IN - Allegations of child abuse at Hephzibah House, Winona Lake, 2018

That's what I was wondering, if these girls are already from brainwashed religious homes. Not bashing religion as I believe but I know some are very extreme in their believes.
Yes. you have to be from a vetted fanatical family in a vetted fanatical (supporting) church to even get the application package for Hephzibah house.
 
Just a side note about state's inability to adequately protect girls and women exploited by these "religious schools".

The 2011 Mother Jones article linked a couple pages back discusses the difficulty in getting state legislatures to vote for some kind of regulation and accountability for these "schools".

Most states have powerful lobbyists who fight these regulations. Below is a link to the WS thread on the case of a wife of a very controversial lobbyist for "Christian" issues in the state of Missouri, Kerry Messer. His wife went missing one night in 2014. He later admitted to fabricating a suicide note for her in which he blamed his son. He admitted to having affairs with women in his organization, among other things. His wife's body was found 2 yrs later in a remote area of the family farm. COD hasn't been determined, LE is still investigating, but his sons are adamant their father killed her so he could be free to marry his mistress.

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...ieve-County-8-July-2014&highlight=lynn+messer

Maybe it will help to take a close look at some of the people who are pushing state legislators to overlook this abuse.

There's an episode of the "Disappeared" series on Investigation Discovery channel. It aired last spring, I think you can view it online. Here's a sneak peek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQvovvtJSHM
 
Just a side note about state's inability to adequately protect girls and women exploited by these "religious schools".

The 2011 Mother Jones article linked a couple pages back discusses the difficulty in getting state legislatures to vote for some kind of regulation and accountability for these "schools".

Most states have powerful lobbyists who fight these regulations. Below is a link to the WS thread on the case of a wife of a very controversial lobbyist for "Christian" issues in the state of Missouri, Kerry Messer. His wife went missing one night in 2014. He later admitted to fabricating a suicide note for her in which he blamed his son. He admitted to having affairs with women in his organization, among other things. His wife's body was found 2 yrs later in a remote area of the family farm. COD hasn't been determined, LE is still investigating, but his sons are adamant their father killed her so he could be free to marry his mistress.

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...ieve-County-8-July-2014&highlight=lynn+messer
Maybe it will help to take a close look at some of the people who are pushing state legislators to overlook this abuse.

I agree.

Ditto at the federal level. I'm reading up on the legislative history of that House bill which would have mandated several child-abuse reporting mechanisms for private/religious institutions (which Williams actively opposed), and why it died in the US Senate.

I'm looking for the names of those responsible in the Senate who either killed it /let it die in committee, and for any of their stated reasons for their opposition.
 
Disgruntled, you said you were at this school in the 1980s?

I can tell you I went to a public government run grade school in the 1980s. When I was in the second grade our teacher would rap masking tape across a students mouth, and then around their head so many times that their head looked like a mummified paper mache ball; if they talk to much during class.

If she was really angry with you, then she would have you stand upright with your nose and toes up against the brick wall in the hall. If the school principle came by and saw you, he would grab you by the arm, and drag you to the office, and whip you with a big paddle. So, the whole time you stood in that hall; your hart was just beating and pounding as you hoped the principle did not come by and see you.

I'm just saying things were a bit different back then when we went to school then they are today, and no we did not have cell phones or anything.
As horrible as that story is, there is a tremendous difference between abusive school tactics from 40 years ago and systematic starvation and beatings and complete total confinement with no advocate, no voice and no hope. I also was a student in a public school in the 80's before I was taken to Hephzibah House and there were school counselors and student advocates and social workers even then. Some kids were still paddled in school in the 80's My husband and I both were. 4 swats with a paddle in the school office is quite a different league from what went on at Hephzibah house. What happened to me in the 80's is of no importance other than insight into the man I know. What is happening to the children there right now is what we are concerned about. I do not believe that a man who in the 80's delighted in, giggled like a school girl at the beating of infants with wooden boards and the girls who were diapered because they were not allowed to use the bathroom until they had an accident or the girls who winced and cried when they moved because they were so raw or bruised or teasing them with food they could not eat has reformed to become a compassionate and caring and safe individual whom we should just "trust" with the girls locked in his basement. Girls who cannot even speak to their own parents uncensored, who are under harsher lock down conditions than the most dangerous killers in our highest security prisons. We can just walk away and pat ourselves on the back because it was normal to beat kids in the 80's?
 
