DECLARATION UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY
PURSUANT TO 28 USCA 1746
I, Brett H. declare and state as follows:
Name of Program:
Agape Boarding School
Location of Program:
Stockton, MO
Period of Internment (MM/YY to MM/YY)
1999-2003
Declarative Statement
I was brought by transport agents to Agape in 1999. First I was brought before Mr. Clemenson, the owner of the place. I had been given some false info that this was a “fun boarding school” with “both boys and girls” and I guess I needed a rude awakening. I can’t remember what I said but I was rebuked harshly, swatted, and then pushed out of the room by “Brother” Vanderkoy. I was brought to a small clothing store room where I was strip searched, by him, placed in jeans far too tight for me, an orange shirt, and brought to meet my “buddy”; a person who would teach me the rules and give me push-ups, sit-ups, or leg-lifts if I disobeyed. Occasionally, if my “buddy” didn’t keep a good enough eye on me or punish me enough Vanderkoy, the head of boot camp and the school Dean, would punish him too.
Lots of kids got the paddle, but I flew mostly under the radar. I did get kicked int he ribs, have them stand on my back or put pressure on my low back while I was doing push-ups. I was thrown into some walls pretty hard by staff (pushed/smacked) a few times. I saw other kids get body slammed for mouthing off.
Agape had us out in the hot Missouri fields working our asses off once a morning for an hour sometimes longer and every weekend sometimes 6-8 hours. We would clear rocks, logs, debris from fields, lay foundations, pour concrete, build their staff houses and new facilities for the school. They never hired out. They just had us do all the work with the help of a few staff. When a tornado wrecked the place in 2002 we rebuild it ourselves and helped clear debris in the neighboring town.
We were constantly told we didn’t have any rights. We weren’t allowed to talk to each other without staff or even talk to ourselves. No singing to ourselves. No singing or playing anything on the guitar that wasn’t in the hymn book. No making up music or songs. No playing games with other students unless a staff had time to watch. We were cut off from the outside world. Unable to call friends or write. All of our letters and phone calls were read so if we tried to tell our parents anything negative we would be in a world of trouble. We were only allowed a phone call from our parents twice a month and from our grand parents once a month. That short phone call was also monitored.
I graduated in 2003 with extra credits a year early because I wasn’t about to stay there after I turned 18. I still have night terrors to this day. Take medication to lower my blood pressure and help me go into a deeper sleep. The night terrors are relentless and cruel and leave me in a bad mood all day sometimes. They feel real, as if I’m trapped in that horrible place once again.
I have PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Abandonment and trust issues. I go to counseling and have for years but every day is a struggle. Whats more I have had sciatica for 14 years. The physical abuse there fissured a disc in my L5 region. I just had a laminectomy discectomy, a procedure where they saw away part of the spine to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve. My spine specialists and neurosurgeons agree this is from child abuse; most likely from bending, lifting, twisting, and pressure applied on my low back while doing push-ups. While at the school I complained about my back and depression and showed signs of anxiety and PTSD but they didn’t listen.
That school had horrible medical care! They had one guy who wasn’t even a doctor and doubted you when you said something was wrong. I remember a kid having a broken collar bone once and they thought he was lying and left him on the floor screaming for 45 minutes before finally taking him to the doctor. I also remember slicing my finger open on a grill scraper and filling a kitchen sing with blood and they still debated whether to take me in or not. They were always paranoid we’d run or say they did it to us.
Agape Boarding School still haunts me. That is why I started a Facebook page an group called Spare The Rod. I’m writing a book. I’m gathering testimonies from others. I have written and talked to the representatives of MO in elected government with very little progress. Agape was shutdown in Washington and California before moving to Missouri where child abuse is apparently not only legal but protected. I hope this changes soon!
Sincerely,
Brett H.
I give WWASPSurvivors permission to use this statement. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on(date: MM/DD/YY):
10/17/2019
