Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 227
News Summaries
Academy of Dundee Ranch/Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs
and Schools
―Tough-Love‖ Reform Schools Criticized
Carey Bock, the mother of two boys whose father sent them to a behavior modification
facility for problem children, in Costa Rica, snatched them from the school late last year.
Now, the couple has mutually agreed not to return the 16-year-old boys to the Academy of
Dundee Ranch, one of nine residential facilities operated by the St. George, Utah-based
Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS).
Many parents whose children have attended the WWASPS schools express satisfaction, but
some have sued, alleging negligence and abuse of their children in facilities in Samoa,
Jamaica, and Montana, and some students say that they have been victims of physical and
sexual abuse. The Bock boys said that they were placed in solitary confinement for days at
a time and forced to kneel on concrete floors for hours. Their mother alleges that staff
members routinely placed students‘ arms behind their backs and forced them to touch their
ears, leading to dislocated shoulders.
Ken Kay, president of WWASPS, defends the schools, which uses solitary confinement for
misbehavior, and cuts off some of the students from outside contact for months at a time.
―Just because something‘s controversial doesn‘t mean its negative. We have a 97 percent
satisfaction rate,‖ he said.
California attorney Thomas Burton, who has filed seven lawsuits against WWASPS, calls the
network of schools a ―cult,‖ and describes the facility in Utah, which is licensed by the state,
as ―one of many closed, secret cult centers ...where adolescents are impounded, tortured,
berated, brainwashed, and otherwise abused.‖ He noted a pending case against the Samoa
facility—which is now closed—in which a boy says he was kidnapped from his California
bedroom and taken to Samoa, where he was beaten, and once hog-tied with handcuffs and
chains for three days. A WWASPS facility in the Czech Republic was closed down four years
ago after a Utah couple was accused of abusing and illegally imprisoning dozens of teens
there. (Michael Vigh, Salt Lake Tribune, Internet, 1/13/03)
Abundant Life Church
Judge Refuses to Dismiss Suit
An Orange County, FL judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss a case brought by a
Florida couple against the Abundant Life Church that challenges the church‘s financial
dealings. The church argues that the courts have no jurisdiction in the disagreement
between John and Vicki Tubiolo and the church because of the separation of church and
state. It also says that the Tubiolos have no right to sue because they were not members
when they filed the suit, having been dismissed from the church when they first demanded
to see the records. The church also argues that the state cannot interfere with a church‘s
right to discipline its members. (Beth Velliquette, Herald Sun, Internet, 1/27/03)
Amish
Don’t Let Children Testify
Citing their religious beliefs, Amish leaders in Ontario have asked a court not to force their
children to testify against a woman charged with an array of offenses, including sexual
assault. Citing passages in Corinthians 1, Bishops Isaac Stoltzfus and Peter Stoll, of the
Aylmer South District Amish Congregation, say that their church ―forbids followers to go to
News Summaries
Academy of Dundee Ranch/Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs
and Schools
―Tough-Love‖ Reform Schools Criticized
Carey Bock, the mother of two boys whose father sent them to a behavior modification
facility for problem children, in Costa Rica, snatched them from the school late last year.
Now, the couple has mutually agreed not to return the 16-year-old boys to the Academy of
Dundee Ranch, one of nine residential facilities operated by the St. George, Utah-based
Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS).
Many parents whose children have attended the WWASPS schools express satisfaction, but
some have sued, alleging negligence and abuse of their children in facilities in Samoa,
Jamaica, and Montana, and some students say that they have been victims of physical and
sexual abuse. The Bock boys said that they were placed in solitary confinement for days at
a time and forced to kneel on concrete floors for hours. Their mother alleges that staff
members routinely placed students‘ arms behind their backs and forced them to touch their
ears, leading to dislocated shoulders.
Ken Kay, president of WWASPS, defends the schools, which uses solitary confinement for
misbehavior, and cuts off some of the students from outside contact for months at a time.
―Just because something‘s controversial doesn‘t mean its negative. We have a 97 percent
satisfaction rate,‖ he said.
California attorney Thomas Burton, who has filed seven lawsuits against WWASPS, calls the
network of schools a ―cult,‖ and describes the facility in Utah, which is licensed by the state,
as ―one of many closed, secret cult centers ...where adolescents are impounded, tortured,
berated, brainwashed, and otherwise abused.‖ He noted a pending case against the Samoa
facility—which is now closed—in which a boy says he was kidnapped from his California
bedroom and taken to Samoa, where he was beaten, and once hog-tied with handcuffs and
chains for three days. A WWASPS facility in the Czech Republic was closed down four years
ago after a Utah couple was accused of abusing and illegally imprisoning dozens of teens
there. (Michael Vigh, Salt Lake Tribune, Internet, 1/13/03)
Abundant Life Church
Judge Refuses to Dismiss Suit
An Orange County, FL judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss a case brought by a
Florida couple against the Abundant Life Church that challenges the church‘s financial
dealings. The church argues that the courts have no jurisdiction in the disagreement
between John and Vicki Tubiolo and the church because of the separation of church and
state. It also says that the Tubiolos have no right to sue because they were not members
when they filed the suit, having been dismissed from the church when they first demanded
to see the records. The church also argues that the state cannot interfere with a church‘s
right to discipline its members. (Beth Velliquette, Herald Sun, Internet, 1/27/03)
Amish
Don’t Let Children Testify
Citing their religious beliefs, Amish leaders in Ontario have asked a court not to force their
children to testify against a woman charged with an array of offenses, including sexual
assault. Citing passages in Corinthians 1, Bishops Isaac Stoltzfus and Peter Stoll, of the
Aylmer South District Amish Congregation, say that their church ―forbids followers to go to