Phil has shilled for similar (although nominally secular and slightly less batshit) so-called schools in the not-so-distant past, and has sent several kids there on his show. Mainly Aspen franchises, currently his main favorite/sponsor seems to be Turnabout Ranch. Mild compared to Hepzibah (sort of like syphilis being mild compared to Ebola) but based on the same ****ed-up psyhcological model. He's just about the last celebrity to go to bat for your cause, it would hit too close to home. Edit: links https://www.reddit.com/r/troubledteens/ http://tales-from-the-black-school.blogspot.com/ Fornits.com is now pretty much dead but definitely worth checking out, as long as you don't mind sifting through tons of trolling and shitposts: http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/

We were scheduled to go on the Dr Phil show around 2009, but he cancelled at the last minute. I have no idea why. I assumed it had to to with more interesting stories being out there at the time.
 
Disgruntled, I sent a link to your website to a well-respected investigative reporter. Fingers are crossed she can point our noses in a helpful direction. We all need to reach out and spread this information. Something meaningful may take hold. We can't just scroll and roll, ya know. Gives me shivers to think this is our Veep's home state that he "governed".
I am so grateful. Those who take invite and action in any small way are hero's to those girls.
 
I agree.

Ditto at the federal level. I'm reading up on the legislative history of that House bill which would have mandated several child-abuse reporting mechanisms for private/religious institutions (which Williams actively opposed), and why it died in the US Senate.

I'm looking for the names of those responsible in the Senate who either killed it /let it die in committee, and for any of their stated reasons for their opposition.

Great idea to do that research. With the Turpin torture case, this all needs to be revisited. Its crazy that public schools are held accountable, but not private/religious institutions.
 
As I see it, the biggest challenge at present is getting someone in authority (or a mandated reporter) IN the place. And without some specific information about actual current harms/activities nobody can get a warrant to get past the gate.

I did sorta brainstorm about the bad idea of lobbing an incendiary device in--the idea being that a fire would at least get some first responders in. NOT recommended.

But, I did a quick review of Indiana State Ed Regs for private schools: https://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/regprivschl/regprivschl.pdf (beginning on page 82). Some disappointing info:
Accreditation of non-public schools is voluntary, and clearly Hephzibah is not raising their hand on this one. They would be considered a non accredited nonpublic school. Which gets them out of a good many regulations.

However, if my reading is correct (Gitana?), they are required to "register" annually with the state, which gets them a number (which the do not seem to have in going through publicly available state databases). They are also (I believe) required to annually provide the state with an annual enrolment number.
The State Superintendent MAY require them to provide a list of students (name, address, age) and they MUST respond if this is requested.
The school MAY require students to provide something from their prior school, but they are required (again--if I am reading correctly) to see a birth certificate or other credible documentation of name and DOB for each student. If none is made available to them, they are required to report to Missing Children to ensure that this child has not been reported missing from somewhere. (don't know that this is helpful, just thought it was interesting.

But here's the part I thought might be helpful. Each public agency (IOW, the local school district) is responsible to locate, identify and evaluate ALL students with disabilities, providing services as warranted. And this applies even to students attending private schools. Now, I did spend some time on the HH website, looking into their Mission and all those letters of support (interesting--none of them, even the letters of support from ministers--has a name attached). They define mission in terms of "troubled girls," which THEY define as being morally corrupt or rebellious. However, the rest of the world pretty much recognizes that this would be a population having considerable overlap with having learning/behavioral/emotional disabilities (frequently undiagnosed).

Now, Warsaw (http://www.warsaw.k12.in.us/informa...14-2015-parent-student-handbook0904221pm/file) would be their local school district, and Indiana law (as well as federal IDEA legislation) gives them an affirmative responsibility to seek out children with disabilities in order to see that they get required services. Now, it's anybody's guess whether they would be willing to stick their neck out. But they are answerable to the State on this, and I don't think the HH influence reaches that far.

Now, it's a long shot, and all it does is get a mandated reporter inside the grounds and in contact with their students (maybe). And it might take some outreach to the state DOE. But it also looks like a stone that hasn't yet been turned over.

Anyone?
 
Great idea to do that research. With the Turpin torture case, this all needs to be revisited. Its crazy that public schools are held accountable, but not private/religious institutions.

Indiana has an interesting slant to their private school exemption. Schools may CHOOSE to be accredited by the state. or not. And many do.
 
Exactly. Freedom to worship is important. Using that to claim additional rights (secrecy, freedom from accountability) is the work of snake oil salesmen.
It is exactly what we object about Sharia Law.
 
