Boarding school probe

Local and United States (US) law enforcement officials are looking into allegations of physical and sexual abuse of children at the Youth of Vision Academy (YOVA) in St Mary, though the management at the Christian boarding school has denied the claims.

Discussions are underway to facilitate the interviews of former American wards of the institution by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The Department of Homeland Security is a part of those discussions, according to an email thread seen by The Gleaner.

In a statement to the newspaper on Monday, the US Embassy in Kingston said it was aware of YOVA operating in St Mary.

The embassy further said that the US Department of State and its embassies and consulates overseas “have no higher priority than the safety and welfare of minor US citizens abroad and provide all consular services as needed”.

It said the embassy works closely with Jamaica’s Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) and other relevant Jamaican authorities to monitor facilities that fall under Jamaican jurisdiction.

“Due to privacy considerations, we are not in the position to comment further on this matter,” Mike Lavallee, public affairs attaché at the embassy, concluded in his brief statement to the newspaper.

Ninety-nine per cent of students at the school, which, according to YOVA, was established to provide behavioural, therapeutic and educational services to children and young adolescents, are Americans.

ACCUSED OF PRESIDING OVER ABUSE

However, non-profit children’s rights attorney-at-law Dawn Post has accused YOVA’s management of presiding over the abuse of the children who she said are sent to Jamaica by foster parents and guardians.

Their ages reportedly range from eight to 18 years.

Post, an American, said some of the children were abandoned by their foster parents who turn over guardianship to YOVA, an issue she said is a US one.

Post said she travelled to the island last week along with the guardian of one of the students, who she said was being abused, to bring her back to the US.

She said an Iowa-based judge issued the order to have the child return to the US but even after contact with JCF, CPFSA, and the US embassy, the child remains at the school.

Post said Iowa’s attorney general, senators and a congresswoman have been in contact over the weekend but that has so far resulted in no action.

“YOVA is on the radar of federal officials in the United States. I’ve personally had meetings with staffers in Washington DC regarding the situation,” Post told The Gleaner at the weekend.

“It is incredibly disappointing that, given how much notice that was provided, that we were at least taking out one child with legal orders, that there was no suggestion that we do anything differently than what we were doing and there was no cooperation,” she added.

She said this lack of cooperation has resulted in “high-up Government” intervention in the US.

Post said the children at the facility are being “warehoused” as YOVA is not a behavioural help facility and does not hire medical professionals to work with them.

“What is an American problem is that kids are being abandoned here with no way to get back and that’s a significant issue,” Post claimed.

She said she has interviewed at least 10 former students who have alleged violent physical and sexual abuse, some of which is said to have been filmed.

However, YOVA director Noel Reid has denied the allegations, calling it a habit of Post’s to make allegations against international institutions that cater to American children.

YOVA has been operating in Jamaica since 2020.

Reid said both the US Embassy and CPFSA, which he said “guides” the institution, have declined to be party to Post and her claims and noted that this should count for something.

“They never partnered with Dawn on this exploit,” said Reid, who was contacted by The Gleaner on Monday.

He said the CPFSA has provided constant oversight and has made numerous checks at the school since January amid the current climate surrounding schools that cater to American children in Jamaica.

“They have full access. They showed up one day and was here for about five hours,” he said.

Reid said at no point did CPFSA find it fit to suspend any aspect of YOVA’s operations. More than 150 students are enrolled at the institution.

Mostly girls attend the school but are catered to separately from boys. Reid said most of the children have suffered from sexual trauma and so are schooled apart.

“What hurts me is how persons like Dawn create this vulnerable industry… . Dawn has no track record of protecting and fighting for kids. All they are a part of is this conglomerate of class action lawsuit lawyers… ,” Reid claimed.

He said if the roles were reversed, no Jamaican lawyer could attempt in the US what Post is doing in Jamaica.

Asked if he is aware of any investigation by the US Embassy, Homeland Security, CPFSA, or the Ministry of Education and Youth, Reid said, ‘yes’.

He said questions are being asked because Post has “disturbed the peace” but noted that he is not opposed to any investigation because it is the duty of agencies to act if there are allegations.

“With all of what Dawn has said I would imagine that they are doing some work because they have asked for some things. They requested background checks which we have submitted. I’m fine with that. They have made several trips, so I figure they are doing their checks.

“But they have been doing this for over 100 days and the school is still operational. CPFSA is not going to show up and find an abusive, torturing [environment] and all those words that Dawn used to describe us. That would be gross negligence on their part,” said Reid.

Education Minister Fayval Williams in April revealed that her ministry was investigating another private facility that caters to foreign children in Jamaica but did not identify the institution.

That disclosure followed an announcement in March by the CPFSA that it removed eight American boys from the Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth-based private boarding school, Atlantis Leadership Academy.

CPFSA said it visited the facility on February 8 during which “signs of abuse and neglect” were reportedly observed on the children.

The academy and its founder, Randall Cook, have denied the allegations.

The police have since charged five men for the alleged abuse of American children at a private boarding school.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com