See Video Here: http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_6099.shtml
Police: Youth Home Worker Shows Troubled Teens Pornography Of Himself
By Ladd Egan(KUTV) An employee at a southern Utah youth home for troubled teens has been arrested on charges that he showed boys at the school pornographic videos and pictures of himself.
Prosecutors Wednesday charged Donald M. Brown, Jr, 48, of St. George with ten counts of dealing in harmful material to a minor, a third degree felony.
Brown worked as a youth supervisor at the Youth Foundation Success Academy in LaVerkin.
“There were multiple kids involved as well as multiple offenses,” said LaVerkin Police Chief Lloyd Watkins. “It was a personal cell phone that he had that he’d bring in to work that he had images and videos on that he would show the kids.”
Police detectives write in court documents that six boys at the youth home confirmed seeing between 15 and 50 pornographic videos and images on Brown’s cell phone.
“They described that they were shown videos of Don having sex with his wife and another woman,” a detective wrote in the probable cause statement used in Brown’s arrest. “They were each very descriptive in the images they saw as well as days, and locations.”
Brown’s wife is also an employee at the school, according to police, and confirmed with the detectives that she was involved in the sexual acts the boys described and that she knew her husband was filming the threesomes.
When questioned, detectives say Brown initially denied showing the boys any illicit images but that he did “talk to the boys in great detail about his sex life,” according to the arrest narrative report filed in court documents.
Later in questioning, detectives write that “Donald then admitted that they had seen pornography on his phone ‘several times,’ but that every time was an accident. He then stated that he had ‘A LOT of accidents.’”
Chief Watkins says officers seized Brown’s cell phone and will further analyze the videos and images contained inside once they receive a search warrant. He says detectives are also trying to figure out if Brown had a motive for allegedly showing the boys the images.
“At this point we don’t believe there was any physical contact or anything like that,” Chief Watkins said. “The person that’s supposed to take care of the kids is the one that’s actually abusing them in this manner.”
LaVerkin’s police chief and an employee at the front desk of the school both said Brown was fired from the school Tuesday, the day of his arrest.
“The school does a good job,” Chief Watkins said. “They screen their employees the best they can but like any other business, you’re going to have your employees that go sideways on you.”
Brown had an initial arrangement Wednesday afternoon and is still being held on a bail set at $50,000.
(Copyright 2013 Sinclair Broadcasting Group)
November 13th 2013
Prosecutors Wednesday charged Donald M. Brown, Jr, 48, of St. George with ten counts of dealing in harmful material to a minor, a third degree felony.
Brown worked as a youth supervisor at the Youth Foundation Success Academy in LaVerkin.
“There were multiple kids involved as well as multiple offenses,” said LaVerkin Police Chief Lloyd Watkins. “It was a personal cell phone that he had that he’d bring in to work that he had images and videos on that he would show the kids.”
Police detectives write in court documents that six boys at the youth home confirmed seeing between 15 and 50 pornographic videos and images on Brown’s cell phone.
“They described that they were shown videos of Don having sex with his wife and another woman,” a detective wrote in the probable cause statement used in Brown’s arrest. “They were each very descriptive in the images they saw as well as days, and locations.”
Brown’s wife is also an employee at the school, according to police, and confirmed with the detectives that she was involved in the sexual acts the boys described and that she knew her husband was filming the threesomes.
When questioned, detectives say Brown initially denied showing the boys any illicit images but that he did “talk to the boys in great detail about his sex life,” according to the arrest narrative report filed in court documents.
Later in questioning, detectives write that “Donald then admitted that they had seen pornography on his phone ‘several times,’ but that every time was an accident. He then stated that he had ‘A LOT of accidents.’”
Chief Watkins says officers seized Brown’s cell phone and will further analyze the videos and images contained inside once they receive a search warrant. He says detectives are also trying to figure out if Brown had a motive for allegedly showing the boys the images.
