A picture of the child wearing older used uniforms was also submitted to evidence – the reason for this is because parents paid a uniform fee during admission but it appeared that Ben was just giving children recycled clothing.
Q. State’s Exhibit 78. Why did you take this photograph?
A. Well, there are a couple reasons we took photographs of both kids, but also he’s got the injury on the right side of his face, a bruise.
Q. State’s Exhibit 79. What do we see there?
A. That’s Bxxxxxx. It’s a side view of his injury.
Q. When you say injury, you’re talking about what appears to be a bruise on his face that’s a round red circle?
A. Yes.
Q. State’s Exhibit 80. What w ere you taking pictures of there?
A. Marks on his hands –on his arms, excuse me.
Q. State’s Exhibit 81?
A. Again, trying to photograph the injuries to the arms.
Q. Did he also have some scabbing that was on his wrists as well?
A. Yes.
Q. State’s Exhibit 82. What is that a picture of?
A. That is a picture of a shirt of Bxxxxxx’s that he received from Midwest
Academy.
Q. And why did you take a picture of that?
A. The different children that have had this shirt before. It looks like it has been passed down.
Q. Did that matter to you, or it was just to take a picture?
A. Well, we knew that the parents purchased the clothing when they arrive at Midwest Academy so —
Q. They purchased the uniforms?
A. They have a fee for the clothing. And it appear t hat they’re just — They’re recycled is what I was documenting.
Q. And with regard to the bruises or the marks that you claim were injuries on Mr. xxxx, could those also be the result of self-harm?
A. In regards to the injury on his face, he didn’t know how that happened. He didn’t know he had the mark. The injuries on his arms, he talked about being restrained and taken to the OSS.
Q. And as far as you knew, kids were restrained when their behavior was physically aggressive toward either staff or other students?
A. That’s my understanding.
Q. Now, you indicated that when you were reviewing the records for OSS for Mr. xxxx and Mr. xxxxxx, that there were some missing for both of them?
A. Yes.
