PIEDMONT (MO)
Ministry Watch [Matthews NC]
November 4, 2024
By Kim Roberts
Craig Smith was principal at Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont
The principal of a now-closed Missouri boarding school that has been the subject of abuse allegations has been charged with sex crimes involving a former student.
Craig Wesley Smith Jr., who was the principal of Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont, was charged with forcible sodomy and attempted forcible rape, according to ABC News.
According to allegations in the probable cause statement, Smith told the girl he would kill her and “make it look like she committed suicide” if she told anyone about the abuse.
A 2009 federal lawsuit also accused Smith of sex acts with an unnamed female student, but it isn’t clear if that alleged victim is the same one involved in the present criminal case. ABM Ministries, which operated Lighthouse Christian Academy and its owners, Larry and Carmen Musgraves, agreed to pay $750,000 in a settlement, and Smith agreed to pay $100,000, court documents revealed.
In March 2024, the Musgraves were arrested on first-degree kidnapping and abuse charges. However, on October 15, a Wayne County judge dismissed the charges. Prosecuting Attorney Ginger Koller Joyner declined comment, ABC reported.
Caleb Sandoval, son of the school’s director Julio Sandoval, was also charged with abuse of a child for injuring a 15-year-old boy while boxing. In July, he pleaded guilty and was given five years of probation.
ABM Ministries closed Lighthouse Christian Academy in March after the Musgraves’ arrests and the Missouri Department of Social Services began investigating whether the boarding school effectively addressed calls to an abuse hotline about the facility in the past.
Lighthouse is not the only Missouri boarding school to close its doors in recent years.
Circle of Hope in Humansville shut down in September 2020 following accusations of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of the students there.
Agape Boarding School in Stockton announced in January 2023 that it would close its doors due to financial reasons. Agape has been the subject of at least 19 lawsuits, and five of its employees were charged with abusing students in 2021.
In 2021, Missouri passed a law requiring religious boarding schools to undergo safety inspections and perform background checks on its staff.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why does MinistryWatch report on sex crimes? These stories are tough to read and sometimes even tougher to report, but we think they are vital to our mission to bring transparency, accountability, and credibility to the evangelical church. To read more about why and how we report these stories, read “Why MinistryWatch Reports On Sex Crimes.” You can find that story here.