St. Joseph News-Press
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
KIDDER, Mo. - A state government legal panel is nearing the end of an investigation into the medical care a California teenager received at a Kidder boot camp before he died unexpectedly, likely from a venomous spider bite.
Gus Kolilis, director of the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team, told the News-Press he anticipates a report on the treatment given to 15-year-old Roberto Reyes to be ready in the next week to 10 days.
Roberto was enrolled at the Thayer Learning Center in Kidder, a private facility designed to address drug abuse, emotional and other behavioral problems in boys and girls 13 to 17 years old.
Thayer - which charges close to $50,000 in tuition for its annual program but offers shorter terms of instruction at lower cost - has been the subject of abuse and extreme physical punishment allegations. The center first opened in 2002.
Roberto died Nov. 3, less than a week after entering the center's discipline-laden program. Subsequently, the findings of a state Child Fatality Review panel determined that the teen most likely died as the result of a brown recluse spider bite.
The panel concluded that Roberto may have survived had he received more immediate medical care from Thayer officials.
The child fatality review panel's activity is mandated by state law for investigations into incidents that result in the deaths of children from birth to 17 years old.
The State Technical Assistance Team is closely allied with the review panel and depends on the skills of various professions in leading further investigations into child fatalities.
"We're still very much involved," Mr. Kolilis said of the state's investigation into the circumstances surrounding Roberto's death.
When the report is finished, Mr. Kolilis said it will be released to Caldwell County Prosecuting Attorney Jason Kanoy, who will use the information to determine whether a crime was committed.
"We are awaiting further information," Mr. Kanoy said at his Caldwell County Courthouse office in Kingston. "As far as we're concerned, it's a pending investigation."
Caldwell County Sheriff Kirby Brelsford reported no recent developments on the case but said his department plans to assist in evaluating details related to the matter.
"The prosecutor and I have to sit down and go through all the elements," Mr. Brelsford said.
Thayer staff declined to comment about the Reyes case to the News-Press.
Ed Proctor, an attorney representing Thayer, said Monday he had spoken with a state official on the initial inquiry into Roberto's death, but was unaware that the State Technical Assistance Team was conducting a follow-up investigation. He declined further comment on the matter.
Besides the boarding school, Thayer also operates out of unlabeled office space at 101 S. Davis St. in downtown Hamilton. A staff member there said that Jerry Banks, who was the facility's on-site manager, no longer worked for Thayer.
A former Thayer employee, Tim Rocha, said he never saw medical care immediately rendered when students suffered injuries or complained of illness.
He said no staff members were actually trained in health care, cardiopulmonary resuscitation or first aid, despite claims they had made to him to the contrary.
Mr. Rocha said knowledge of those factors didn't cause him any surprise when finding out about Roberto's death.
"Something's going to end up happening," Mr. Rocha recalled warning fellow staff about his concerns over proper health care not being practiced at Thayer.
Mr. Rocha was fired in early September after working for a week at Thayer, citing supervisors' suspicions over his activities as the reason for his termination.
The list of health worries Mr. Rocha said he witnessed during the week range from an unkempt medicine chest - including expired drugs - to simple washing of a scrape. All students receive toothpaste from the same tube, and one razor was used to shave heads.
"They were cheap," Mr. Rocha said.
Children diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder were taken off their medication, he said.
Mr. Rocha also said he saw supervisors physically abuse students on two occasions and reported the incidents to the Sheriff's Department.
But Mr. Brelsford said the department has never received assault reports from Thayer itself. The department has primarily responded to Thayer because of neighbors' noise complaints from students' marching cadences at all hours and the facility's requests for help in tracking runaways, he said.
In his last days of working at Thayer, Mr. Rocha said he began taking notes from students who wanted to communicate with their parents - which he said the facility's policies prohibited.
"Who does that?" Mr. Rocha asked. "Who doesn't let their kids call home?"
It was all part of an intent to rehabilitate youths before they were judged as able to return home, he added.
"Their work was through intimidation," he said. "They (drill instructors) would get right in a kid's ear … It was ridiculous."
There was an insufficient number of toilets for students, who were required to drink three canteens of water daily with only two bathroom breaks, Mr. Rocha said.
Mr. Proctor declined to comment on the abuse allegations.
Victor Reyes, Roberto's father, couldn't be reached for comment. A phone call to the Santa Rosa, Calif., listing for Mr. Reyes resulted in a disconnected number.