Facility profile Utah

Daniels Academy

Closed Heber City, Utah

Daniels Academy was a therapeutic boarding school in Heber City, Utah. It opened in 2008.

About Daniels Academy

The Aspiro Group took formal ownership and management of Daniels Academy.source It was purchased by the Aspiro Group.source

Its address was 904 S 300 W, Heber City, UT 84032.source

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.

2008201920202022202320082023

  1. 2008

    1. Opened

      Opened in Heber City, Utah

  2. 2019

    1. IncidentSeptember 2019

      Sexual abuse

      MartyG Reports reported that Conner Braze, hired in September 2019 despite a prior admission of attempting a sexual act with a child under 14, is serving one...

      Sexual abuse September 2019

      MartyG Reports reported that Conner Braze, hired in September 2019 despite a prior admission of attempting a sexual act with a child under 14, is serving one to 15 years for sexual exploitation of a child and related offenses that occurred during or close to his employment.

      source

  3. 2020

    1. DeathDecember 26, 2020

      Benjamin Hertzman, 14, died here

      Died by suicide at home while on break from Daniels Academy

      Benjamin Hertzman, 14, died here December 26, 2020

      source

    2. IncidentDecember 26, 2020

      Death

      On December 26, 2020 a 14-year-old resident died by suicide while on a home visit from the program; the Utah Office of Licensing investigated and found the...

      Death December 26, 2020

      On December 26, 2020 a 14-year-old resident died by suicide while on a home visit from the program; the Utah Office of Licensing investigated and found the program not out of compliance.

      source

  4. 2022

    1. IncidentJanuary 28, 2022

      Criminal charge

      On January 28, 2022 a 34-year-old former staff member was arrested and charged with two counts of dealing in harmful materials to a minor; he allegedly shot a...

      Criminal charge January 28, 2022

      On January 28, 2022 a 34-year-old former staff member was arrested and charged with two counts of dealing in harmful materials to a minor; he allegedly shot a resident in the leg with a pellet gun in December 2020 and then gave the boy a Playboy magazine to keep him quiet.

      source

  5. 2023

    1. DeathJuly 18, 2023

      Dee Rutzen, 16, died here

      Fell from a third-floor window; the state investigated it as a suspected suicide

      Dee Rutzen, 16, died here July 18, 2023

      source

    2. IncidentJuly 18, 2023

      Death

      On July 18, 2023 a resident died by suicide by jumping from the third-story window of a program apartment building; staff reportedly knew of his suicidal thoughts for weeks.

      Death July 18, 2023

      source

    3. IncidentJuly 20, 2023

      License action

      On July 20, 2023 the Utah DHHS placed the Daniels Academy apartment license on conditional status for 30 days, and on August 14, 2023 extended it until May 31, 2024.

      License action July 20, 2023

      source

    4. IncidentAugust 2023

      License action

      On August 14, 2023 the Utah Department of Health & Human Services placed Daniels Academy's license on conditional status until May 31, 2024.

      License action August 2023

      source

Deaths on record

The memorial

Incidents on record

  1. September 2019 Sexual abuse

    MartyG Reports reported that Conner Braze, hired in September 2019 despite a prior admission of attempting a sexual act with a child under 14, is serving one to 15 years for sexual exploitation of a child and related offenses that occurred during or close to his employment.source

  2. December 26, 2020 Death

    On December 26, 2020 a 14-year-old resident died by suicide while on a home visit from the program; the Utah Office of Licensing investigated and found the program not out of compliance.source

  3. January 28, 2022 Criminal charge

    On January 28, 2022 a 34-year-old former staff member was arrested and charged with two counts of dealing in harmful materials to a minor; he allegedly shot a resident in the leg with a pellet gun in December 2020 and then gave the boy a Playboy magazine to keep him quiet.source

  4. July 18, 2023 Death

    On July 18, 2023 a resident died by suicide by jumping from the third-story window of a program apartment building; staff reportedly knew of his suicidal thoughts for weeks.source

  5. July 20, 2023 License action

    On July 20, 2023 the Utah DHHS placed the Daniels Academy apartment license on conditional status for 30 days, and on August 14, 2023 extended it until May 31, 2024.source

  6. August 2023 License action

    On August 14, 2023 the Utah Department of Health & Human Services placed Daniels Academy's license on conditional status until May 31, 2024.source

News coverage

  • The Salt Lake Tribune Jul 21, 2023 Event

    Utah takes emergency action against youth treatment center after boy’s death

    Utah health officials issued an emergency licensing order against a Heber City youth residential treatment facility following a resident's death by suicide. Regulators stated that facility staff were aware of the resident's suicidal ideation in the weeks prior to the incident, and previous inspections had documented rule violations regarding staff interference with state investigations.

Videos

Utah DHHS investigates Daniels Academy for suspected suicide (2023-07-21) Watch on YouTube

Staff

Administration

Notable staff

Connections on the network map

The companies, people and programs our research map ties to this program. Open it on the network map.

Documents

Documents on file (4)
Woodbury Reports Mentions (4)

From the Unsilenced archive

60 documents about Daniels Academy that Unsilenced collected and Kids Over Profits does not hold a copy of. They open on Unsilenced's Google Drive. Their whole folder: Daniels Academy.

Documents (60)

From SCIAD NET

1 document about Daniels Academy that Kids Over Profits does not hold a copy of. SCIAD NET keeps it on Google Drive, where it opens.

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

Reference and research

1 of these from SCIAD NET.

Other links

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