Boarding School Accused of Abuse Coverup

SALT LAKE CITY (CN) - After a Southern Utah boarding school teacher sexually assaulted three students, he used bribes, threats and intimidations to conceal it, and administrators at the Silverado Academy protected him and told one of the boys not to talk, the teens' parents say.

Parents of the three John Does say defendant Silverado Academy, in Panguitch, hired, fired and rehired Richard Glosson as a coach and athletic coordinator over a span of about 2 years.

The only defendant in the federal complaint is Silverado Academy LLC.

Glosson, who had no formal training or post-high school education when he was hired by the academy prior to 2010, was fired several months after accepting a position "because of concerns that it had that he was being too close to the teenagers in the programs," according to the complaint.

But Silverado rehired Glosson "in late 2010 or early 2011," and "Glosson was allowed to have repeated access to and time with individual students privately, in multiple locations and settings, including students over whom he was not a coach and had no supervisory duties," according to the complaint.

It adds: "On multiple occasions, Mr. Glosson sexually abused numerous teenagers at the academy, including the minor plaintiffs, in Silverado's classrooms, Glosson's living quarters, and the students' living quarters, among other places."

Students at the academy are assigned to a cabin, and each cabin is assigned a set of "coaches," along with a therapist.

The parents say Glosson bullied their children after the attacks.

"Mr. Glosson used various means to discourage the students from saying anything about the abuse, including, but not limited to the threat of not recommending that a student be advanced in the program, bribery, physical force, intimidation, and deceit," say the parents - who hail from Georgia, Nevada and Michigan.

The parents say that police visited the academy after Glosson reported that a minor, from Arizona, had contacted him on Facebook and threatened to go public about his sexual assaults.

But Silverado's management and police "took no action against Mr. Glosson and continued to allow him to work in close proximity to the teenagers in the program," according to the complaint.

It continues: "At least two of the incidents of sexual assault that Mr. Glosson committed against the minor plaintiffs were committed after law enforcement officials visited the academy to investigate Mr. Glosson's complaint.

"When John Doe 1 reported Mr. Glosson's sexual assault to the academy's management, he was told not to say anything to his parents about the assault, during his Father's Day call to them on June 19, 2011."

According to the complaint: "Silverado Academy LLC operates a clinical boarding school offering residential care for troubled teenagers between ages 13 and 18 in Garfield County, Utah," near Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks

"The program costs in the range of $4,000 to $7,000 a month."

Students must enroll for at least 6 months, and "successful program completion occurs when a student has achieved all levels of the academy's 'TRUST' program and has spent time as a transition student," the complaint states.

According to the academy website: "The academy is designed to integrate real world skills and enhance self-esteem though a combination of experiential therapy, stellar academics, and healthy relationships."

The plaintiffs demand punitive damages for emotional distress, negligent hiring and breach of fiduciary duties.

They are represented by Colin King with Dewsnup, King & Olsen.

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