“At this point we don’t believe there was any physical contact or anything like that,” Chief Watkins said. “The person that’s supposed to take care of the kids is the one that’s actually abusing them in this manner.”
LaVerkin’s police chief and an employee at the front desk of the school both said Brown was fired from the school Tuesday, the day of his arrest.
“The school does a good job,” Chief Watkins said. “They screen their employees the best they can but like any other business, you’re going to have your employees that go sideways on you.”
Brown had an initial arrangement Wednesday afternoon and is still being held on a bail set at $50,000.
(Copyright 2013 Sinclair Broadcasting Group)
November 13th 2013
School staffer sentenced for sharing self-made porn with students
Read more HERE
The Spectrum reports:
Donald Brown Jr, former Youth Foundation staffer, has been sentenced to 120 days in jail.
Brown pleaded guilty to 5 counts of offering harmful material to a minor.
It is my understanding that Mickey (Michele) Manning is the President of the Board of Youth Foundations in Utah also DBA as Riverview Utah. I see she is also working at Clearview Horizon. I know she was the Principal of Spring Creek Lodge with the notorious Pullan brothers. I hear Chaffin is running things with Mickey at Youth Foundations. Is Clearview Horizon affiliated with WWASPS? I wonder what Mickey brought from WWASPS’ Spring Creek Lodge to Clearview. Who has information on Clearview’s track record, policies, etc? Any survivors of Clearview? Any comments about them or Mickey? Does Clearview have a financial relationship with Youth Foundation or WWASPS since Mickey is clearly involved in both. Is she the missing link?
http://www.clearviewhorizon.com/about/staff/
Director
I love my work, and I am quite passionate about assisting teens to deal with emotional struggles and working with their parents to help them rebuild family relationships.
Masters in Clinical Therapy from Bellevue University, Nebraska
MA in Educational Administration
School Administrator Credentials both in California and Montana
Teaching Credentials both in California and Montana
BA in Psychology with an emphasis in the field of Autism
Worked as teacher and principal for public, private, and Christian schools over 30 years
Assistant director of curriculum for a school district and a state trainer for teachers
Administrator for three emotional growth programs in Montana
Directed the state accreditation process for several schools in CA and MT
Directed the organization of three school libraries according to current national standards.
Served as a trained facilitator for parents, students, and family workshops
Served for three years on a Governor’s appointed board that created Montana’s regulations for private programs serving at-risk adolescents.
She’s also featured on the PBS Who’s Watching the kids.
watch.montanapbs.org/video/1430387622/
Hi Mike,
my niece has been admitted to Clearview Horizons. Do you have any more information? Would you be willing to speak to me over the phone with any info about Clearview? I’m trying to dig up some dirt, but it appears they cover their tracks pretty well. Thanks
I was released from clearview almost two years ago. If there is anything that I can help with please let me know.
Just to let you guys know, Mickey Manning has moved yet again and started a new program. The new name is Reflections Academy and it is located in Thompson Falls, MT. It is one hour away the old program she used to facilitate called Clearview Horizon in Heron, MT.
http://reflections.academy/staff/
Here is a letter written to parents from Chafin Pullan just this week. YFI is imploding. This letter was copied and pasted from it’s original Word .docx format.
Dear Youth Foundation Parents:
I have just received a copy of the “confidential” email sent to you by Lisa Ervin, Stephen and/or other marketers, I felt it was important I response to this email. This is not a confidential email and if you wish to share it with Lisa, Stephen, other Marketers or Optimum Billing please do so. I have no wish to slander or impugned anyone merely to set the record straight. First for those parents who do not understand about non-profit organizations, there is no owner. The organization is run by the Board of Directors. I, Chaffin Pullan, have no ownership position and am an employee of the organization and may be fired only by the board. All actions I am taking are done with the complete agreement of the board and the schools attorney. I as an individual cannot make policy decisions, only the Board of Directors.
