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Parents of teen sue boot camp
February 5, 2005
By Steve Rock
The parents of a 15-year-old
California boy who died while under the care of a northwest Missouri
boot camp filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Friday.
The family alleged that their son -
Roberto Reyes, who died in November while a resident at Thayer
Learning Center, a military-type home for troubled teens - was
subjected to physical exertion and abuse that caused or contributed
to his death.
Among other things, the lawsuit
alleges that he would have lived had he gotten competent medical
care in a timely manner and that he was dragged, hit, placed into
solitary confinement and ?forced to lay in his own excrement for
extended periods of time. The parents, who placed Roberto at the
center less than two weeks before his death, also accused Thayer and
an affiliated referral service of fraudulent misrepresentation.
An employee at the center, located
about 50 miles north of Kansas City in Kidder, referred calls to
attorney Ed Proctor. Reached by phone Friday evening, Proctor said
he had not seen a copy of the lawsuit and therefore could not
comment.
Proctor had previously told The
Kansas City Star that "every child at Thayer has immediate access to
medical care at any time." [lol, bullshit]
The lawsuit names Thayer Learning
Center, Parent Help and three Thayer employees as defendants.
The employees named are Richard
Sperry of Chillicothe, Robert Carter of Kidder and Dave Swymeler of
St. Joseph. The lawsuit filed in Buchanan County Circuit Court
claims they failed to take reasonable steps to contact emergency
personnel once it was known that Roberto was gravely ill.
Sperry declined to comment Friday
night. Neither Carter nor Swymeler could be reached. The plaintiffs,
Gracia and Victor Reyes, through their attorney declined to comment.
"Their reaction is shock," said attorney James Thompson. "As more
and more information comes to light, they cannot even comprehend
it." [Well, guess what guys? This is what you signed your kid up
for! Surprise! Anyone else want to send their kid to Thayer?]
According to the lawsuit:
Roberto's parents contacted a
referral service called Parent Help in October 2004 to seek help
with Roberto. Parent Help recommended that the Reyeses send their
child to Thayer but did not disclose its connection to Thayer.
Thayer and Parent Help are owned by
John and Willa Bundy, and the lawsuit says the two businesses are
?inextricably intertwined for common schemes and goals.? The lawsuit
alleges that Parent Help and Thayer misrepresented the type of
discipline and care that children get. The lawsuit says that between
Oct. 25 and Nov. 3, Victor and Gracia Reyes received periodic
contact from Thayer representatives. The parents were told that
Roberto was not being cooperative, that he had sore muscles from
exercising but that he was otherwise fine.
On the morning of Nov. 3, a Thayer
representative contacted the Reyeses to ask whether Roberto had any
breathing problems in his medical history. Roberto died that
afternoon. According to the lawsuit, symptoms of Roberto's failing
health "would have been present for a significant period of time
prior to his death."
"Had Roberto Reyes received
competent medical intervention in a timely manner," the lawsuit
states, "he would have survived."
Previously a doctor with the
Jackson County medical examiner's office identified the probable
cause of death as a spider or an insect bite. [Where the fuck do
they get these coroners?] What caused Roberto's health to fail,
Thompson said, has not been definitively determined.
"What he died from, regardless of
the cause, would not have led to a deterioration of his condition in
an immediate sense," Thompson said Friday. "It's a process that
would have taken time."
The lawsuit alleges that Roberto
'was subjected to sadistic, cruel and harmful acts.' [Wow, really?
You think making kids lie in their own feces might fit this
description? Maybe?]
'Defendants' agents, servants and
employees forced other students to wake up and drag and attempt to
carry Roberto Reyes to the shower in his filthy clothes to be hosed
down in a crude attempt to wash off human excrement and filth,'
according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says the defendants
treated Roberto's physical complaints as 'games and ploys, despite
an inability to walk, deteriorating respiratory status and
diminishing mental and cognitive function. The lawsuit says Roberto
was left "to die alone" with a feeling of utter hopelessness.'
It also states that Thayer "engages
in a pattern and practice of inflicting physical and emotional harm
to children under its care" [Well, yeah. They're Mormons. What did
you expect?] and that it fails to provide them with adequate medical
care.
The lawsuit says the family is
seeking in excess of $25,000.
No charges have been filed in
connection with Roberto's death. A division of the Missouri
Department of Social Services is conducting an investigation.
Gus Kolilis, deputy director of the
department's legal division, said a state investigator had spoken
with many people connected to Thayer.
"There are just a lot of pieces
here," he said.
Kolilis said he hoped to conclude
the investigation this month.
Caldwell County Prosecutor Jason
Kanoy said he was awaiting results from the state investigation
before deciding whether his office would take any action.
After Roberto died, a panel of
county and state officials charged with reviewing child deaths said
earlier medical treatment might have prevented the death. That
review, coupled with police reports and allegations made by former
students and employees, painted a disturbing picture of life at
Thayer, which houses about 100 teens.
A Dec. 19 story in The Star cited
police reports and interviews with seven former Thayer employees and
students alleging physical and emotional abuse of students, such as
one being forced to eat her vomit and another being forced to sit in
a tub of urine. [Quality therapy there, folks!]
In a response to The Star in
December, Thayer officials called the allegations "ludicrous and
false."
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