New York: A boarding school in New York that has now been shut down allegedly sexually abused students, made them dig their own graves and eat vomit.
The allegations were made by a former student of the Family Foundation School in New York. He accused the institution of horrific abuse, as reported by NDTV.
The allegations were detailed in court documents filed by a survivor of the private boarding school, which once charged families up to $80,000 (approximately Rs 75.50 lakh) a year. The facility operated in the small village of Hancock in upstate New York before closing in 2014, according to the NY Post.
Some students were wrapped tightly inside rolled-up rugs that were then secured with duct tape, according to a $10 million lawsuit.
Children were strip-searched upon arrival and made to participate in what the lawsuit describes as “sexualized group sessions” involving teachers, the survivor, who attended the school from 2000 to 2003, said.
Students who tried to escape were tracked down and brought back using K9 dogs, the lawsuit further claims.
The survivor claimed that he was placed under the supervision of music teacher Paul Geer, who allegedly forced him to join the school’s chorus group, according to the lawsuit. During a chorus trip to Toronto, Canada, the student claims Geer sexually abused him.
School owner Mike Argiros ignored his complaint, and he was instead placed on a “work sanction”. The victim later testified against Geer at a federal criminal trial in 2024. Geer was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Students were treated as unpaid workers at the school owned by Michael and Cindy Argiros, it has been alleged in the lawsuit. These tasks allegedly included digging trenches on the family’s estate, shovelling snow, cleaning pig pens and animal enclosures, and performing construction work at the family’s private home.
Children were required to cook meals for the family and clean their house, the former student has claimed.
The school deceived families into enrolling their children and convinced some parents to hand over legal guardianship to the school’s owners, the survivor alleged. According to the court filing, the school was run by staff members who lacked professional teaching, counselling, or clinical qualifications.
“The school was run by former alcoholics and self-identified sex addicts with no professional licensing, clinical training, or educational credentials,” the court filing further claims.
According to The New York Times report, Argiros denied knowing about any abuse at the institution. In a sworn testimony he said that he was unaware of any complaints or reports of abuse while the school was operating.
