The mother of a former Missouri boarding school student is suing the now-closed institution, claiming he suffered brutal abuse — including an alleged gang rape — that ultimately contributed to his death.
Kathleen Britt has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her son Jason, who died in February 2022 due to multiple organ failure caused by steroid overuse. He previously attributed kidney disease and high blood pressure to PTSD.
Britt turned to weightlifting after college and then to steroids to ensure he wouldn’t experience abuse again in the future, his family said.
The lawsuit details several incidents of brutal physical and sexual abuse while Britt was a student at Agape Boarding School, which has also been hit with numerous other allegations of abuse from former students.
The lawsuit calls the school a “front” for Agape Baptist Church and claims the school is “akin to a concentration camp or torture colony cloaked in the guise of religion.”
Jason Britt (pictured) was reportedly subjected to horrific physical and sexual abuse at boarding school, leading him to ‘take large amounts of steroids in an attempt to be strong enough to never be subdued and raped again’
The abuse is alleged to have taken place at Agape Boarding School in Missouri, which has faced a number of similar allegations of sexual and physical abuse from former students.
Britt had previously detailed the horrific alleged abuse he suffered in Agape before his death when he told it The Kansas City star in 2021 that as a 16-year-old he was brutally attacked by five teachers.
He, along with numerous other former students, claims that the boarding school closely monitors communications with parents, deprives children in trouble of food, forces them to exercise excessively and limits showers in ice-cold water to five minutes.
In one case, he was caught trying to tell his parents that Agape “wasn’t what they thought it was” and that it was a “dangerous place that you don’t even think exists when you’re young,” leading Britt to was reportedly taken away. away to a padded room.
Teachers at the boarding school, who had also reportedly witnessed several student suicide attempts during that time, held the 16-year-old down while three took turns raping him, Britt alleged.
One of them allegedly used a plastic mop or a broomstick during the assault because he told the other teachers: ‘I’m not gay. I can’t do it like that.’
Agape Boarding School is said to have subjected students to ordeals ‘similar to a concentration camp or torture colony cloaked in the guise of religion’
Due to the abuse he was allegedly subjected to, Britt embraced strength training and won a number of high-level national powerlifting competitions
“The best way I can describe it is like a group of savages going after their prey,” said Britt, who spoke out two years ago after keeping the attack a secret for six years.
‘I think it was just bad. I think they were trying to humiliate me in a way that I wouldn’t recover from, that would break my spirit.”
After being cut above the eye in the attack, the lawsuit claims Britt required stitches at a local clinic, forcing a teacher to stand guard the entire time to apparently keep the incident quiet.
The boarding school has faced a raft of disturbing allegations of systematic abuse by teachers in recent years, with Britt adding of the incident: ‘I don’t recall any communication taking place. It was as if they had already planned what they were going to do.”
At least five other incidents of alleged sexual abuse have been reported at the now-closed school, spanning a fifteen-year period beginning in the late 1990s after the school moved to Stockton, Missouri.
Agape Baptist Church ignored the abuse complaints, the lawsuit said, and also negligently failed to report the allegations to the Children’s Department, aided and abetted the abuse and “engaged in other unlawful conduct that harmed Jason Britt.”
The Kansas City Star reported that Agape’s attorney John Schultz declined to comment on the lawsuit. He did not immediately respond when contacted by DailyMail.com.
Britt had only been at school for five months before returning home, and the ordeal seemed to spark a dedication to strength training that led to the teen taking up steroids.
He became a successful powerlifter and broke several records in competitions, including at the US Powerlifting Association competition in the 18-19 age category. At the age of 20, he broke the National Powerlifting Championships record in the 20-23 age category.
The lawsuit adds that he was also a talented mixed martial artist and was involved in Ultimate Fighting Championship boxing.
Britt broke several records at the US Powerlifting Association Championship and National Powerlifting Championships, and was also a talented mixed martial artist and dabbled in Ultimate Fighting Championship Boxing
Britt’s steroid use led to multiple organ failure that ultimately caused his death in February 2022. He had also previously attributed high blood pressure and kidney failure to PTSD from his traumatic time at boarding school.
But during that time, “he began making life choices that caused his kidneys and heart to fail,” namely taking “large amounts of steroids in an attempt to be strong enough to never be subjugated and raped again.”
Although he had requested a kidney transplant, he was ineligible due to his continued steroid use.
After Britt’s death in February 2022, his mother Kathleen says she started the lawsuit and is fighting for justice “because his voice needs to be heard.”
“Those who were supposed to protect Jason failed from the top down. Jason felt that if the only thing he could do with his life was stand up to the wrongdoers and those who had failed him and all the other children there, that would be enough for him.”
She is demanding a jury trial, and in addition to charging the school, the lawsuit also names five former top officials accused of participating in the alleged gang rape and further abuse.
Another staff member is also named in the lawsuit because he is said to have known about the abuse, but was unable to prevent it.
In addition, Britt is also suing the Cedar County Sheriff’s Department for allegedly failing to follow up on reports of abuse at the school over the years.
After keeping his ordeal a secret for years, Britt spoke out the year before his death. His mother says she filed a wrongful death lawsuit ‘because his voice needs to be heard’
A criminal investigation into Agape was launched in early 2021, and five staffers, including the school’s medical coordinator, were charged later that year with several crimes involving physically assaulting students. The school was officially closed in January 2023
It alleges that the department “maintained a policy or practice of refusing to investigate and/or report allegations of abuse at Agape, and returning to the school for further abuse.”
“(The sheriff’s department) took no action regarding the inherent conflict of interest that existed as its employees were among the same individuals who had reports of abuse filed against them,” the lawsuit alleges.
A criminal investigation into Agape was launched by authorities in the state in early 2021.
Five staff members, including the school’s medical coordinator, were charged later that year with various crimes involving physical abuse of students.
The school was officially closed in January 2023.