Former students of Atlantis Leadership Academy, along with parents and lawyers, describe rampant abuse. Five employees have been charged with child cruelty.
Boys at an American-run school for troubled teens in Jamaica were beaten by adult staff members, forced to exercise until they vomited and placed in stress positions for hours at a time, according to former students, their parents and attorneys assisting them.
The new details shared in interviews with NBC News offer insight into what likely prompted Jamaican child welfare officials to remove children from Atlantis Leadership Academy in February and place them in protective custody.
In both their interviews and written statements, the boys describe rampant abuse, including being hit by employees, sometimes with objects like tin water bottles and broomsticks, and how a thwarted runaway attempt resulted in more assaults.
In interviews, James and another student, a 15-year-old boy whom NBC News is not identifying because of his age, separately described a punishment in which they were forced to sit up straight on a tall stool for hours at a time without bathroom breaks and were hit if they moved.
Photos that his mother, Tarah Fleischman, received from the academy appear to show that Cody, who is diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD, lost a significant amount of weight while at the school.
They said their sons told them that employees would force boys to stay alone in a small shed that staff and students referred to as “The Box” for days at a time, consuming only rice and water, and urinating in a bucket.
The original article contains 1,804 words, the summary contains 240 words. Saved 87%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Boys at an American-run school for troubled teens in Jamaica were beaten by adult staff members, forced to exercise until they vomited and placed in stress positions for hours at a time, according to former students, their parents and attorneys assisting them.
The new details shared in interviews with NBC News offer insight into what likely prompted Jamaican child welfare officials to remove children from Atlantis Leadership Academy in February and place them in protective custody.
In both their interviews and written statements, the boys describe rampant abuse, including being hit by employees, sometimes with objects like tin water bottles and broomsticks, and how a thwarted runaway attempt resulted in more assaults.
In interviews, James and another student, a 15-year-old boy whom NBC News is not identifying because of his age, separately described a punishment in which they were forced to sit up straight on a tall stool for hours at a time without bathroom breaks and were hit if they moved.
Photos that his mother, Tarah Fleischman, received from the academy appear to show that Cody, who is diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD, lost a significant amount of weight while at the school.
They said their sons told them that employees would force boys to stay alone in a small shed that staff and students referred to as “The Box” for days at a time, consuming only rice and water, and urinating in a bucket.
The original article contains 1,804 words, the summary contains 240 words. Saved 87%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!