World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools


The World Wide Association Of Specialty Programs and Schools was an organization based in Utah, in the United States. WWASPS was founded by Robert Lichfield and was incorporated in 1998. WWASPS stated that it was an umbrella organization of independent institutions for education and treatment of troubled teenagers, all operating in accordance with WWASP guidelines. Many outside observers believe, however, that the WWASPS-affiliated institutions were actually owned by WWASPS or its principal officials or their close relatives. WWASPS is connected to several affiliated for-profit companies. These include Teen Help LLC, the marketing arm of WWASPS and the entity that processes admissions paperwork; Teen Escort Service, a teen escort company that transports teenagers to WWASPS facilities; R&B Billing, which does tuition billing and payment processing; and Premier Educational Systems, LLC, which conducts orientation and training workshops for parents whose children are in WWASPS facilities. WWASPS claims to have helped over 10,000 students with issues related to personal behavior. Some participants and parents give positive reports of their experiences, but others say that WWASPS programs were abusive. WWASPS has faced widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse of the teenagers sent into its programs, resulting in a lawsuit filed against the organization in 2006. WWASPS officials report that the organization is no longer in business, and the facilities originally under it no longer associate with the name, but because of ongoing litigation, it has not been dissolved.

Facilities

WWASPS operated, or was associated with, several facilities in the United States and in other countries. In 2003 there were 2,300 students enrolled in its facilities and programs. At one time, WWASPS facilities had tuition income of more than $90 million per year.
In July 2007 World Wide's president, Ken Kay, told the Salt Lake Tribune that only two schools remained in the WWASPS network, including Majestic Ranch Academy in Utah, which he said was likely to sever its ties with the organization. In a December 2010 newspaper article, Kay was reported to have said that the organization was no longer in business, but because of ongoing litigation, it had not been dissolved.
Schools and programs currently or formerly associated with the organization include the following:
Name of schoolIn Operation?LocationCircumstances/Notes
Academy at Dundee RanchCosta RicaRaided by authorities on May 22, 2003 after an investigation into child abuse
Academy at Ivy RidgeOgdensburg, New York, United StatesClosed in early 2009 due to accreditation issues; property has been sold
Bell AcademyTerra Bella, California, United StatesShut down in 2003 after issues with state Social Services
Bethel AcademyMississippi, United StatesShut down in February 2005 after state officials investigate reports of abuse, also known as Bethel Girls' Academy and Bethel Boys' Academy
Brightway HospitalSt. George, Utah, United StatesClosed in 1998 by authorities for providing inadequate care and abuse
Carolina Springs AcademyDue West, South Carolina, United StatesWas opened by Narvin Lichfield in 1998 and closed in April 2009 when its license was revoked due to lack of compliance with licensing regulations. The campus was abandoned as of September 2010, but a South Carolina newspaper reported in December 2010 that a coeducational Christian boarding school would open on the site in 2011.
Casa by the SeaEnsenada, Baja California, MexicoInvestigated and shut down by the Mexican government after allegations of abuse; raided by Mexican authorities on September 10, 2004
Cross Creek ProgramsLa Verkin, Utah, United StatesAlso known as Cross Creek Manor and Cross Creek Center, originally two separate facilities for different sexes.
Darrington AcademyBlue Ridge, Georgia, United StatesClosed in March 2009; 90 students were enrolled at the time of closure. School director Richard Darrington was arrested in May 2009 and charged with battery of two students at the school.
Gulf Coast AcademyLucedale, Mississippi, United StatesFormerly known as Eagle Point Christian Academy, In the previous location of Bethel Girls' Academy and Bethel Boys' Academy. Closed on an unknown date, now the location of Watermark Congregational Methodist Church.
High ImpactTecate, Baja California, MexicoInvestigated and shut down by the Mexican government after allegations of abuse
Horizon AcademyLa Verkin, Utah, United StatesOriginally located in Amargosa Valley, Nevada, Currently sharing a facility with Cross Creek Programs Was shut down on 13 October 2013 and reopened as Northwest Academy.
Mentor SchoolCosta RicaClosed in March 2011. Mentor was housed in the former Hotel Carara near Tárcoles and was headed by Robert Walter Lichfield. There were approximately 20 U.S. teenagers enrolled at the time of closure. It was closed by Costa Rican child welfare authorities on March 18, 2011, following complaints of abuse by parents of enrollees. At the time of closure, it was reported that the program had not been licensed by Costa Rican authorities. Officials who visited the facility reported that "physical, psychological and verbal mistreatment" were "apparent."
MidWest AcademyKeokuk, Iowa, United StatesClosed in 2016 after a federal raid to investigate abuse allegations. Bob Lichfield in 2003 funded the original property purchase. The operator of the facility and owner of record, Ben Trane, was convicted December 2017 of sexually and physically abusing students at the private "school" he once owned and was sentenced in May 2018 to nine years in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.
Morava AcademyBrno, Czech RepublicOpened in 1998 and closed later that year when Czech police arrested its managers and charged them with child torture.
Old West AcademyRandolph, Utah, United StatesFormerly Majestic Ranch Academy. Closed on an unknown date, website is now inactive.
Paradise CoveWestern SamoaShut down by Samoan authorities because an investigation determined credible allegations of abuse
Pillars of HopeCosta RicaPilares de Esperanza
US Youth ServicesLecompte, Louisiana, United StatesFormerly Red River Academy. The school has undergone heavy renovations before becoming US Youth Services. Closed in 2018, website is now inactive.
Royal Gorge AcademyCanon City, Colorado, United StatesClosed in October 2008. Youth sent to Red River Academy.
Sky View Christian AcademyHawthorne, Nevada, United StatesEnrolled about 120 students and employed about 63 staff and teachers, with a total annual payroll of $1.57 million. It was closed abruptly in 2007 after a hazing incident.
Spring Creek Lodge AcademySanders County, Montana, United StatesOperated from the late 1970s until January 9, 2009.
Sunrise BeachCancún, MexicoRaided and closed by Mexican authorities in 1996 over abuse
Sunset Bay AcademyMexicoCoeducational; established in 2008 as Oceanside Teen Center; the institution states that it subcontracted with WWASP in 2008, but ended the contractual relationship in April 2009
Tranquility BayTreasure Beach, JamaicaSubject of several documentaries detailing severe abuse; closed in January 2009
Northwest AcademyLa Verkin, Utah, United StatesOriginally Horizon Academy. Reopened with new ownership. Website is now inactive, school closed in February 2019.
Woodland Hills Maternity HomeWoodland Hills, Utah, United StatesClosed on an unknown date, website is now inactive.

