Christian boarding school owners accused of kidnapping former student

The owners of a Christian boarding school have been arrested and charged with kidnapping a former student.

Wayne County Sheriff's Office in Missouri announced it has arrested Larry and Carmen Musgrave, who run the Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont, MO.

The Musgraves were arrested Friday at the academy and are in jail following an investigation several months in the making, according to the sheriff's office and first reported by The Friendly Atheist's Hemant Mehta. According to the sheriff's announcement, police launched the investigation after receiving “several calls of runaways from the home,” coupled with statements from former students.

The department said the investigation is still ongoing.

Sheriff Dean Finch said in a press release that he "anticipates more charges as the investigation continues.” The details of the alleged kidnapping are unclear, but the sheriff said the charges were filed after former students and all boys currently at the school were interviewed.

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As Mehta points out, it's not the first time Christian boarding schools in Missouri have come under scrutiny and he cites the examples of Circle of Hope Girls’ Ranch and Boarding School and Agape Boarding School.

"A lot of this happens because religious boarding schools in Missouri are largely unregulated, relying on their religious label to win the trust of unsuspecting families," Mehta writes.

"These facilities assure parents their troublesome teenagers will receive a much-needed, faith-based rehabilitation if they simply hand over custody and pay a hefty fee. Instead of making things better, though, the Christian ranches often become a hotbed of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that leave the kids far worse off than when they entered."

The arrests of the Musgraves come after the Kansas City Star published a report last month about two children who escaped from the school and flagged down driver Cierra Osborn, who found them help. The children told Osborn that staff at the school "would often berate them and hit them for things like not getting their chores done fast enough."

“They were just terrified, they were shaking,” Osborn said. “I don’t know if it’s just because they were that cold or what.”

Read the full story over at The Friendly Atheist.