AP News, October 25th, 2007
Congressional investigators looking into the death of a student at a Missouri boot camp for troubled teens have referred the case to the FBI for further investigation.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said the Government Accountability Office made the referral after completing its report on thousands of allegations of abuse, neglect and deaths at treatment programs around the country.
Fifteen-year-old Roberto Reyes died in 2004 after spending less than two weeks at the Thayer Learning Center, a military-type home in Kidder, Mo., about 50 miles north of Kansas City.
Reyes' death was blamed on a probable spider bite, but the GAO report found he had been ill for days and punished for being too weak to exercise. He also was forced to wear a 20-pound sandbag around his neck.
"In light of the seriousness of this case, in which neglect, if not outright abuse, likely contributed to the death of a child, I urge the FBI to treat this referral with urgency," Miller said.
Officials at Thayer and the FBI did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
At Miller's request, the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, launched a nationwide investigation into residential treatment programs for children and released its findings at a congressional hearing earlier this month. Miller wants Congress to regulate such camps more strictly.
Reyes' parents sent him to Thayer Learning Center after the California teenager's grades dropped and he repeatedly ran away from home. The GAO's review of camp records showed that Reyes had an oozing bump on his arm by the second day of the boot camp phase of the program and told staff he was feeling ill.
Camp records showed that Reyes vomited, defecated and urinated on himself numerous times over the next few days, but the staff believed he was being rebellious.
"When we see evidence that warrants further investigation for potential criminal activity or abuse, we make a referral," said Gregory Kutz, head of GAO's forensic audit and special investigations unit.
"There was clear evidence to us that he was abused before he died," said Kutz, who met with FBI officials about the case earlier this month. "The people there misinterpreted the signs of a spider bite and thought he was faking something, so instead of getting him medical treatment, they tortured him."
After his death, Reyes' parents sued the camp and several staff members, eventually settling the case for slightly more than $1 million. No criminal charges were filed against the camp.
Camp officials have denied claims in the lawsuit that physical exertion and abuse caused or contributed to the boy's death.
The camp, which houses more than 100 troubled teens, has been the subject of several claims of child abuse.
In another well-publicized case, a jury recently acquitted seven camp guards and a nurse of manslaughter charges in the death of Martin Lee Anderson, a 14-year-old black inmate at a boot camp in Bay County, in Florida's Panhandle.
Anderson died Jan. 6, 2006, a day after being hit and kicked by the guards as the nurse watched when he collapsed while running laps. The 30-minute confrontation was videotaped.
