PROBABLE CAUSE FOUND AGAINST TRANE

Scott Hardy
WTAD
September 18, 2017

Will be arraigned in South Lee County court Oct 2nd

Probable cause has been found against the former owner of a Keokuk private school, who's facing child sex charges.

Court records show that ruling against Benjamin Trane happened in a judge's ruling, filed Monday in South Lee County court, on charges of third degree sex abuse, child endangerment and sexual exploitation. Trane turned himself in earlier this month, after learning that a warrant had been issued in late August for his arrest. That warrant was in response to sexual abuse allegations that surfaced between Trane and a former Midwest Academy student, which triggered raids by local, state and Federal authorities in early January, 2016. The raids later resulted in the school's closing. Investigators say Trane coerced one student to engage in sex acts in order to advance in the program and be allowed to contact relatives. Trane also allegedly had others undress for "body image therapy" sessions he led, and kept students in isolation for extended periods. Earlier this year, Trane and Midwest Academy lost a civil suit filed by former employee Cheyenne Jerred, who said she was fired after reporting the abuse to the school and law enforcement. He and the school are also being sued by former students over alleged abuse they suffered while at the school.

Trane's in the Lee County Jail on $500,000 bond. He'll be arraigned October 2nd.

http://www.wtad.com/probable-cause-found-against-trane.html

Lawsuit targets Midwest Academy, owner

Lee Rood
The Register
March 15, 2016

Midwest Academy has been closed since law enforcement officers raided the private boarding school near Keokuk and Montrose in January.

DHS and the FBI investigated after allegations involving several children were made in April and May 2015. One former student said after he was interviewed about the sex abuse by a DHS child protection worker, Trane took him to lunch, offered to buy him books and said “I can make sure you get things,” the lawsuit says.

“This was an effort by Benjamin Trane to interfere with the FBI and State of Iowa investigation,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit accuses the boarding school near Keokuk and Montrose of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, false imprisonment, battery, assault, negligence, educational malpractice, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring and violations of Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act. The defendants are seeking a judgment “in an amount which will fully and fairly compensate them for the damages suffered," according to the lawsuit.

Midwest Academy, a tough-love school for troubled youths in far southeast Iowa, was raided in late January by state and federal investigators. Trane has not commented publicly on the criminal probe. Trane's lawyer, George Jones, did not return a call Monday seeking comment on the lawsuit. Claims made in a lawsuit are not evidence and only represent one side of the story.

Caregivers of children can be found responsible for a kind of abuse called "denial of critical care" when they fail to properly supervise children who come into harm's way. The lawsuit says Trane was placed on the state's central child abuse registry as a result of the DHS finding. Trane appealed that decision, but the outcome is unknown. The registry and appeals are generally confidential under Iowa law.

centuries ago. It was as if out of 'Oliver Twist.'"

Ferleger says he's heard the stories of youths and parents who reported benefits from Midwest's programming. "I don't think so, but even if that is so — the barbaric use of concrete boxes to confine kids, the beatings, the rats scurrying in the ceilings and the humiliation people suffered — none of that has any justification at all," he said.

School officials, the lawsuit says, maintained an illegal and dehumanizing culture of “punishment, confinement, coercion, physical confrontation and violence” that sought to break the will of children in its care.

Midwest Academy also is accused in the lawsuit of misleading parents about the widespread use of segregation “boxes;” false claims of being an accredited education program tied to the local high school; and billing for therapy and other treatments that were never provided.

In the lawsuit, students recount allegations of a rape in the shower, a female staff member having sex with a student, male students being sexually assaulted by other male students, and a staff member with a criminal record acting as a counselor without proper training. One of the plaintiffs said he lost 40 pounds because he was underfed. Others recounted being told to sit absolutely still for 19 hours a day in the out-of-school suspension, or isolation, rooms, until a mattress was provided at night.

The lawsuit also alleges Trane instructed female students in a "body image" class  to enter a uniform room, undress in front of two mirrors and come out and describe to him their body type.

The lawsuit names as plaintiffs former students Grace Ferguson Hunt, Kodi Dick, Roger Palinsky, Elijah Meyer, Radhi Choukaier and a minor identified as Z.D. All attended Midwest within the past five years. Also named are parents Aaron Dick, Maria Adelaida Brown, Michelle Palinsky, Matthew and Cheryl Meyer, Eli Petrova Choukaier and Jenna Devereaux.

The lawsuit names as defendants Trane, Midwest Academy, Midwest Twister, Midwest Academy Treatment and the Midwest Academy Scholarship Fund.

Nineteen abuse reports had been confirmed at the academy prior to the January raids, according to the Lee County sheriff. Twenty-eight investigations were conducted when the raids happened. At least five sex abuse reports were made over the past three years, among 80 calls from Midwest Academy to the sheriff.

