Isabelle Zehnder: 3 pregnant missing teens

3 pregnant missing teens: Why they might have run away

January 24, 2007
By Isabelle Zehnder
www.caica.org
info@caica.org

Three teens are missing from the New Hope Maternity home in American Fork, Utah. They allegedly hit the director, Spencer Moody's, wife over the head with a frying pan, tied her up with electrical cords and duct tape, and tied up another pregnant teen. Thankfully, according to Mr. Moody, Mrs. Moody and the teen were not seriously injured.

Though I do not condone this type of behavior I believe I might understand why these girls did what they did. They may have wanted to keep their babies and felt that under the circumstances they would not be able to do so. I will explain.

Today more than ever parents are placing their children and teens into Residential Treatment Centers (RTC) and Therapeutic Board Schools (TBS). Though some facilities are therapeutic and employ qualified and licensed staff many do not. The industry is largely unregulated and there is no Federal oversight.

Unsuspecting parents are being sold programs for their children that are allegedly abusive and where the children and teens lose their basic rights*. Parents and former program attendees claim the programs are run on a points-based system, all children beginning on Level One no matter how well they might have been doing in school, etc., or why they are there. They are punished for minor infractions such as belching or dropping their fork, losing hard-earned points. Girls are not allowed to shave until they reach higher levels. If they look out the window they can be considered a run-away threat which means they can be transferred to a facility outside the US where our laws cannot protect them. They are forced to sleep with the lights on and are not allowed privacy when using the bathroom. Many are forced to take cold showers and many claim they were not fed properly. Some have claimed they were not allowed to use the bathroom when needed and that they were not allowed to talk to each other. Others have reported they were forced to sit for hours on end listening to inspirational tapes (many children have reported they are forced to sit on a hard floor for hours without being allowed to rest their back). They have been kept in isolation for up to months on end, some have been beaten and some have been restrained. Some were forced to sit in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time while others were forced to exercise beyond their capacity - and the list goes on.

They are not allowed contact with the outside world other than through censored letters to and from their parents. If the program does not like what the child is saying in their letters they will either not give it to the parent or they will black it out. Letters written by children to other family members are most often times not given to those family members, and letters written by the family members are not given to the children. This leaves the children feeling no one cares about them and that they are forgotten.

They are often told their parents are happier without them and that they will be there for a long time, when initially they may have been told they would only be there for three months. John Akramoff shares his experiences at Spring Creek Lodge. Parents have reported being told their child is worse than they initially thought and are informed they will not be allowed to speak to their child for several months. Some kids have been kept in these programs for as long as five years. Karen Lile believes the seminars she and her child were forced to attend used brain-washing techniques. She is by far not the only ones who believe this. Sue Scheff shares her story Deception, Misrepresentation & Fraud. Susan Oldham shares the story of her daughter's worse nightmare. Terry Cameron's son, Kerry Layne Brown, was severely abused - he was pepper-sprayed multiple times a day each day for eight months and his abuser, Randall Hinton, admitted to doing this on video. Hinton was recently arrested on allegations of child abuse and will be back in court March 7th. Sadly, Layne died June 6, 2006. His mother believes his death was a direct result to his treatment at Tranquility Bay. Ironically, Layne and another boy, Carter Lynn, were interviewed for an articled entitled Rough Love in May 2006. Both had attended Tranquility Bay in Jamaica. On June 7, 2006, Carter was found hanging from the rafters of his home.

Many parents and youth are not allowed phone calls for months, sometimes up to a year or more. When they can finally speak to one another someone else is standing with the child, listening on the line. If the child claims they are being abused or something is wrong the phone is immediately disconnected. There is then a call back to the parents indicating their child was "just manipulating again". However, it has been reported the ones doing the manipulating are the staff.

People are coming forward to talk about what has happened to them. They are sharing their experiences and they are filing lawsuits. They are waking up to what happened to them and to their families.

A lawsuit was filed against an organization and its many affiliates on allegations of child abuse, neglect, deaths, and fraud. Click here for the Amended Complaint, click here for the Press Release.

I shared all of this with you because I have discovered that the director of New Hope Maternity has affiliation with the organization being sued (above), the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS). Click here for more information.

I am not saying the girls that are missing from New Hope were treated the way these other children have reported they were treated. I am saying, however, there have been many similarities in these programs and the people who have worked for them. I believe it is imperative people be aware this industry exists and what is happening to children.

It is my hope that people will not be quick to judge these girls and what they did. Again, it is not right to assault another person, it is not right to tie them up. Sometimes, when people feel they have no other choice they do things they would normally not do. I would hope they have a fair chance at telling their side of the story.

It is also my hope that if any girl has had a bad experience at either New Hope or New Beginnings they would report it to the American Fork Police Department - 801-763-3020. Reports can be filed anonymously.


*The information provided in this blog is based on interviews with youth who attended the programs, parents who feel they were defrauded, news articles and news reports, and lawsuits.

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