February 8, 2005
 

The parents of a Santa Rosa boy who died at a Missouri boot camp for troubled youths have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the operators and some employees of the facility.

The boy's parents, Victor and Gracia Reyes, filed the suit Friday against the Thayer Learning Center Boot Camp, its affiliated Parent Help referral agency, and three boot camp employees.

The lawsuit, filed in Buchanan County, Mo., states Roberto M. Reyes, 15, was "subjected to sadistic, cruel, and harmful acts. ... He was thrown into solitary confinement, refused bathroom facilities, and forced to (lie) in his own excrement for extended periods of time."

An autopsy of the 6-foot-2-inch teen "documented numerous bruises, cuts, and ulcerations consistent with physical abuse," the suit alleges.

"As you can expect, the death of any 15-year-old from any cause would be a tragedy," said the Reyes family's lawyer, James T. Thompson of Kansas City, Mo. "But the circumstances, as they appear to come to light, are difficult for anyone ... to comprehend."

Thayer Learning Center and the Parent Help referral agency are owned by Willa and John Bundy, of Kidder, Mo. The couple could not be reached for comment.

Missouri officials are investigating whether the teenager was physically abused by camp counselors and provided insufficient medical care.

He died on Nov. 3, less than a week after he arrived at the camp, in Kidder, 60 miles north of Kansas City.

State and county officials said in December that earlier medical treatment of Roberto Reyes, who died of a spider or insect bite, might have prevented his death.

The boy's parents could not be reached Monday for comment.

Roberto's death has renewed the call for tighter regulations of camps and schools for troubled teens.

More than 30 teenagers in a dozen states have reportedly died at such camps since 1980, including a 14-year-old San Mateo County boy who died at an Arizona desert boot camp in 2001 after being forced to eat dirt. Therapeutic programs for troubled teens are a booming industry. There are several hundred such wilderness camps, schools and military academies nationwide. Several states, including Missouri, have no licensing requirements for teen camps and schools.

The Reyeses decided to send their son to the Missouri boot camp after he ran away from home for short periods of time. They contacted the Parent Help referral agency, which referred them to Thayer Learning Center, which has about 100 students and charges nearly $50,000 a year.

In May 2004, three Thayer employees filed complaints with the sheriff's office in Caldwell County, Mo. They described students being stripped to their underwear, tied up, and ice water being poured on them every hour. They also said a female student had been forced to sit in a tub of urine for at least 2 1/2 hours.