776. Academy of new Horizons

Searching the Internet for old cases, our investigation team found:

STATE OF DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES, PLAINTIFF,
v.
CEDARS ACADEMY, NEAL SWARTZ AND MARY PAUER, DEFENDANTS

In the text, we found:

On May 16, Mr. Grier spoke with Carol Yetter of United Way, who informed Mr. Grier of various complaints of child abuse against Neal Swartz, relating to actions taken by Mr. Swartz during his employment as director of the Academy of New Horizons and Camp New Horizons in Rye, New York. *fn1 That same day, Mr. Grier spoke to Paul Richer of the New York Commission for Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled, who confirmed that such agency had investigated allegations of child abuse at New Horizons, and that those allegations had focused on the activities of Mr. Swartz. However, due to the confidentiality requirements of New York State concerning the investigation, Mr. Richer could not provide Mr. Grier with any further information. A “serious complaint form” was prepared by Mr. Grier or a subordinate on May 18, indicating, among other things, the facts described above.

The persons investigated ran a facility also mentioned in this blog called Cedars Academy for a number of years before they sold it to Aspen Education Group which ran it for a number of years before Aspen Education Group were hit by a backlash from former participants in their programs.

It could not have been fun to be there as a teenager.

Sources:

• STATE OF DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES, PLAINTIFF, v. CEDARS ACADEMY, NEAL SWARTZ AND MARY PAUER, DEFENDANTS (Find a case webpage)
• Abuse: Allegations dog school owners (The News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware)
• Gonzales; Torture Overseas Compared to, Cedars Academy/Aspen (Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)