Related and spinoff programs and projects

Some personnel formerly associated with WWASP schools and programs have gone on to establish or work at other similar institutions.
In 2005 Robert Lichfield and the Utah-based holding company, Golden Pond Investments Ltd., made an offer to buy the campus of the Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, to open a new school for adolescents needing help with discipline, responsibility and leadership skills. It was announced that the school would be directed by former WWASP staff member Randall Hinton and his brother Russell Hinton. The Hintons told Boonville officials that the proposed school would not be a part of WWASP. The Boonville City Council rejected the proposal.
Ken Kay is now superintendent of Browning Distance Learning Academy, a provider of homeschooling curriculum. Its materials were used by Mentor School in Costa Rica.

Controversy

WWASPS and its associated institutions have been the target of criticism over their treatment methods, including allegations of severe abuse and torture by staff at programs supported by WWASPS. The programs have been the subject of legal investigations by several U.S. states. In 2003, a reporter for The New York Times interviewed 60 current and former program participants and parents; some gave positive reports of their experiences, while other participants and parents said that WWASPS programs were abusive.
Numerous former students or their parents have filed lawsuits against WWASPS, its personnel, or individual schools. Most have been settled out of court or dismissed for procedural reasons. For example, a 2005 lawsuit filed in California on behalf of more than 20 plaintiffs was dismissed because the judge found that California lacked jurisdiction. In June 2007, Utah attorney Thomas M. Burton told a reporter that six suits he had filed against WWASPS on behalf of his clients had been dismissed on procedural grounds. WWASPS president Ken Kay told an interviewer that lawsuits against WWASPS are ploys to get money, brought by people who "are never going to be happy." A lawsuit filed in 2007 against WWASPS and its founder, Robert Lichfield, on behalf of 133 plaintiffs alleging physical and sexual abuse and fraudulent concealment of abuse brought negative publicity to Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, because Lichfield was one of six co-chairs of the Utah state fundraising committee for Romney's campaign.
On several occasions, WWASPS and its principals have responded to criticism by suing their critics. Robert Lichfield sued two individuals associated with the International Survivors Action Committee for defamation, invasion of his privacy, and causing "intentional interference with 'prospective economic advantage'." That suit was pending as of April 2005. In May 2005 a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by WWASPS against a United Press International reporter who had done research for a news story about alleged abuse at several WWASPS schools. The reporter was accused of having made defamatory statements about WWASPS to "potential students, former students, parents of potential and former students, an employee of a state agency responsible for licensing a member school, and a Utah attorney who had filed numerous suits against ."
On August 31, 2007, Randall Hinton was convicted of one count each of third degree assault and false imprisonment, for mistreating students at the WWASP-affiliated Royal Gorge Academy, of which he was manager and co-founder. However, the jury returned verdicts of "not guilty" on four other counts of third-degree assault and one other count of false imprisonment. Hinton was sentenced to jail followed by probation.