The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, in collaboration with the Missouri Highway Patrol, arrested Larry Charles Musgraves Jr. and Carmen Grizel Musgraves, the owners of the ABM Ministries Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont.
The couple was arrested Friday evening on charges of first-degree kidnapping.
According to a press release from Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch, the department had a growing suspicion of ABM’s treatment of its students after several children ran away from the school. Later, a former student contacted Finch to speak about his experience.
The sheriff traveled to Alabama to personally meet with the source. As a result of the interview, Finch launched a months-long investigation into the school and was contacted by more youths alleging abuse.
“This investigation is far from over,” he detailed.
As reported in the Kansas City Star, former students alleged repeated verbal and physical abuse. While ABM ministries did not respond for comment, the organization’s employee code of conduct evidently prohibits the reported behavior.
However, various websites are awash with commenters claiming to be former students detailing negative incidents at the school.
One reviewer on niche.com stated, “ABM was a traumatic experience for me and others who have attended here in the past.”
On Reddit’s troubled teen subreddit, multiple threads stretch back years dedicated to users alleging the academy’s abusive treatment during their claimed time at the school.
David Clohessy of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests expounded, “We believe others who are or were at this facility have also hurt kids and must be brought to justice, especially Julio Sandoval, who also abused youngsters at Agape School in Stockton Missouri.”
Sandoval, a current employee of ABM, was indicted on federal charges in 2022 for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to have a minor handcuffed and transported for 27 hours to Agape School. The Kansas City Star reported he was hired as director at Lighthouse Christian Academy after his dismissal from Agape.
Clohessy elaborated, “Everyone else with knowledge or suspicions of crimes and cover-ups at Lighthouse Academy must summon the strength to call law enforcement.”
Finch expects more charges to be filed as more information comes to light and asks for patience from the community.
He affirmed he will, “leave no stone unturned until all victims are interviewed.”
The Musgraves are being held at the Wayne County Jail without bond. If convicted, they face a minimum 10-year sentence with 30 years to life being the maximum.