Second suit filed against Blue Creek Academy

By Ryan Quinn
CharlestGazette-Mail
July 13, 2016

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-cops-and-courts/20160713/second-suit-filed-against-blue-creek-academy

A second former Blue Creek Academy student, along with one of his parents, has filed suit against the now-closed Kanawha County Christian boys boarding school, its leaders and its sponsor, Bible Baptist Church, over allegations that he was starved and physically abused there.

The minor’s lawsuit, filed late last month, also alleges that he was sexually abused by a school staff member’s son due to “lack of supervision and other improper standards utilized by the facility.” The ongoing suit against the same defendants filed by a separate minor in May 2015 alleges sexual abuse by another student, but doesn’t specify whether the alleged abuser was related to any staff.

Both suits also name as defendants Bible Baptist Pastor James Waldeck and J.R. Thompson, Blue Creek Academy’s former director who, according to an extensive article on Blue Creek Academy in The Daily Beast, has started a new religious school in Montana. Waldeck told a reporter Tuesday he wasn’t allowed to comment and quickly hung up the phone.

The defendants have denied the allegations of the first suit. They haven’t yet filed formal answers to the allegations in the new case, nor have they been officially notified about the second suit.

Calls Tuesday to defendants’ attorneys in the first suit weren’t returned, and it’s unclear whether the same attorneys will be representing them in the new litigation.

Charleston-based attorney Troy Giatras, who represents both former students, told the Gazette-Mail last month that he expected the litigation to expand beyond just one student. Both suits allege the defendants failed to report abuse to parents or authorities.

“We have been having ongoing discussions with multiple students, and know that more students have been harmed,” Giatras said in an email Tuesday. “At this time two lawsuits have been filed and we would not be surprised if additional students authorize us to file suit on their behalf. At some point this has to come to a conclusion.”

Giatras said he couldn’t talk about conversations parents or students have had with police.

“Defendants combined their efforts to engage in a conspiracy of silence to protect the reputation of the Defendants while endangering the health, safety, and welfare of BCA students,” the new suit in Kanawha Circuit Court states.

Giatras said Blue Creek Academy was in the Clendenin area, near the border of Clay and Kanawha counties. Bible Baptist Church is in Belva, a small Nicholas County town.

The new suit says the minor spent 17 months at Blue Creek, where he faced isolationism and corporal punishment. Both minors allege they now suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the alleged abuse.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources removed Blue Creek Academy’s students, after which state Schools Superintendent Michael Martirano sent Waldeck a letter in September 2014, saying that he was revoking the school’s Exemption (k) status. That exemption allowed students to attend the school.

“Due to the egregious nature of the non-compliance [with state law], children’s health, safety and welfare, any future attempts by the school to seek reinstatement of the exemption status will be denied by this office,” Martirano wrote.

According to DHHR documents, a child allegedly ran away from Blue Creek Academy in June 2014 and was taken into custody by Clay County Child Protective Services. The child reported being molested by another student in 2012.

“An investigation was completed at the time and was unsubstantiated,” the documents state.

The child said he was whipped with a paddle if he failed a test or failed to memorize scripture, and that punishment also included a diet of beans and water. The documents state there were seven more boys at the school at the time.

“All children present at Blue Creek Academy have disclosed abuse/neglect,” the documents state. “The academy is infested with rats.”

Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Rocky Holmes advised removing the children.

Kanawha Prosecutor Chuck Miller said Friday that only one criminal investigation involving Blue Creek Academy is ongoing, and it involves alleged sexual misconduct against one former student by another.

“Because they’re juveniles, we can’t disclose anything about the investigation or their identities,” Miller said. “... There’s no investigations or allegations that have come to our attention with respect to adults at this time.”

He said his office can request that law enforcement agencies do investigations, and he’s never had one refuse to.

“We don’t have anything right now that tells us that we need to have an investigation done, nor has anyone brought anything to our attention that we need to investigate,” Miller said.

Sgt. Brian Humphreys of the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said his agency hasn’t received direct statements or direct allegations of corporal punishment or other forms of child abuse involving the school’s staff, and said there’s no investigation into these adults at this time.

Humphreys said his office doesn’t review lawsuits for the possibility of criminal conduct, and noted the evidence threshold is higher in criminal cases than in civil ones. He said his agency has been looking into allegations of criminal activity at the facility since at least 2014, but declined to specify what the allegations were.

“We are literally a phone call away for anyone who wants to report an allegation of criminal misconduct,” he stated.