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The Missouri Military Academy has come under fire numerous times over the past several years for allegations of student abuse, mistreatment, harassment, and hazing. Sexual, physical, and emotional abuse have been reported by current and former students. The perpetrators named in these allegations have included fellow students, teachers, platoon leaders, and academy administrators.
If you or a loved one suffered sexual abuse while attending the Missouri Military Academy, help is available at DRZ Law. Our sexual abuse and assault lawyers have years of experience representing victims of abuse at military schools. We understand what you are going through and can help you hold someone accountable for the harm you have suffered. Contact us today for a free and 100-percent confidential case review.
The Missouri Military Academy is a private, all-male boarding school for grades 7 to 12. It is a college preparatory military school where students can live on campus during the school year. It also offers day school and summer camp options. Founded in 1889, the Academy is located on 288 acres of land in Mexico, Missouri.
The Missouri Military Academy promises to “empower young men to unlock their potential through a program of academic excellence, character and social development, and leadership training within a structured environment.” Unfortunately, not all boys who attend the academy have a positive experience. Some are severely injured, bullied, beaten, emotionally abused, teased, tormented, and targeted by sexual predators.
Sexual abuse can occur at military schools such as the Missouri Military Academy due to negligence by school administrators in failing to protect their students. Negligence by the school, or the failure to act with reasonable care, increases the odds of students being bullied, harassed, hazed, abused, and sexually assaulted. Examples include:
Many cadets are too frightened of retaliation to report sexual abuse at the Missouri Military Academy. They suffer in silence and often believe there is no reprieve available. However, the parents of these children can hire an attorney to investigate, ask questions and hold the school accountable for crimes committed on campus.
An experienced sexual abuse attorney can help you go up against the Missouri Military Academy for abuse, hazing, or violence against students. A lawyer will stand by your side in the fight for justice and accountability as a survivor yourself or the parent of an abused cadet. Your lawyer can investigate the complaint, interview witnesses, obtain available photographs or video footage, hire experts, and help you file a sexual abuse claim by Missouri’s deadline (10 years from when a victim turns 18). A lawyer will level the playing field and make it easier to hold a powerful organization such as a private military school accountable for student sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse by definition in Missouri is sexual contact with a person who is incapacitated, incapable of giving consent, lacks the capacity to consent, or by the use of forcible compulsion (RSMo Section 566.100). In Missouri, an individual must be at least 17 years of age to give consent to sexual intercourse and other sexual activities. Any type of sexual conduct with a child under the age of 17 is the crime of sexual abuse, including:
Sexual abuse can refer to both physical and nonphysical behaviors against a Missouri Military Academy student. It may occur as part of a bullying or hazing scheme, by an older cadet against a younger student, by a teacher against a student, in boarding rooms and bunks, in military school sports, in a swimming pool or locker room, or at an extracurricular activity or school-sponsored event.
One of the most recent examples of sexual abuse at the Missouri Military Academy is a claim that was filed by a former student who alleged that he attempted to commit suicide in January 2021 to avoid having to return to school after suffering routine beatings while attending from 2018 to 2021. The boy says that he was attacked nearly weekly and described an annual “purge” tradition at the school, where younger cadets were beaten by commanders, platoon sergeants and leaders, and executive officers. A Facebook page has been created to shed light on reports of abuse and hazing at the Missouri Military Academy.
It is possible to hold the Missouri Military Academy liable, or legally and financially responsible, for cases of sexual abuse that occur within its walls. Under the rule of vicarious liability, a survivor of military academy sexual abuse can file a lawsuit against the school for sex crimes committed by any of its staff members, faculty, volunteers, coaches, and students. If the school failed to protect a victim – such as by immediately expelling a perpetrator – it could also be held directly liable for its own negligence.
If you were sexually abused or assaulted while attending the Missouri Military Academy or your child has come to you with a report of abuse, act quickly. Contact a military school sexual abuse lawyer at DRZ Law without delay to request a free and confidential case review. We care about survivors of military school sexual abuse and are here to help you and your family move forward. We will aggressively pursue justice against the academy for egregious wrongdoing. Call us at (913) 400-2033 or contact us online today for more information. We will believe you.