Fairhaven Baptist Academy Ex-Students Describe Brutal Abuse Endured (VIDEO)

Former students of Fairhaven Baptist Academy in Indiana are speaking out about their experiences of abuse, including incidents of humiliation, hitting, torment and rape, CNN reports.

"We constantly lived in fear of looking the wrong way, doing the wrong thing," Alison Lavery told the network.

The school is associated with Fairhaven Baptist Church, which along with Fairhaven Baptist College, was founded by Pastor Roger Voegtlin, an influential figure in the fundamentalist Baptist community. Voegtlin, who said he supports physical discipline, told CNN that he thinks the former students are embellishing and that almost all Fairhaven students are happy.

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Comments

[Endogenous Light Nexus]

01:57 PM on 10/03/2011

That smarmy psychopathic preacher should be beaten mercilessly himself until he understands something about mercy and compassion. To treat kids this way is unconscionable & should be criminal.

[veryberry]

07:38 PM on 10/02/2011

Hi Iridium53, You might like to bring up Rachel Maddow's Sept.30 show. There's a video which is partly of Frank Schaeffer expounding on the motives/agenda of the fundamentalist politicians. He's got it down cold and it's pretty scary. Falls in with your post. The second half of the video is Schaeffer's part.
I'm impressed with the number of posts you read and then reply to. Busy lady you are.

[SteveDenver]

12:00 PM on 10/02/2011

How did I know that in the end, the sweet old pastor with no inkling that anything ever went wrong in his church school would blame the victims?

Pastor: You won't be judged by how well you did with the brightest and most compliant child, but how you embraced and encouraged the most difficult.

It takes a special ENORMOUS ego to lead a group ofGULLIBLES to pour their money into building an edifice, forming a school, and erecting a college (that can hand out honorary doctorates and 2-year Masters degrees, so uneducated people can teach). Anyone who can "sell Jesus" for that long a time is wildly deluded and self-impressed that god loves him and approves of what he does.

Give this man some school vouchers so tax money will pour into his tax-exempt coffers.

[TheSojourner]

02:05 AM on 10/02/2011

Why doesn't this surprise me? I have heard so many examples of "Breaking the will" of children as young as infants, I think these sickos should be arrested for child abuse. What do you expect when they say that people are "born evil" and must be "broken" in order to become "holy"? Their whole ""spare the rod, spoil the child" concept is warped into a sadistic quasi-religious fervor, to destroy the imagined evils "that flesh is heir to". This is not only sick but disgusting. I feel for the children of these maniacs.

[SteveDenver]

12:01 PM on 10/02/2011

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I hope that these victims find help to get beyond the damage AND beyond the mythology.

[noderbabe]

11:34 PM on 10/01/2011

This is so sad! I went to a very strict Baptist High School, and though there was no physical abuse that I was aware of, the level of control was very intense. And get this, students were not allowed to graduate if they had not been baptized. As I aged and had children of my own, I realized that Corporal punishment was just a lazy person's excuse for child rearing, You are too tired or stressed or angry to TALK (not yell) to your child? Wack!! Just swat them. Children need intimate communication on their level, with their parents setting the example. I wish I could say I was a great mother, but I CAN say that I loved my children, admitted my mistakes and learned from them.

[SteveDenver]

12:06 PM on 10/02/2011

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Your kids are seriously fortunate that you emerged from dogmatic ways of child rearing. Most of the times I've seen a kid get swatted was because the PARENT became impatient and/or embarrassed.

[noderbabe]

09:51 PM on 10/04/2011

I appreciate your kind statement. My parents taught me to think. I will not participate in any organization where independent thought is considered wrong, rebellious, or whatever. I hope my children feel the same. I am a grandma now of 5 precious children. I still consider myself a conservative Christian, but Im not too worried about labels.

[xena]

05:11 PM on 09/29/2011

It's Indiana. They do nothing to close these schools or even investigate. Just like The Hephzibah House, which is about 2 miles from my house, our state legislature refuses to do anything about it because so many of them are fundagelicals, just like these crazy pastors.

[Edward Wilkes]

12:51 PM on 09/29/2011

This sickest people can be found in churches and cults. Warning do not be fooled, by those pretending to be employed by Jesus! Just stay at home---read your Bibles and feel your own inherent connection to the super natural experience. Humans cannot be trusted!

[LoLo72]

08:29 AM on 09/29/2011

I watched 20/20 or Dateline, can't remember which & they did a show on this. Not this particular church but on Fundamental Baptist Churches. On tape you can hear the pastor saying to start beating your child at 2 weeks old to break their will. 2 WEEKS OLD!?!? He said, "don't beat you 2 week old the same way you beat your 17 year old but still beat them when they cry to break their will & control them". We have one of these churches in our neighbor hood, if you do down their dead end road they come out & ask why you are there & to remove yourself. I found this out by accidentally driving down their road when I moved here looking for houses. Most churches welcome outsiders & try to get you to join. Not them, they were not welcoming & actually intimidated me to leave quickly. My son said "are they a cult".

[Cathy Coudriet]

08:15 AM on 09/28/2011

It is all about control... Not Jesus...

[happyblackman]

04:44 PM on 09/27/2011

Who do these Baptists think they are? Catholics?!

[wiseman103199]

04:48 PM on 09/27/2011

Exactly...WHAT WERE JESUS"S WARNINGS CONCERNING CHILDREN!!!! Welcome to your millstone folks!! Enjoy it, you have certainly earned it!

[Parade Keegan]

03:36 AM on 09/27/2011

Religion and abuse in the same sentence... again. It's a constant theme and people are starting to pay attention.

[Coneja]

12:18 AM on 09/27/2011

In the name of religion.

[poorblackandbroke]

12:07 AM on 09/27/2011

How sad. More sick people to give reason for some to drag Christ's name through the mud.

[sean62965]

02:56 PM on 09/27/2011

Ummm, his name has been dragged through the mud for a long time by those who claim to be is followers.
Practice more, preach less.

[wiseman103199]

04:49 PM on 09/27/2011

Jesus did not do this. And believe me, Jesus has got something for them!!!

[matt gordon]

10:56 PM on 09/26/2011

Bring back the lions.

[trinity]

08:18 PM on 09/26/2011

I was wondering what those folks were up to...Driving to church in Gary, IN on Sunday, I used to see the Fairhaven buses driving through the streets picking up children to drive 20 miles away to their church in well to do Chesterton (it's not like Gary has a short supply of churches)...they'd have a caravan on the highway.

The Fairhaven folks also send their young people door to door, they are competing with a local First Baptist "college" (if you want to call it that) who does the same thing...My old neighborhood was a soul saving battle ground between Fairhaven's white buses and Hyles Anderson's green buses filled with long haired long skirted young women and tie wearing young men...

[noderbabe]

11:38 PM on 10/01/2011

Wow!! Hyles Anderson!! Now there is a place with horror stories.