April 21, 2005
Boot Camp Files Suit Against
Former Employee
Associated Press in Columbia
Tribune
KANSAS CITY (AP) - A northwest
Missouri boot camp that’s facing a wrongful-death lawsuit for
the death of a 15-year-old California boy is suing one of its
most vocal critics for causing "irreparable harm" to the
institution.
Thayer Learning Center, a
military-type home for about 100 troubled teens in Kidder, filed
the suit last week against former employee Timothy Rocha for
breaching a signed employment agreement that stated he would not
"divert, take away ... or interfere with any present or future
customer."
Rocha, who earned $9 an hour as a
"sergeant," worked at Thayer from Aug. 28, 2004, until he was
fired about two weeks later. The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000
in damages.
Thayer claims Rocha has contacted
customers and attempted to steer them away from Thayer and has
"successfully diverted away many potential customers." The
lawsuit says Thayer "has experienced a significant decrease in
revenues" because of Rocha’s actions.
Rocha has been an outspoken
critic of the camp, saying he was stunned by what he thought
were abusive practices. He filed two reports of child abuse with
the Caldwell County sheriff’s office in September, claiming a
student had been placed in "half a chokehold" and that a Thayer
employee then sat on the student’s legs.
In a Dec. 19 story in The Kansas
City Star, Rocha said he was troubled by some of the actions he
says he saw during his brief tenure at the facility. Thayer
officials say the allegations of child abuse are "ludicrous and
false."
Rocha is listed as a witness in a
state investigative report conducted after 15-year-old Roberto
Reyes died Nov. 3 of what an autopsy report said were the likely
complications of a spider or insect bite.
His parents sued the center,
three employees and a referral service in February, alleging
that physical exertion and abuse caused or contributed to the
teen’s death.
Police in Boonville recently
became interested in the Thayer inquiry as part of their own
investigation into Robert Lichfield, founder of World Wide
Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.
Boonville recently denied
Lichfield’s bid to purchase the former Kemper Military School in
Boonville and turn it into a boarding school for defiant youths.
Boonville Police Department
officials said they were investigating suspected ties between
Thayer and Lichfield’s World Wide Association. The connection
could not be confirmed.
