Facility profile Georgia

Darrington Academy

Closed Blue Ridge, Georgia

Darrington Academy was a specialty boarding school in Blue Ridge, Georgia, operated by World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS). It operated from 2004 to 2009.

About Darrington Academy

It was founded by Dace Goulding and Richard Darrington.source

It cost about $3,300 per month.source Six-level point system with demerit categories 1-5.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.

20042006200920042009

  1. 2004

    1. Opened

      Opened in Blue Ridge, Georgia

  2. 2006

    1. Incident

      Incident

      Rumors surfaced in 2006 that undocumented immigrants worked at the facility, later part of the 2009 raid investigation.

      Incident

      source

  3. 2009

    1. IncidentFebruary 2009

      Investigation

      In February 2009 authorities raided Darrington Academy over allegations of child abuse and illegal workers; in March 2009 the academy announced it would close.

      Investigation February 2009

      source

    2. IncidentReported April 2009

      Investigation

      Darrington Academy was under joint investigation by the Fannin County Department of Family and Children Services, the Fannin County Sheriff's Department, and...

      Investigation Reported April 2009

      Darrington Academy was under joint investigation by the Fannin County Department of Family and Children Services, the Fannin County Sheriff's Department, and state regulatory officials over certain activities at the school.

      source

    3. IncidentMay 21, 2009

      Arrest

      Headmaster Richard Darrington was arrested May 21, 2009 on aggravated battery and simple battery charges after reports he slammed a 17-year-old student to the...

      Arrest May 21, 2009

      Headmaster Richard Darrington was arrested May 21, 2009 on aggravated battery and simple battery charges after reports he slammed a 17-year-old student to the floor, knocking out a tooth, and pushed a 16-year-old into a wall; released on $6,000 bond.

      source

    4. IncidentSeptember 3, 2009

      Arrest

      Richard Darrington, former headmaster of Darrington Academy, was arrested and released on bail on two counts of battery (one felony, one misdemeanor) while...

      Arrest September 3, 2009

      Richard Darrington, former headmaster of Darrington Academy, was arrested and released on bail on two counts of battery (one felony, one misdemeanor) while serving as dean of students and athletic director at Whittell High School, NV; Douglas County School District was awaiting fingerprint results.

      source

    5. IncidentDecember 2009

      Criminal charge

      A Georgia grand jury indicted Richard Darrington, who ran Darrington Academy for five years, on charges including aggravated battery, invasion of privacy and...

      Criminal charge December 2009

      A Georgia grand jury indicted Richard Darrington, who ran Darrington Academy for five years, on charges including aggravated battery, invasion of privacy and four counts of first-degree cruelty to children; three other teachers were also indicted.

      source

    6. Closed

      Closed

Lawsuits

  • Wood, et al. v. World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, Inc., et al. Unknown | Fifth Judicial District Court, Washington County, Utah | 120500380 Names this facility

    William Chase Wood and several hundred other former students and their parents sued the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), founder Robert Lichfield, his business partners and dozens of affiliated programs, marketing and billing companies in Utah's Fifth Judicial District Court in Washington County. The document on file is the plaintiffs' 228-page first amended complaint, submitted July 24, 2013, which refers to claim sheets filed in the case on December 17, 2012 in opposition to a WWASPS motion to dismiss. It alleges that students placed at WWASPS programs in Utah, other states, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Samoa and the Czech Republic from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s were beaten, restrained, locked in isolation and small boxes or cages, denied food and medical care, sexually abused and forced to work without pay. It alleges the programs operated as a single enterprise that deceived parents and concealed the abuse, and brings negligence, fraud, contract, conspiracy and emotional distress claims. The document does not show how the case ended.

Every case in the lawsuit directory

Incidents on record

  1. 2006 Incident

    Rumors surfaced in 2006 that undocumented immigrants worked at the facility, later part of the 2009 raid investigation.source

  2. February 2009 Investigation

    In February 2009 authorities raided Darrington Academy over allegations of child abuse and illegal workers; in March 2009 the academy announced it would close.source

  3. Abuse

    Survivors report physical abuse including children thrown against walls, beaten and held in solitary confinement, plus sexual abuse allegations.source

  4. Reported April 2009 Investigation

    Darrington Academy was under joint investigation by the Fannin County Department of Family and Children Services, the Fannin County Sheriff's Department, and state regulatory officials over certain activities at the school.source

  5. May 21, 2009 Arrest

    Headmaster Richard Darrington was arrested May 21, 2009 on aggravated battery and simple battery charges after reports he slammed a 17-year-old student to the floor, knocking out a tooth, and pushed a 16-year-old into a wall; released on $6,000 bond.source 1, source 2

  6. September 3, 2009 Arrest

    Richard Darrington, former headmaster of Darrington Academy, was arrested and released on bail on two counts of battery (one felony, one misdemeanor) while serving as dean of students and athletic director at Whittell High School, NV; Douglas County School District was awaiting fingerprint results.source

  7. December 2009 Criminal charge

    A Georgia grand jury indicted Richard Darrington, who ran Darrington Academy for five years, on charges including aggravated battery, invasion of privacy and four counts of first-degree cruelty to children; three other teachers were also indicted.source

News coverage

  • Reason Jun 27, 2007 Expose

    Mitt Romney's Campaign Connections to Abusive Adolescent Treatment Programs

    The article examines the connections between presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign fundraisers and residential treatment programs facing widespread allegations of abuse. Founders Robert Lichfield of the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS) and Mel Sembler of Straight Inc. faced numerous lawsuits and investigations regarding allegations of physical restraint, food and sleep deprivation, and psychological abuse.

Staff

Administration

  • Richard Legrand Darrington

    Former Owner and Headmaster, Headmaster (2009)source

  • Dusky Goulding

    Former Directorsource

    Elsewhere in the industry

Notable staff

  • Dace Goulding

    Former Operations Managersource

    Elsewhere in the industry

  • John Pepper

    Former Family representative (2008, r/troubledteens wiki)source

Connections on the network map

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

Ownership

  • WWASPS

Documents

Documents on file (5)
Woodbury Reports Mentions (3)

From the Unsilenced archive

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

Documents (30)

Wiki entries

Materials and links

Materials the project holds for this facility. Ask through the correction form to see any of them.

News and media

  • News articles

Other documentation

  • Archived website

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

From SCIAD NET.

Archived pages

From SCIAD NET.

Other links

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