The problem has risen with the creation of a non-profit Youth Foundation last year. Youth Foundation was created to open up marketing avenues for non-profits, create greater transparency in the operations, and to create a more cost effective organization. The board for the Non-Profit has asked several times over several months that Optimum Billing specifically direct and return all funds to Youth Foundation. Currently Optimum Billing has no contracts with Youth Foundations nor do the various organizations owned or supported by Bob Litchfield, and Optimum Billing is not authorized to disburse any funds that are collected on behalf of Youth Foundations; yet, Optimum Billing persists in doing so. Youth Foundations has made it clear to Optimum Billing via several letters, attorneys and conversations with Optimum Billing, that they are not authorized to disburse funds to organizations which have no current contracts with Youth Foundations. Again we have asked and these have not been provided and negotiation with Optimum Billing to has not been undertaken and in fact has been the opposite of the Board of Directors, and Attorney’s request . In consultation with the attorney for the non-profit, the board asked Optimum billing that all bills much have board approval before payment and a detail report be issued for all monies received. These requests were not complied with by Optimum Billing. Monies were paid without board approval. Again as advised by the attorney and agreed to by the board, it was decided to bring all billing and collections in-house to get a firm handle on all revenue and expenses and to reduce cost by eliminating the fees taken to Optimum Billing.
In regards to the questions in the latest email I would like to address each question separately.
1) I spoke to Karr after reading the email via speaker phone with several family reps and staff present. He has stated to me that he has not interest in “taking over Youth Foundations.” I will be glad to provide more information.
2) Was a staff showing porn to students?
Yes, we had a male staff member showing inappropriate photos of his wife to two male students and videos to a third. Once this was reported to Chaffin, an in-house investigation was complete to get the facts. Upon completion of the investigation, the police were notified, the staff was fired and turned over to the police, proper notification to our licensing agency was made, the parents of the teen involved were notified and corrective action taken. Additionally Child Protective Services did their own investigation and interview all teens found the school was safe and had followed all procedures necessary
3) Did a student fall and sustain injuries on a “loosely” supervised hike?
Yes a level 6 student was on an upper level activity with a staff(Eagle scout) and therapist. The student ratio was 1:5. This is not loosely supervised. The student did fall on a rocky slope as he left main trail and did sustain an ankle injury. The student was taken to the doctor; statement of facts were obtained from staff and all students. Notification to our licensing agency was made as required. The student completed the program and graduated and is doing well at home. See exhibit A below.
4) Was a staff member injured by an assault from students?
Yes and No. Yes a staff was injured when one student – not students – hit the staff member. The student was acting up and the shift leader joined the family staff to work with the student. The student took a swing at the staff and hit him in the nose. The staff was taken to the doctor for care, the police were called as required by our operating procedures and the parents notified. The student was taken from the school by police and later from their care he was sent home and zero tolerance from the school.
5) Was there an incident of sexual relations between minor students at the school?
Not sure how to answer this one. “What’s particularly important for Youth Foundation is presenting school structures, safety, security educational opportunities in ways boys and girls learn how to interact when it is appropriate.” Our school has the boys and girls on separation during 95 plus of the daily schedule and during seminars, workshops, communities, sporting events and activities there is boy interaction. This is a privilege and any note passing, kissing, holding hands or acting out sexually has immediate consequence and loss of levels. Today we even have same sex attraction, which can complicate things for the school to monitor even more, two students of the same sex are in a bedroom, they have more opportunity. This is why the school has a third rule policies, asking all students and staff to have three people with them. The students would confirm this rule if you ask. For example if any student ask to talk to me. You would see a bunch of hands going up, asking if they could be the third.
More than half of all TV shows today include sexual content, with the average TV program featuring five or more sexual references per hour, according to a recent study by KFF. Only 9 percent of these widely watched shows ever mention responsible behavior, such as abstinence or using contraception.