Williams is in his 70's now. Hephzibah house is teaming with "staff" Jim Kagin is Handyman. He is also head huntsman if a girl escapes and has beaten many many girls over the years. He is married to Ron William's first underage student. Dawn Kagin who is cook and overseer of all things food for the compound. Their child Shaphen stayed at HH and married very young 18, I believe, to Naomi Williams many years older than him They are both staff and live in the school street building above the office. The have several children. Donald Williams is the pastor of Believers Chapel and is Williams oldest son, he is married to Wenda and they have 10 children. They are both staff at Hephzibah house. The Hayman husband and wife are assistant pastor and she is staff I cannot remember if she is a secretary or is the "nurse" So far that is 10 adult full time staff positions that live on compound property. There may be more.

Next are the dorm mothers. These are single young women who are either former students or recruited from churches by pastors Williams knows well. These Women must agree to live side by side with the girls in the basement 24 hours a day with one day off a week. They receive no pay and must raise support from family and church members of their home church to live on. Williams controls this money, controls how they spend their free time, censors their mail and phone calls as he sees fit. These women vow to follow Williams headship and agree not to date or associate with young men in any way. They are not allowed to bring a car to HH in most cases and can only go to town if chaperoned. The head staff lady right now is Teresa Dawson. under her are 3-5 women. So that is at least 15 full time staff for about 12 girls. Full capacity is 24 but Williams figured out a long time ago that he can pull in just as much cash with 12 and it is much less work.

Girls that come to Hephzibah house are "broken". It is a stated goal and the term refers to actually bypassing the natural instinct to fight back and self protect. Once a girl is "broken" she remains pretty docile and complacent with just occasionally reenforcement. Whatever he dreams up they go through it is intense. I still feel Williams fingers in my head to this day. It changes as people get wise to what he is doing, but the goal is the completely break the child. We always figure out what he is doing about they time he moves to a different tactic. I never knew a girl Williams could not break mentally.
You are a great writer Disgruntled. Write to reporters. Write to Dr Phil and Oprah. Write to as many people as possible. Your narratives will bring the needed awareness.
 
I’m not sure if this could help, but thought it would be worth a mention to get this more attention.

A YouTuber - John Lordan, does great work on various cases. I can pass on your website via twitter DM to him, if you like? Or you could of course.

https://www.youtube.com/user/GeekenDorx

Twitter username - LordanArts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My list of contacts to make is long right now and I frankly think it is helpful if someone else makes some of these first preliminary connections. If my voice was enough they would have been shut down in 1985.
 
My list of contacts to make is long right now and I frankly think it is helpful if someone else makes some of these first preliminary connections. If my voice was enough they would have been shut down in 1985.

I have no problem at all passing this on for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I am kicking myself for not being licensed in Indiana right now. I was supposed to take the IN bar exam next month but cancelled when we found out we were expecting. There has to be a lawyer in IN who would front the filing fees for a case against the Williams.

IMO every willing survivor needs to sue them for everything civil law will allow, i.e. intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil assault and battery, false imprisonment, and anything else IN law allows for, as well as suing all the adults who knew of the abuse and failed to report it per IN law. Williams will come back with a statute of limitations defense but an attorney who truly cares about this will fight them on it. Lawsuits can get huge media hype even if they fail. Ultimately the goal should be to shut this family down from ever doing this to anyone else regardless of where they move or how long they wait or how many times they close and re-open. I also think every survivor should report the abuse to CPS.

Everyone on here can contact the legislator that disgruntled told us has been met with by a survivor. The calls only take a few minutes and filling out the form online is even easier. Her staff will likely sort the messages, but if there are enough of them the legislator's themselves will know. http://indianahousedemocrats.org/contact-karlee-macer/
 
Disgruntled,

I’m so sorry for what you have endured and admire your willingness to relentlessly continue the fight for others in the same situation.

If I understand correctly, the statute of limitations has expired so it is not possible to bring criminal charges or file a civil suit?

Compounding the issue is that there is no way to help determine the identity of current victims or recent survivors who may still be within the statute of limitations?

That is exactly right.
 
I'm still reading and catching up but I think VMMKING made an excellent point, I think shifting attention to the Doctor's administrating illegal drugs or some type of tax scam could be the answer. Good Luck please let us know what you need us to do, I'm sure many would be happy to help with letter writing, research, etc. You've been on my mind since I've read your story and I can't shake it, I want to help, so just let me know how I can do that best.
 
Another thing that could be done to help save these girls and perhaps prevent future girls from ever being placed there is to go after them on Google reviews. A few people have already posted some negative reviews but the more, and the more detailed, the more likely it is to make an impact. The few on there now some parents could write off as being disgruntled girls who never "learned" to be "godly" or "submissive" at the institution.
https://www.google.com/search?q=hep...8#lrd=0x88169da368d05b4f:0x6c67e941ddcc9aeb,1,,,
 

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