Man who proposed military-style
school in Boonville arrested in Colorado
Canon City private school director
arrested Jan. 9 for assaulting a student
January 15, 2007
By Theresa Krebs
 Randall
Hinton, who in April 2005 presented the City of Boonville with a
proposal for a military-style school at the site of the former
Kemper Military School, has been arrested in Colorado for abusing
students at a school where he serves as director. According to
reports from a Cañon City, Colo. television station and newspaper, a
man who proposed establishing a military-style school in Boonville
has been arrested on child abuse charges in Colorado.
Randall Hinton, who with his
brother, proposed the establishment of a school for troubled teens
at the site of the former Kemper Military School in April 2005, has
been arrested on charges of assault in the third degree, false
imprisonment and reckless endangerment. The Boonville proposal was
ultimately rejected by the city council following considerable
public outcry.
Employees say Hinton, 32, is the
director of the Royal Gorge Academy, a private school for troubled
kids. He was released on $2,500 bail following his arrest. A school
official said Hinton has been placed on administrative leave by the
academy.
Hinton is also accused of injuring
the girl's wrists and not allowing her to receive medical attention.
“And the allegation was that Mr.
Hinton physically restrained a female student at the academy and
that that student did suffer physical injuries from that restraint,”
says Captain Allen Cooper, Canon City Police Department.
Hinton's attorney told KOAA News
First television that the girl was violent and was hitting herself
in the head with a stapler and tried to staple her own hand. He said
her parents support the school, saying “her parents have been
supportive of the Academy. The parents have notified the Academy
that they're not surprised by her actions, that this young lady does
have some problems.”
He maintains the allegations are
untrue.
The attorney, Michael Gillick,
added, “This is a boarding school not a strict detention facility.
This is to help children who have problems and hopefully get them
turned in the right direction.”
Gillick said the teenage girl
involved in the alleged incident that occurred at the end of
December was “brand new” to the school and had not adjusted to being
there.
He admitted the girl was retrained
using “common, legal methods” for her own safety and that of school
officials, but Gillick was not able to specify the restraint
techniques used.
According to the arrest report, a
school employee says there's a policy of “no physical contact”
between staff and students. But at least one staff member told
police he saw Hinton grab a male student by the back of the head and
smacked the student's face against the floor a couple of times,
causing the student to bleed.
Cañon City Police Department Capt.
Allen Cooper told the Canon City Daily Record his office had been of
prior allegations before Royal Gorge Academy opened.
“As law enforcement officials, we
are not allowed to react to things that happen outside of our
jurisdiction,” Cooper said. “My understanding is there is not a lot
of oversight on private schools. The process to me sounds kind of
superficial.”
Canon City Police searched the
internet and found similar allegations against Hinton at other
private schools, including one called Tranquility Bay in Jamaica.
Some students told Canon City
Police that they were told they'd be sent to Tranquility Bay if they
don't shape up. They also claim they were told that American laws
don't apply to kids in Tranquility Bay and that pepper spray is used
there.
Gillick maintained Hinton never
before has been charged with similar accusations.
“Lots of bizarre things show up on
the Internet,” Gillick said. “You can read anything there and take
it with a grain of salt.”
Gillick also questioned police
tactics used in the investigation and said he offered to cooperate.
“I told them they could have
anything they wanted, just let me know when. They chose to bully
their way around and come back unannounced with a search warrant,”
Gillick said. “They could have done it the easy way or they could
have done it the dog and pony show, like they did.”
Cooper refuted that statement.
“The initial investigating police
officer asked for certain documentation and was told the school did
not have to provide it,” Cooper said. “That's why we went with a
warrant.”
Gillick also charged the CCPD with
“overkill” as they conducted official interviews with students at
the school.
“They put all the kids in the
auditorium, did not let anybody see what was going on. There were no
guardians and parents were not allowed access to the children,”
Gillick said. “It was just absurd, conducting official interviews
under those circumstances.”
At least one parent has contacted
him, Gillick said, concerned her child was interviewed without
parental consent.
Cooper said it is standard
procedure to interview juveniles who are not suspects without
permission. “Parental consent is not required,” Cooper said. “None
of these kids were suspected of anything other than being potential
witnesses.”
Cooper said the interviews with
students provided more information than his department anticipated.
“This did turn into a larger
investigation for us than we anticipated based on the reaction of
some of the participants,” Cooper said.
Hinton is due in district court
Tuesday for advisement.
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