Child Abuse Allegations
The school's disciplinary practices, including the use of physical restraints, have resulted in allegations of child abuse. Weierman has acknowledged that the school uses shackles as a disciplinary measure, saying that the school instructs boys that they will be shackled if they try to run away.
Between 1994 and 2008, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigated 35 child abuse allegations regarding Victory Forge.
In 2000, the DCF was on the verge of revoking Victory Forge's state license, but the home surrendered its license without a fight the day a judge was to hear evidence against the facility. The cause of this violation was that officials from the facility left a 17-year old boy at another shelter without advanced notification or arrangements. In addition, the officials allowed a child with a history of sexual offenses to share a bedroom with another boy.
In 2002, police reported that students at the academy alleged that "they had been struck with metal pipes and a wooden paddle as methods of punishment".
At the conclusion of an investigation in April 2008, the DCF stated that the agency had "serious concerns about the safety and welfare of children," but there were no criminal violations. The DCF summary report stated that Victory Forge staff were believed to have "engaged in physical discipline that is harmful to children, such as choking to unconsciousness, punching, kicking, banging heads into walls and cabinets." DCF officials found evidence that a boy had been choked and subjected to bizarre punishment and mental injury, and that other boys had been threatened with harm. It had been reported in local media that there had been children found bound in shackles at the facility. DCF also noted that staff at the academy had a "pattern" of leaving the facility during an investigation. DCF officials used a private investigator to find one staff member, who then told DCF officials he had left because of the DCF investigation. He also told DCF that he felt abuse was occurring. In June 2008, police and state prosecutors concluded that Victory Forge had violated the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice policies on use of shackles and other physical restraints, but no criminal violations had occurred.
Read more about this topic: Victory Forge Military Academy
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“A child is like a precious stone, but also a heavy burden.”
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“Children are extraordinarily precious members of society; they are exquisitely alert, sensitive, and conscious of their surroundings; and they are extraordinarily vulnerable to maltreatment or emotional abuse by adults who refuse to give them the profound respect and affection to which they are unconditionally entitled.”
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