Among other allegations:

Kodi Dick alleged he was sexually harassed by other students and disciplined when he complained.Roger Palinsky said he had special education needs that were not addressed by boarding school employees, which kept him from advancing in the program.Radhi Choukaier, who had Crohn’s disease, alleged he was forced to exercise two hours a day, resulting in bruising, fever and an eventual trip to the emergency room. When his mother pulled him out of the facility, the school refused to refund his $46,000 annual tuition, despite having guaranteed refunds for medical reasons.

Ferleger noted in a news release that conditions in such boarding schools have gained national attention, following two reports by the Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C., highlighting deaths, abuse and deceptive marketing.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/investigations/2016/03/14/lawsuit-targets-midwest-academy-owner/81734960/

DHS chief: Midwest Academy used outdated methods

Zachary Devereaux
Des Moines Register
February 19, 2016

Iowa Department of Human Services Director Charles Palmer said Thursday that Midwest Academy used outdated methods to deal with troubled teens that would not be used by licensed facilities in Iowa today.

“That boot-camp or military style or approach has become less and less popular,” Palmer said. “I would hope we’ve gone beyond that.”

Students at the school reported the frequent use of isolation and restraint. Several reported being forced to sit or stand in certain positions for extended periods of time. Heads were shaved, shoes were taken, long sleeves and pants were prohibited. Students were initially not allowed contact with family, or, at times, even to look at others.

Zachary Devereaux, 16, who lived at the school from November 2013 to November 2014, said there was no way a student with no privileges could make a child abuse call or report. Devereaux said he was sent to an isolation cell 11 times, once for reporting bad food and rodents in the kitchen. The concrete isolation rooms for boys sometimes had no bedding or pillows. He says he once spent six days in one — with static piped in over speakers.

"There were multiple times I was restrained with cuts and bruises and my mom had no clue about it," said Devereaux, who lives in New Jersey.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigationconducted a search at the academy in Keokuk and at a Montrose site in late January after a student reported she was sexually assaulted. The FBI was called in to help with the investigation, and the state attorney general and the U.S. Attorney’s office have been consulted as the case progresses.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2016/02/18/dhs-chief-midwest-academy-used-outdated-methods/80551784/

Documents: Midwest Academy owner is sex abuse suspect

Lee Rood
Des Moines Register
February 18, 2016

Ben Trane, the director and owner of Midwest Academy, has no criminal record in Iowa.

Ben Trane, the director and owner of Midwest Academy, is a suspect in the sex abuse investigation involving a 17-year-old student who attended the tough-love school for troubled youths, court records released Thursday show.

Trane, 37, has no criminal record in Iowa. He has not responded to multiple requests for interviews by The Des Moines Register since the 13-year-old southwest Iowa boarding school closed last month.

A motion to seal search warrant documents was released Thursday showing that computers, cameras, cellphones and other electronic items were seized during the raid of the boarding school Jan. 28-29 at locations in Keokuk and Montrose.

“Also seized were items of trace evidence involving bodily fluids for DNA and related forensic examination,” the request to seal says.

Lee County Attorney Michael P. Short argued in the request to seal documents that it would be harmful to investigators, staff and students at the school to release details contained in the affidavits used to obtain the search warrants.

District Associate Judge Gary Noneman signed an order Feb. 10 in the case, State v. Trane, to seal those documents. But the Register & Tribune Co. filed a petition this week asking that the search warrant documents be released, citing the First Amendment and high public interest in the criminal investigation.

District Court Judge Mary Ann Brown on Thursday released Short’s motion to seal and Noneman’s order. She had already told lawyers in the case that a final decision could not be made about whether to release search warrant details without Short’s request being made public.

The documents released Thursday did not include the name of the student Trane is suspected of abusing. But it did say credit cards were also seized at the academy “to determine if those cards were used in connection with the purchase of items for female students.”

The request also cited "allegations of a pattern of child endangerment" in the use of the school’s isolation rooms. Records regarding the so-called OSS rooms, used for "protracted separation and detention of students," were also sought.

Twenty-eight students were assessed by child-abuse investigators during the two-day raid.

Also under investigation: whether students held in seclusion rooms were billed for counseling and other services not provided while they were detained. The motion to seal also alleged “a willful failure to provide the services required” by special-needs students who had individualized educational plans.

“Charges are under review, pending the completion of the investigation on the federal level as a result of the involvement of the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office,” Short wrote in his motion to seal the search warrant. “Also under investigation on the state level are possible charges of sexual abuse, child pornography, child endangerment, fraudulent practices, and ongoing criminal conduct."

The request noted that a large number of potential witnesses had yet to be interviewed, including former students and staff.

The raid on Midwest Academy occurred after the accusation of sexual abuse was reported to Iowa’s Department of Human Services. Two staff members, one a mandatory child abuse reporter by law, made the report to authorities.

Since then, youths from across the country who attended the school have been sent home to parents or shelters. About 60 staff members were laid off.

The investigation is likely to continue for several months.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/investigations/2016/02/18/documents-midwest-academy-owner-sex-abuse-suspect/80577232/

FBI probes alleged abuse at Iowa boarding school for troubled teens

Former students say they were subjected to forced isolation and unpleasant noises at the since-closed Midwest Academy.

