April 21, 2005
 

Associated Press
in Columbia Tribune

KANSAS CITY (AP) - A northwest Missouri boot camp that’s facing a wrongful-death lawsuit for the death of a 15-year-old California boy is suing one of its most vocal critics for causing "irreparable harm" to the institution.

Thayer Learning Center, a military-type home for about 100 troubled teens in Kidder, filed the suit last week against former employee Timothy Rocha for breaching a signed employment agreement that stated he would not "divert, take away ... or interfere with any present or future customer."

Rocha, who earned $9 an hour as a "sergeant," worked at Thayer from Aug. 28, 2004, until he was fired about two weeks later. The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages.

Thayer claims Rocha has contacted customers and attempted to steer them away from Thayer and has "successfully diverted away many potential customers." The lawsuit says Thayer "has experienced a significant decrease in revenues" because of Rocha’s actions.

Rocha has been an outspoken critic of the camp, saying he was stunned by what he thought were abusive practices. He filed two reports of child abuse with the Caldwell County sheriff’s office in September, claiming a student had been placed in "half a chokehold" and that a Thayer employee then sat on the student’s legs.

In a Dec. 19 story in The Kansas City Star, Rocha said he was troubled by some of the actions he says he saw during his brief tenure at the facility. Thayer officials say the allegations of child abuse are "ludicrous and false."

Rocha is listed as a witness in a state investigative report conducted after 15-year-old Roberto Reyes died Nov. 3 of what an autopsy report said were the likely complications of a spider or insect bite.

His parents sued the center, three employees and a referral service in February, alleging that physical exertion and abuse caused or contributed to the teen’s death.

Police in Boonville recently became interested in the Thayer inquiry as part of their own investigation into Robert Lichfield, founder of World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.

Boonville recently denied Lichfield’s bid to purchase the former Kemper Military School in Boonville and turn it into a boarding school for defiant youths.

Boonville Police Department officials said they were investigating suspected ties between Thayer and Lichfield’s World Wide Association. The connection could not be confirmed.

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