ST. LOUIS (AP) — Advocates for victims of abuse at Missouri boarding schools on Monday urged the state’s attorney general to launch an investigation, work with local prosecutors and take other steps aimed at stemming the tide of abuse.Three Christian boarding schools in southern Missouri have shut down since 2020 amid wide-ranging abuse allegations levied by current and former students. Several people affiliated with those schools are facing criminal charges. Advocates who worry that more abuse is going unpunished gathered Monday outside Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s St. Louis office to demand action.
“This is a structural problem,” said David Clohessy, a longtime advocate for abused children and former leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “These are facilities that are remote, independent, private, sometimes for-profit, largely under the radar with little or no scrutiny, state oversight, monitoring or supervision. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
A spokeswoman for Bailey said in an email that the attorney general’s office does not have jurisdiction to prosecute criminal cases, except when appointed as special prosecutor by the governor or a court.
“As a former prosecutor, Attorney General Bailey takes crime very seriously,” spokeswoman Madeline Sieren said, adding that Bailey “has taken substantive action to combat human trafficking where the law allows.”
Amanda Householder, now 33, is among the former students who claimed she was abused. Her story was …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
“This is a structural problem,” said David Clohessy, a longtime advocate for abused children and former leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “These are facilities that are remote, independent, private, sometimes for-profit, largely under the radar with little or no scrutiny, state oversight, monitoring or supervision. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
A spokeswoman for Bailey said in an email that the attorney general’s office does not have jurisdiction to prosecute criminal cases, except when appointed as special prosecutor by the governor or a court.
“As a former prosecutor, Attorney General Bailey takes crime very seriously,” spokeswoman Madeline Sieren said, adding that Bailey “has taken substantive action to combat human trafficking where the law allows.”
Amanda Householder, now 33, is among the former students who claimed she was abused. Her story was …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]