Facility profile
Bethel Boys' Academy
Bethel Boys' Academy was a program. It closed in 2008.
Lawsuits
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Cheryl Struble, et al. v. Herman Fountain, et al.
Eight families of former students (called cadets) sued Herman Fountain, John Fountain Jr., Josh Fountain, Susan Churchwell and others who ran Bethel Boys Academy near Lucedale, Mississippi, in federal court, claiming federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state-law claims. The complaint alleges that staff and cadets forced by staff beat new arrivals, that boys were locked in footlockers, made to hold electric fences, held underwater at a swamp, denied bathroom breaks, sleep, food and medical care, and made to work up to 18 hours a day without pay. It alleges the academy misled parents about care, education and a staff nurse, and kept tuition and other payments. The enrollments described run from 2002 to 2003. The extracted text is missing the caption page, so the docket number, district and filing date are not shown, and the document shows nothing beyond the complaint.
News coverage
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I was abandoned 2.5k miles from home at ‘Lord of the Flies’ troubled teen school – I thought I’d die any day from abuse
Survivors Allen Knoll and Dave Bowsher made a documentary together called Teen Torture Inc., which is streaming now on HBO Max. Bethel Boys Academy in Lucedale, Mississippi was closed in 2008 Many pictures of students and campus life Founded in 1978 by Reverend Herman Fountain Students were repeatedly removed from campus in connection with credible allegations of child abuse beginning in 1980 yet the school was allowed to remain open for 10 more years When the state finally intervened, Herman Fountain assaulted a police officer and consequently served 9 months in prison After prison, Fountain reopened the facility under a modified name in 1994 A staff member who was known to be particularly abusive, William Knott, was never held accountable for his crimes at Bethel. However, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for child abuse at his next workplace, Restoration Youth Academy, in 2017 Includes stories from Bethel survivors Allen Knoll, Daniel Edwards, Dave Bowsher, Ralph Nock, Steven Caccamo, Colin Buckley Buckley and Caccamo are also survivors of Academy at Ivy Ridge Buckley and Caccamo founded a non-profit called the Troubled Teen Advocate Group to help other survivors Bethel survivors filed a class action lawsuit that failed Herman Fountain’s son, John, took over as director in the final years of the academy Parents filed a lawsuit against Bethel that was settled out of court A lawsuit filed by a survivor’s father resulted in Bethel and Knott being ordered to pay out nearly $1m Bethel rebranded as Eagle Point Christian Academy in 2005
Documents
Research that mentions this program
Research notes
- Name change: renamed Gulf Coast Academy (r/troubledteens wiki, page "WWASPS Owners/Staff" (as of 2026-06-08))
- Closed (2008) per news report: The US Sun, "I was abandoned 2.5k miles from home at ‘Lord of the Flies’ troubled teen school – I thought I’d die any day from abuse", 2024-07-27 source