KANSAS CITY (MO)
KSHB - NBC 41 [Kansas City MO]
June 26, 2024
By Megan Abundis , David Medina
A man who attended the now shutdown Agape Boarding School alleges he was physically abused, deprived of food, among other allegations in a lawsuit.
The man, identified as M.B.2, filed the lawsuit against the school and several former staff members in United States District Court of Western Missouri, Southern Division.
Named in the lawsuit are Julio Sandoval, a former dean of the school; Seth Duncan, a former staff member; Tyler Hartman, a former staff member; Elijah Reeves, a former staff member; and Brian Clemenson, another former staff member.
Allegations against former staff
M.B.2 said the school had a system where students worked their way up in rankings.
The students were differentiated by the color of shirts they wore, according to the lawsuit.
The lowest rank of students were those who wore brown shirts, and they were referred to as “brown town” students.
M.B.2 said students were sent to “brown town” as a punishment.
M.B.2 alleges that he was “he was subjected to extreme cruelty that included being placed on the wall for days on end for speaking or other minor infractions.”
He also said staff would force students to work out until they vomited all the while depriving them of food and water.
On one occasion, after M.B.2 threw up, Hartman and Duncan allegedly grabbed him and threw him to the ground.
The lawsuit listed dozens of examples of abuse he and other students endured during their time at Agape.
READ | Full lawsuit filed against former Agape staff
M.B.2 accuses the defendants of negligence, negligent hiring, supervision, retention, and failure to warn and negligent failure to supervise children, among other things.