Facility profile Mexico
Sunrise Beach
Also known as Sunrise Center
Sunrise Beach was a specialty boarding school in Cancun, Mexico, operated by World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS). It operated from 1995 to 1995.
About Sunrise Beach
It was run by WWASP-affiliated (not directly owned).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.
1995
Opened in Cancun, Mexico
Closed
1996
Arrest
After the closure, staff and the owners were intercepted at the airport with 41 girls and arrested on charges of depriving juveniles of liberty and running an...
Arrest
After the closure, staff and the owners were intercepted at the airport with 41 girls and arrested on charges of depriving juveniles of liberty and running an unlicensed, unsanitary facility; the Roaches left Mexico before charges were brought.
Arrest
Steve and Glenda Roach were arrested in May 1996 in connection with Sunrise Beach in Mexico, which Mexican authorities shut down over sexual abuse allegations...
Arrest May 1996
Steve and Glenda Roach were arrested in May 1996 in connection with Sunrise Beach in Mexico, which Mexican authorities shut down over sexual abuse allegations, illegal workers and unsanitary conditions.
Investigation
After three escaped girls reported sexual abuse, officials inspected on May 10, 1996 and found girls without proper papers, poor sanitation, tiny punishment...
Investigation May 10, 1996
After three escaped girls reported sexual abuse, officials inspected on May 10, 1996 and found girls without proper papers, poor sanitation, tiny punishment rooms and clear signs of abuse.
Lawsuits
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Wood, et al. v. World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, Inc., et al.
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.
Incidents on record
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1996 Arrest
After the closure, staff and the owners were intercepted at the airport with 41 girls and arrested on charges of depriving juveniles of liberty and running an unlicensed, unsanitary facility; the Roaches left Mexico before charges were brought.source
-
May 1996 Arrest
Steve and Glenda Roach were arrested in May 1996 in connection with Sunrise Beach in Mexico, which Mexican authorities shut down over sexual abuse allegations, illegal workers and unsanitary conditions.source
-
May 10, 1996 Investigation
After three escaped girls reported sexual abuse, officials inspected on May 10, 1996 and found girls without proper papers, poor sanitation, tiny punishment rooms and clear signs of abuse.source
News coverage
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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
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Glenda Roach
Former Founder (1995, r/troubledteens wiki)source
Elsewhere in the industry
- Morava Academy Founder, 1998
Notable staff
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Steve and Glenda Roach
Founder (1995-2025, r/troubledteens wiki)source
Elsewhere in the industry
- Morava Academy Founder, 1998
Connections on the network map
The companies, people and programs our research map ties to this program. Open it on the network map.
Documents
From the Unsilenced archive
3 documents about Sunrise Beach that Unsilenced collected and Kids Over Profits does not hold a copy of. They open on Unsilenced's Google Drive. Their whole folder: Sunrise Beach.
Wiki entries
We have questions about Sunrise Beach
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