Sending a child off to boarding school is a huge decision for parents. Trusting strangers with not only educating their kid, but also ensuring their well-being and safety around the clock and away from their families, is no easy feat. Unfortunately for families who sent their children to a private boarding school in Missouri, run by ABM Ministries, their worst nightmares have come true.
Larry Musgraves Jr., 57, and Carmen Musgraves, 64, owners of Lighthouse Christian Academy boarding school for boys, are now facing felony kidnapping charges following an investigation by Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch. The school claims to help boys dealing with learning disabilities and other disorders, “at-risk youth,” “troubled teens,” and more. But allegations of abuse have come to light after a long investigation.
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Larry and Carmen Musgraves have been charged with first-degree kidnapping.
Both Larry and Carmen Musgraves have been charged with first-degree kidnapping, the Associated Press reported. They are currently jailed without bond. According to a news release, the sheriff’s department “anticipates more charges as the investigation continues, with more alleged victims coming forward.”
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There have been five runaways from the school since January.
Since early January, Finch’s office has fielded five runaway reports from the school. One such incident involved two boys who asked a nearby resident to call 911. The five runaway boys have since been returned to their homes, per the Kansas City Star.
A former student alleges she was ‘held against her will’ at the school.
Several months before the arrests, a former ABM Ministries student living in Alabama contacted Finch about an alleged incident when Lighthouse Christian Academy was still co-ed, the AP reported.
According to a probable cause statement, the student told Finch she was locked in a small room and "held against her will” on her 18th birthday. It isn’t clear how long she was allegedly kept here.
It's not the first time the school has faced legal woes.
In 2009, a federal lawsuit accused a former ABM principal of sex acts with a female student. Allegedly, the Musgraveses did not take adequate action to protect the student. ABM Ministries and the Musgraveses ended up paying $750,000, while the principal paid $100,000, per court records.
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Former students have spoken out.
“I'm glad that he took us seriously," Juliana Davis, 34, who alleges abuse when she attended the school in 2006 and 2007. "There's a whole group of us that have been trying for decades, speaking out about what happened to us and what we saw.”
Aralysa Baker, 31, is another former student. She alleges her head was held underwater and that she was put into a chokehold when she attended ABM Ministries from 2005 to 2007. “I never thought in a million years that charges would ever be brought," she said. “We just wanted the school shut down and the kids sent home.”
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
