Lawsuit accuses Iowa boarding school of culture of abuse
Source: Associated Press
Lawsuit accuses Iowa boarding school of culture of abuse
Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press
Updated 2:54 pm, Tuesday, March 15, 2016
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Six former students have filed a lawsuit alleging that an Iowa boarding school kept them in isolation boxes for days, allowed sexual harassment and abuse, provided inadequate medical care and kept filthy conditions.
Several of the students' parents also joined the lawsuit filed Monday against the now-closed Midwest Academy, in Keokuk, and its owner, Benjamin Trane. The parents allege the high-priced private school for troubled teens made false representations to persuade them to enroll their children and then failed to "provide appropriate and quality education, medical and therapeutic services."
"My role here is to try to use the law to bring some fairness and justice to this horrible situation," said one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, David Ferleger, of Pennsylvania. He announced the lawsuit on Tuesday in Keokuk, a Mississippi River community of about 11,000 residents that borders Illinois and Missouri.
Trane and the school are the subjects of a state and FBI investigation of wide-ranging alleged abuse, including that Trane sexually abused a female student and that the school kept students in prolonged detention in small, concrete isolation rooms. The school, which had operated without state oversight since 2003, abruptly closed after a law enforcement raid in late January, sending its nearly 100 students home and laying off 60 workers.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Lawsuit-accuses-Iowa-boarding-school-of-culture-6891472.php
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Earlier article:
Documents: Midwest Academy owner is sex abuse suspect
Lee Rood, lrood@dmreg.com 6:18 a.m. CST February 19, 2016
Ben Trane, the director and owner of Midwest Academy, is a suspect in the sex abuse investigation involving a 17-year-old student who attended the tough-love school for troubled youths, court records released Thursday show. Trane, 37, has no criminal record in Iowa. He has not responded to multiple requests for interviews by The Des Moines Register since the 13-year-old southeast Iowa boarding school closed last month.
A motion to seal search warrant documents was released Thursday showing that computers, cameras, cellphones and other electronic items were seized during the raid of the boarding school Jan. 28-29 at locations in Keokuk and Montrose.
“Also seized were items of trace evidence involving bodily fluids for DNA and related forensic examination,” the request to seal says.
Lee County Attorney Michael P. Short argued in the request to seal documents that it would be harmful to investigators, staff and students at the school to release details contained in the affidavits used to obtain the search warrants.
More:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/investigations/2016/02/18/documents-midwest-academy-owner-sex-abuse-suspect/80577232/
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