RYAN J. FOLEY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 13, 2016

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A boarding school for troubled teenagers in Iowa that is being investigated by the FBI routinely kept pupils in small concrete “isolation boxes” for days or weeks and wouldn’t let them out unless they sat in a specific posture for 24 hours, according to several former students.

Six former students told The Associated Press about abuse they say they suffered while attending Midwest Academy in Keokuk, Iowa. They said the dark, cell-like punishment rooms were often filled with the sounds of students’ screams and motivational recordings piped in through speakers. Surveillance cameras and staff members kept watch.

“You spend your time pounding your head against the wall. You can’t sleep because there is a lot of noise. A lot of girls like to scream in there. You basically look forward to bathroom breaks and those moments when you can get out of your box,” said Emily Beaman, 17, of Wheaton, Illinois.

Beaman said that after weeks of isolation, she got out in July only after cutting herself with a bottle cap and begging emergency responders to place her elsewhere.

The students, who attended the academy between 2008 and last September, said they and their classmates mutilated themselves, hated the lack of activity and natural light, and lost weight due to small meals. Some said they were scarred by the experience months or years later.

Officers raided the academy Jan. 28 to investigate allegations that a staff member sexually assaulted a student. The investigation has since expanded to other possible criminal activity and abuse. Academy owner Ben Trane didn’t respond to AP interview requests. The academy’s 90 students were removed and it has been temporarily closed. Three students told the AP they had spoken with the FBI.

NOISE TORTURE

Lauren Snyder, 17, of Springfield, Missouri, recalled begging to get out of isolation last year, after an employee turned up the audio recordings so loud that the speakers were screeching. “It was complete hell,” she said. Snyder said she eventually attempted suicide by tying a sock around her neck, and was sent to a psychiatric hospital the next day.

After being placed in isolation her first day for refusing to take out a belly button ring, Sarah Wilson said she made a point not to return. “I knew I would lose my mind in there,” said Wilson, 20, of Rock Island, Illinois.

The academy says it provides “struggling teens with a safe, structured and disciplined environment.” Many middle- and upper- class families from Midwest states and beyond sent misbehaving teenagers to the academy, which costs roughly $5,000 per month. Trane has said the students were fortunate to have its staff in their lives.

LARGELY UNREGULATED

As a privately funded school without state-ordered placements, the academy was largely unregulated. “It flew under the radar,” said Drake University professor Jerry Foxhoven, an Iowa juvenile law expert.

Foxhoven said long-term isolation can be very damaging for juveniles, exacerbating mental illnesses and causing lasting effects that may include post-traumatic stress disorder. He said parents wouldn’t be allowed to keep children in isolation for weeks without facing abuse allegations, and the academy shouldn’t, either.

Former students said the school kept parents in the dark by strictly limiting and monitoring their communications. Only now, they say, are some of their claims being taken seriously.

A typical academy day started with physical education, followed by hours of online-based school work and meetings. Former students said the goal for many was to avoid an “out-of-school suspension” for violating rules, recalling that fighting and insubordination were some reasons they were put in isolation.

“That is the worst I’ve ever been treated,” said Shaun McCarthy, 19, of Avoca, Iowa, who said he was lucky to go into isolation only twice. “It’s not humane.”To get out, students said they had to sit in a certain way for 24 hours. Sometimes, lengthy essays were required.

“They use seclusion preemptively and as a punitive measure,” said former student said James Farris, 24, a nursing assistant in St. Petersburg, Florida. “This is illegal in public health care settings, yet somehow they get away with it.”

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/02/13/fbi-probes-alleged-abuse-at-iowa-boarding-school-for-troubled-teens/

Midwest Academy officially closed after sexual abuse allegations

Shavon Anderson
February 5, 2016

KEOKUK, Ia. (WGEM) -

The owner of Midwest Academy in Keokuk is speaking out one week after authorities raided the campus, acting on allegations of sexual abuse involving a staff member and a former student.

Midwest Academy in Keokuk is officially closed.

"We are sad to announce that we had to lay off our final 60 employees at the school," owner Ben Trane said.

Trane held a press conference Friday night at the now vacant campus, a week after the Department of Human Services gave parents 24 hours to pick up their kids. 

"On Thursday, January 28, 2016, Midwest Academy and the Midwest Treatment Centers experienced a large search by numerous branches of law enforcement," Trane said.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety stated that search warrants were issued after an investigation into sexual abuse involving a staff member and a former student. Former employee Cheyenne Jerred says she knew of the abuse back in November and was fired in December, a day after filing a report.

Trane removed our mic immediately after his prepared statement, and when asked for comment about the employee's wrongful discharge lawsuit, he said, "nope not at this time."

No further details about the case have been released by state officials.

WGEM is set to speak with Jerred's lawyer on Monday.

http://www.wgem.com/story/31154539/2016/02/05/midwest-academy-officially-closed-after-sexual-abuse-allegations