The Internet is also swarming with sex. In a recent survey of fifteen hundred kids by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in Alexandria, Virginia, one quarter reported having accidentally stumbled upon pornography while Web surfing or opening e-mails.
Center for Health Statistics, one third of girls have had sex (compared with less than 5 percent in 1970), as have 45 percent of boys (up from 20 percent in 1972).
But even those kids who remain virgins aren’t necessarily innocent. In a recent survey by Seventeen magazine, 55 percent of teens, aged thirteen to nineteen, admitted to engaging in oral sex. Half of them felt it wasn’t as big a deal as intercourse. This is a view I can tell parents I often hear from students in the program, along with smoking weed, cheating and swearing.
Now, Optimum has given you a loaded question to ask, yes inappropriate relationships have happened, note passing on computers is our biggest challenge. Kissing and Petting between a boy and girl has happened, this is rare and usually happens with students who take advantage of working in kitchen or activities or sports. Sexual relations, is an event that is even more rare. With same sex attraction oral sex has come up on the facility in the past. We again handle this quickly with appropriate consequence and let families know.
6) Has YF lost several key staff and administrators over the past several months?
Yes and No. Jade Robinson left within the last month due to the stress he was experiencing due to the Optimum billing drama. Jade still supports the school and volunteers his time. I have known Jade and Cassie for 18 years. Jade gave his shares in Horizon Academy which he owned freely, without pay from anyone to help create the foundation. The same form of attacks the parents and staff have received today and in the last month, began for Jade and myself several months earlier. This burden was coming into Jades and my home the same as it has in your life. Tonight I spend time responding to an email delivered to create chaos and shaken the parents support and even asked the parents to pull their students. The people sending this letter our part of the same group and get paid by Optimum Billing. They were asked by Bob Lichfield to send this letter. Jade will be at our meeting this weekend as well and I will report what he says to the parents after the meeting. The only other staff we have lost over the last several months was a FR this week. This was due partly numbers and partly due to an opportunity.
7) Each August we lose a number of students.
This is typical and expected. Last year the school numbers dropped the same. Optimum knows this, it took 6 months to get its numbers back up. Riverview camp which had 42 completed August 9. There were 42 students in Riverview and while some stayed most left. We staff up for Riverview and those people knew it was short term employment. Additionally each August we graduate our largest number of kids over any other time. Many parents are holding their teen in the program during the summer waiting to bring them home just before school starts. We do have parents that pull in August against school recommendation because they “hope” the teen will make it at home. Our experience is this is not a good decision but we assist them in whatever ways we can.
8) Is there strong possibility YF will close?
Our intention is to continue to grow YF. We are seeking new marketing opportunities while adding new opportunities in the program for the teens. However, the Optimum Billing drama is hurting us. It has created mistrust among the parents due to all the negative letters Optimum has sent through their agents. We are working hard to resolve these issues so we have control over our funds. It is critical you sign the addendum to your contract now and make your payment to us on time.
Incidents of these types happen in all facilities. We continue to work with CPS, state licensing and Board of Health to maintain our license and improve our service. These incidents range over 10-11 months with over 120 teens within the facility. We provide safety and a healthy environment for your children. I and the staff are parents and know the trust you place in the facility. We will continue to seek ways to improve ourselves as we continue to work with your family.
I hope this answers some of your questions. Again I am planning on having a parent meeting during the Parent-Child Seminar this weekend. I will provide you and update once we have had the meeting since I am sure many of the questions you may have will be asked by parents this weekend.
Youth Foundation Inc/Success Academy is CLOSING this weekend. They are moving the kids to an abandoned Diamond Ranch Academy building in Hurricane this coming week if they can find investors. Chaffin Pullin is the new “director” because, when the cash quit flowing from Lichfield’s Optimum Billing Services, Jade Robinson bailed. They will change the name (in true WWASPS fashion) and reinvent themselves.
The parents were made to sign an addendum to their contract promising to pay the new entity.
