by Julie Goodman
Clarion LedgerUnhappy parents, troubled teens, torture allegations
and lawsuits have all become an unenviable part of John Fountain's life
since he took over Bethel Boys Academy from his father nearly two years
ago.
The school for troubled teenagers — now called Eagle Point Christian
Academy — has on one side assertive parents who continue to report abuse,
explaining in graphic detail the wounds they detected on their children
once they were removed from the school.
On the other side are Fountain's equally adamant denials. He points to
what he says are litigious parents and children who were brought to the
school — sometimes against their will — in part because of deception
problems.
It's not clear exactly what happens at the academy when spectators are
gone.
But the school's court-appointed monitor and the county sheriff's office
have both made room for the possibility that some of the children making
recent allegations could be lying.
"A lot of those kids have problems, and they'll make allegations just
so they can get out of there," said Bill East, a former prosecutor who now
inspects the school quarterly as the academy's monitor.
East's inspections are part of a 2003 Chancery Court consent decree that
required the school to institute a range of changes from allowing restroom
and water breaks during exercise to forbidding the use of electrical
devices for discipline. The decree was issued while the school was
directed by Fountain's father, Herman Fountain, and abuse allegations drew
the attention of state officials who sought to close the academy.
John Fountain's father was forced to relinquish all interests and control
in the school, which admits about 100 students from all over the country.
He says he has worked to reform the academy, parting with the ways of his
father.
He fired three employees on the spot for what appeared to be abusive
behavior.
Fountain has tried to press charges against the former staffers. George
County sheriff's office said there is only one open case against a former
employee.
East said he does not know of any pervasive abuse at the school and
said the academy — which has problems like any other school — is trying to
improve. "John Fountain is trying," he said. "He's got a zero tolerance of
abuse now."
The school's residential adviser is implementing a reward and sanction
system, which no longer uses exercise to punish all students for the bad
behavior of one child.
Fountain said he is trying to arrange with the Boys and Girls Club so
students can serve as companions for younger children, or be paired with
mentors. He said he hopes to build a gym and a larger schoolhouse, while
gravitating away from a military approach and toward a boarding school
environment.
There are 38 cameras installed over the campus, except in the
bathrooms.
In addition to shedding the school's name, Fountain also is dropping the
"drill instructor" title for employees, calling them "team leaders" or
"dorm leaders" instead. He has ordered khaki pants and colored tops for
the boys to replace military fatigues. But the abuse allegations keep
coming.
Parents say the cameras have been tampered with, and that John Fountain
is inextricably linked to the problem that brought on the abuse in the
first place: his father.
"John Fountain is, as far as I'm concerned, as bad as his dad," said Oscar
Stilley of Fort Smith, Ark., attorney for parents of former cadets suing
the academy in federal court.
Stilley said his office has taken steps to weed out plaintiffs making
false allegations, including running criminal background checks and
comparing accounts of the abuse for inconsistencies. He said the pattern
of reports shows the students are telling the truth. "If everybody is
saying there's terrible abuse going on, there's terrible abuse going on in
my mind," he said.
But Stilley, whose suit names about two dozen plaintiffs, does not rule
out the possibility that some of the plaintiffs could be lying.
Ruben Villa, 15, who was at the school on and off for more than a year
until he ran away in November, said he was underfed, overworked, and once
had his head slammed against a wall.
Students sleep on mattresses with urine stains and broken springs, and
are forced to endure long hours of physical labor helping to build cabins
on Herman Fountain's property, with little focus on schoolwork, said
Villa, who lives outside Los Angeles. He and a group of friends finally
ran away.
Parents say that children who have been removed from the school have no
reason to lie about abuse, and that the Fountains manipulate parents by
calling their children "bad." "I feel like they were playing on the
parents' emotions," said Villa's mother, Alice Stroud, who is joining a
lawsuit.
Fountain said if Ruben Villa's head had been slammed against the wall, it
would have been caught on tape. He also accused the teen of stealing a car
from the property, saying his credibility is in question.
Other students currently at the school dismissed allegations of abuse.
The school's staff said the students, some of whom have been in the
juvenile detention system, are savvy and know how to bring heat on to the
school. Fountain said he doesn't want to invalidate the concerns of
families, but said by and large, he has been the victim of parents trying
to make a buck.
"I've had parents come in there, drop their kids off, find out that
there has been allegations against Bethel Academy, come pick up their kid
and say, 'Oh my kid's been abused,' " he said.
"And then want their money."