In an attempt to escape domestic violence at home, a 17-year-old boy filed for emancipation against his mother. Despite the issuance of a protective order, the boy's mom found her son and arranged for his abduction to force his transfer to a reform school in Missouri.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the teenager was working at a Fresno store when he was approached by the "transfer team" sent by the Agape Boarding School for Boys. He was forced into a rental car after the team presented him with a fake court document permitting his transfer.
For more than 27 hours during the journey, the unnamed teen was handcuffed, and his phone was taken from him. He kept telling the men who took him that his transfer was illegal.
What did the teen endure from his mother?
The 17-year-old filed for emancipation in 2020 because he was mistreated by his mother, Shana Gaviola, 35, who harassed the family who temporarily took her son in. The court favored the boy's request and barred his mother from contacting or talking to him. This also meant that she wouldn't be able to hit, strike and molest her son. The court also allowed the boy to have his own cellphone, which his mother denied him.
But the mother sought help from Julio Sandoval, 41, to get her son back. Sandoval was the former dean of the Agape Boarding School in Missouri. At that time, Sandoval had been working at the boarding school for more than a decade. He also had the means for transferring and transporting students.
Upon reaching the boarding school, however, the boy was detained for eight days until his father fought for his release. Gaviola and Sandoval were indicted on federal charges in late August 2022, following a joint investigation by the FBI and the police departments of Clovis and Fresno.
However, both have entered a plea of "not guilty" and will still undergo trial in the coming months. The pair could face up to five years in prison and be fined $250,000 if convicted.
Agape Boarding School is known as a Christian institution that "turns around rebellious boys," according to USA Today. As of 2022, the school has been subjected to 19 other civil cases alleging abuse of the students.
Calls to shut down Agape Boarding School
In line with Sandoval's arrest and the growing cases against the boarding school, civil rights attorney Elad Gross said in a statement via KSBH that Agape has to be shut down as soon as possible. There have been claims that the children have been locked away in what has been essentially described as "torture rooms."
Yet Gross said that the school continues to advertise and welcome troubled teens for reformation. Phone calls to the school will direct to an automated message addressing parents that they can help "a son who is out of control."
The attorney believes that Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt can enforce the school's closure based on a law passed in 2021 that gives officials in high office the authority to ensure that such institutions must cease to exist. Gross said all Schmitt has to do is file the closure order.
