Alabama removes 22 boys from religious boarding school amid allegations of abuse

Blessed Hope Boys Academy is located in a rural area near Robertsdale, Ala., a few miles from the Florida state line. (Google Earth)

The Alabama Department of Human Resources and Baldwin County law enforcement last weekend raided a Christian boys' boarding school in Seminole, Ala., removing 22 boys ages 8 to 17 after some claimed they were victims of abuse.

"A couple of kids who had been residents at the home had run away to a nearby neighbor and made allegations of abuse," said Major Anthony Lowry of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Department. According to local news accounts, the two boys told the neighbor that staff at the Blessed Hope Boys Academy would punish students for misbehavior by locking them in a closet, withholding food and forcing them to exercise for hours.

After the neighbor called authorities Friday, the sheriff's department contacted DHR, which obtained an order to get the children removed from the school, located on Baldwin County Road 87 in a sparsely populated area near the Alabama-Florida state line.

The boys, none of whom are from Alabama, were taken to the emergency management facility in Robertsdale and have since been returned to their parents or guardians in their home states.

DHR representatives met with the Baldwin County Sheriff's Department and the district attorney's office this week. Individual allegations of child abuse will be investigated.

"If someone comes forward with information from those kids or a child or parent with previous dealings with this home, we will certainly look into any allegations they make," said Lowry.

No charges have been brought against staff, including the director and founder of the school, Gary Wiggins. According to the Blessed Hope Boys Academy website, Wiggins is a born-again Christian and recovering alcoholic and drug addict who felt called to open a Christian boarding school for troubled teens. He and his wife, Meghann, ran a boys' school in Missouri before coming to Alabama to open Blessed Hope.

Wiggins' attorney, Jeremiah Giles, said Wiggins was "astonished" that the children were removed from his school and said the abuse allegations are baseless.

"This is something where, the best we can tell, a few kids decided to make up a story and our hopes are that we can get this straightened up fast," said Giles. Neither Giles nor the sheriff's department nor DHR representatives recall law enforcement ever being called out to the school before, except once or twice to help locate students who had run away from the school.

In those instances, Giles said, "when (law enforcement) brought the boys back, they asked them if they felt safe going back there, and as I understand it, they said yes."

Giles said he did not know full details about what kinds of punishments are used at the school, but that none could be called abuse.

"It's my understanding that all the parents sign a contract when they enroll their boys and it lays out specifically what the discipline will be for certain violations and Mr. Wiggins sticks with that," he said. "It might be along the lines of withholding sweets, but certainly not meals or anything of that nature."

Drawing attention

The Blessed Hope Boys Academy operates as a license-exempt school, outside of state regulation or oversight, claiming religious exemption under state law because it operates as a church ministry. While Alabama does have a few reporting requirements for private schools, church-affiliated schools are exempt. Teachers don't have to undergo background checks and schools do not have to be inspected.

Alabama law says state regulation of any religiously affiliated school would be an unconstitutional burden on religious activities and directly violate the Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment.

DHR and law enforcement don't know how many religious boarding schools may be operating in Alabama because schools are not required to tell anyone they're open.

This lack of regulation has come under fire in recent years. In 2015, law enforcement raided a religious bootcamp-style boarding school in Mobile, removing 36 children and later arresting three staff members on multiple counts of aggravated child abuse.

That case caught the eye of State Rep. Steve McMillan (R-Baldwin County), who said the state's inability to protect children at its religious day cares and boarding schools has bothered him for some time.

After the children were removed from Blessed Hope last weekend, McMillan said he has spoken with the Baldwin County sheriff and Alabama DHR.

He has been researching child protection laws in other states and plans to introduce bills in the next legislative session to address the state's lack of oversight of residential schools that claim religious exemptions.

"I've got ideas about what I'd like to propose to protect the children but that would not be an infringement on religious rights," he said. "Enough is enough. One (incident) is too many. I'm hoping (this incident) will gain the attention of my colleagues."

A growing business

The Blessed Hope Boys Academy opened about four years ago. It was granted status as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2013.

The school has grown steadily since it opened. The school's revenue grew from $232,524 in 2013 to $289,655 in 2014. The National Center for Charitable Statistics listed the school's 2015 total revenue at $430,159.

The school does not allow students to use cell phones, the internet, computers, or watch television. According to its website, students work on building projects, gardening and other hands-on activities.

Blessed Hope uses the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum, which uses booklets to teach students. It is not accredited through the state, and students who complete the course are not eligible for a high school diploma that would be recognized by most colleges or universities.

Coming back

Giles said his client is currently waiting to hear from DHR or law enforcement to find out the status of the investigation.

"Right now he's not even charged with anything but this is the first time a lot of people are going to hear about the school and his ministry," said Giles. "In no way does he think there has been any abuse or any kind of mistreatment that's happened. He feels like he was called to ministry and is doing what God wants him to do."

Giles said Wiggins hopes to be out of limbo soon so he can get the school back up and running:

"Most of the boys' families have contacted him and said, 'Can we bring our kids back?'"

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