I graduated the Riverview summer program last month, and all I can say about these kinds of facilities is that they are the worst place that a child could ever imagine being. Clearly made evident by the comments made by Connie (her lack of knowledge of syntax, punctuation, incorrect use of words, etc.), the staff (including the director, Chaffin Pullan, whose letter full of errors [meant to be a professional, sent out to every single client of their company] is shown above in Connie’s first comment) was nothing less than unqualified. They were uneducated, at best, and ignorant of any kind of decent treatment of human beings. Youth Foundations is a private prison for teenagers. As some of you may know, private prisons have very little regulation. Because they are not funded by tax dollars, fewer laws apply to them. While I was in the program, we ate three very small meals a day. Not only were these meals not nearly enough to keep us full, but they also lacked any kind of nutritional value. We ate only carbs and fat and very small amounts of meat and VERY LITTLE vegetable selection. I lost ten pounds while here and I had hunger pains every day. My skin and hair became very oily because of the high fat intake. Most staff was insensitive, to say the least. I once saw a staff threaten to beat up a student in front of about 20 other people– none of whom reported anything (out of what I’m assuming is fear of punishment if no one believed them). The summer program was given physical punishments, burpees (military push ups), for standard rule breaking. I often saw very unfair distribution of burpees, and unwarranted distribution of burpees (mainly to– what I’m assuming was to– maintain the power over the students). A room full of approximately 50 students heard a testimony of about 5 people against one student raping another, and other students being involved in watching out for staff (to avoid being caught). The student who raped (who also had continually verbally sexually harrassed many of the girls) the other boy was only given the punishment of being sent to “the other side”– the program that doesn’t do hikes/ “fun” activities. There was no evidence of the victim’s parents being notified. Not only was the treatment of the students by staff and other students absolutely deplorable, but the facility was also filthy. I arrived at the camp in a musty smelling building (that may have mold or asbestos– it’s a fairly old building), and shortly after wa shown to my room which had a pretty filthy shower. The dorm rooms and halls had stains all over them. The students rarely washed their hands– most of them were filthy. I once saw a student who was serving lunch stick her finger in her nose, eat what she had on her finger, and continue serving without even flinching. The lunch room employees were not the only bad thing about the lunch room, but the lunch room also had a rotten egg stench (probably from a gas leak in the stove) and bathrooms which realeased a very pungent odor of waste (this bathroom was right next to the kitche, they actually share a wall). I had heard very legitimate tesimonies of the physical abuse of students. The ex-board member, Jade, had been asked to leave because of embezzlement of funds meant to be for the students (for activities, food, etc.). Toward the end of my stay, we began to be followed (on all of our activities that were away from the facility) by someone who we were told was the owner of the facility (that the facility was only rented from this man by Youth Foundations), but I don’t know if this was true. Our parents were never notified of the stalker. The therapists had no more qualification to diagnose any kind of disorders than did our parents. They threw around disorders to convince our parents that we needed to stay there longer. They gave ridiculous rules “just because” (to maintain the illusion of authority/ order). Many students witnessed Chaffin Pullan calling many of the girls “sluts” and similar names. The staff frequently manipulateed our parents into thinking that we were doing “fun” activities to help build character, but most of the time, we only watched movies near our dorms. The staff promised unreasonable things to our parents that NEVER happened. This place is disorganized, suspicious, and immoral.
Anonymous, Sorry to hear about your and other survivors’ experience with Chaffin Pullan and Riverview. Very serious allegations indeed! Your Allegations include Chaffin Pullan calling various female students in the program “sluts” and similar inappropriate and degrading things, sexual abuse of a student by another student i.e. Rape, (Cover up of the said sexual abuse?), poor food, hygiene and etc. Please email teenwatchgroup@yahoo.com and I can assist you in making appropriate complaints to the authorities. These are very serious allegations and if true, I imagine the State of Utah would have a duty to investigate. I will look forward to your response. These kind of allegations of abuse should be reported!