Facility profile Montana

Anchor Academy

Formerly Anchor Home for Boys

Closed Havre, Montana

Anchor Academy was a Faith-Based program in Havre, Montana. It opened in 2000.

About Anchor Academy

It moved to Havre, Montana, where it stayed until 2007.source

Staff: Dennis McElwrath.source

Survivor testimony

What people who lived or worked here say happened. Survivors' own words are published with their permission; forum accounts are what was posted publicly and are reported as claims, not findings.

Reported on survivor forums

Timeline

From the records: who ran it and the deals that moved it, its names, and the deaths, incidents, inspection findings, lawsuits and news stories on file. Point at an event, or tap "More about this", for the details.

197319761978198720002001200419732004

  1. 1973

    1. IncidentOctober 1973

      Closure order

      As Anchor Home for Boys. The Anchor and Rebekah homes were closed temporarily in October 1973 during the licensing fight with Texas; Roloff was jailed five days in February 1974 to reopen them.

      Closure order October 1973

      source

  2. 1976

    1. IncidentOctober 1976

      Closure order

      As Anchor Home for Boys. In October 1976 the homes were shut down and many residents taken by police to state juvenile facilities after the state served a restraining order in May 1976.

      Closure order October 1976

      source

  3. 1978

    1. IncidentOctober 1978

      Legislation

      As Anchor Home for Boys. The US Supreme Court upheld on October 2, 1978 the Texas law requiring child-care facilities for under-18s to be licensed by DHS.

      Legislation October 1978

      source

  4. 1987

    1. Incident

      Incident

      As Anchor Home for Boys. Some reports state the homes left Missouri in 1987 days after a Kansas City Times story on abuse allegations and reopened in Corpus Christi two days after the article ran.

      Incident

      source

  5. 2000

    1. New name

      Renamed Anchor Academy

      It had been Anchor Home for Boys.

    2. Opened

      Opened in Havre, Montana

  6. 2001

    1. Essential reportingDecember 1, 2001

      The History of Lester Roloff's Faith-Based Youth Homes and State Oversight Battles

      Texas Monthly: Pamela Colloff's history of Lester Roloff's Rebekah Home for Girls: the punishments survivors describe, and the decades of fights over whether Texas could license it.

      The History of Lester Roloff's Faith-Based Youth Homes and State Oversight Battles December 1, 2001

      The article documents the history of the Rebekah Home for Girls, a faith‑based residential facility founded by evangelist Lester Roloff, and describes disciplinary practices such as corporal punishment, isolation, and restraints.

      Read the article

  7. 2004

    1. Incident

      Sexual abuse

      In 2004 a staff member was fired after fondling a student, according to a JJIE article reproduced by HEAL; the employee was charged.

      Sexual abuse

      source

As Anchor Home for Boys

1967 to 2000

The record kept under this name

Incidents on record

  1. October 1973 Closure order

    The Anchor and Rebekah homes were closed temporarily in October 1973 during the licensing fight with Texas; Roloff was jailed five days in February 1974 to reopen them.source

  2. October 1976 Closure order

    In October 1976 the homes were shut down and many residents taken by police to state juvenile facilities after the state served a restraining order in May 1976.source

  3. October 1978 Legislation

    The US Supreme Court upheld on October 2, 1978 the Texas law requiring child-care facilities for under-18s to be licensed by DHS.source

  4. 1987 Incident

    Some reports state the homes left Missouri in 1987 days after a Kansas City Times story on abuse allegations and reopened in Corpus Christi two days after the article ran.source

  5. Abuse

    Reports describe a demerit system in which boys were paddled with a wood paddle (licks), made to do punishing calisthenics outside in any weather, and confined.source

  6. Abuse

    The wiki reports a long history of abuse including students beaten, denied meals, held against their will and made to accept religious doctrines without question.source

  7. Incident

    HEAL reports, as an allegation, that youth enrolled at Anchor Academy are forced to pick and process cotton at the superintendent's gin and the wages are sent to the academy to cover tuition.source

News coverage

  • Texas Monthly Dec 1, 2001 Expose

    The History of Lester Roloff's Faith-Based Youth Homes and State Oversight Battles

    Essential reporting

    Pamela Colloff's history of Lester Roloff's Rebekah Home for Girls: the punishments survivors describe, and the decades of fights over whether Texas could license it.

    The article documents the history of the Rebekah Home for Girls, a faith‑based residential facility founded by evangelist Lester Roloff, and describes disciplinary practices such as corporal punishment, isolation, and restraints. It includes survivor accounts of physical and spiritual abuse and outlines the facility’s legal battles over state licensing and oversight.

Staff

Administration

Notable staff

  • Trevor Spencer

    Former Staffsource

    Elsewhere in the industry

  • Abraham Ueland

    Former Staffsource

  • Caleb Kooy

    Former Staffsource

  • Heath Stengler

    Former Staffsource

  • Isaiah Ueland

    Former Staffsource

  • Josh Boals

    Former Staffsource

  • Joshua West

    Former Staffsource

  • Justin Peterson

    Former Employeesource

  • Lucas Chouinard

    Former Staffsource

  • Lucas Toll

    Former Staffsource

  • Martha Moyer

    Former Staffsource

  • Steve Nielson

    Former Staffsource

As Anchor Academy

2000 to 2007

Incidents on record

  1. 2004 Sexual abuse

    In 2004 a staff member was fired after fondling a student, according to a JJIE article reproduced by HEAL; the employee was charged.source

  2. Abuse

    Graduates told a JJIE reporter of punishments during the Montana years including paddle spankings, hours of exercise in freezing weather with improper clothing and enforced silence; staff and other alumni dispute that these were abusive.source

  3. Abuse

    Graduates from the Montana years describe paddle spankings, exercise in freezing weather, weeks on peanut butter sandwiches, and being made to hop with feet tied while holding a broom overhead.source

  4. Abuse

    Graduates say that residents who fell behind on copying lines were forced awake for thirty minutes every hour at night to write, amounting to sleep deprivation.source

  5. Abuse

    Survivors report sleep deprivation, extreme physical abuse, food deprivation, solitary confinement, brainwashing and cruel punishments at Anchor Academy.source

Staff

Notable staff

Connections on the network map

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Names

Wiki entries

Materials and links

External links

A program's own website is linked as an archived snapshot, so the page reads as it did when it was captured.

Survivor posts and discussion

Other links

Record updated . Generated from the Kids Over Profits facility database. Suggest a correction