American boys at a Jamaican school for troubled teenagers told how they were allegedly beaten, put in stressful positions for hours, forced to exercise until they vomited and even subjected to waterboarding.
Details of the allegations against Atlantis Leadership Academy staff emerged after five people were arrested on suspicion of child abuse.
Eight American boys ages 14 to 18 were removed from the school in February after a surprise inspection uncovered the allegations.
The teenagers have now described the hellish treatment they say they received at the Treasure Beach facility, located on the island’s south coast.
“There were things that caused constant pain or suffering,” said a 15-year-old former student. NBC. ‘Like dying of hunger; When you’re hungry to the point of pain, or so thirsty that you’re about to pass out, in my opinion, that’s worse than a beating.’
Families of American children at a Jamaica school for troubled teens, including 16-year-old Cody Fleischman (pictured with his mother Tarah), have told how they were allegedly beaten, put in stressful positions for hours, forced to exercising until they vomited and even being subjected to waterboarding.
The Atlantis Leadership Academy is located in Treasure Beach, located along the southern coast of the island.
The founder and director of Atlantis Leadership Academy, Randall Cook, has denied the abuse and has not been charged.
The school’s founder, Randall Cook, has not been charged. He previously defended the institution and denied the boys’ accusations.
But several students have since described being forced to sit on a stool for hours without going to the bathroom and being beaten if they moved.
According to the 15-year-old, staff threw buckets of water in his face. Another child described having a garden hose sprayed into his nostrils so violently that he could not breathe.
The children were also forced to exercise for two hours every morning, running laps or doing hundreds of push-ups, and beaten if they stopped, according to former students.
“They whipped you, they hit you with pipes,” said James, 18, one of eight teenagers expelled from school. “But if I told anyone, I was afraid the rest of the staff would attack me.”
He added that portions of food were routinely cut as a form of punishment and described the school as “hell in paradise.”
The teens added that 16-year-old Cody Fleischman, who has Tourette syndrome, ADHD and OCD, was routinely selected to receive the worst treatment.
Disturbing footage shows the teenager’s dramatic weight loss during just seven months at school.
Paris Hilton, who has fought against the problematic teen industry since she experienced it herself, flew to Jamaica to support the children and spoke out against the school.
“There’s nowhere to go,” said Michael McFarland, an attorney representing his family. “You’re in this remote part of this country where you don’t know anyone and you’re being monitored at all times.”
In December 2023, James said some of the children tried to escape to the US embassy, but were quickly detained by staff and, they say, then beaten.
His and Fleischman’s mother said they were notified that their children had been withdrawn from school on Feb. 11 when they received a call from the Embassy.
Fleischman then contacted Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media Impact, which is campaigning for greater scrutiny over the types of institutions Hilton was sent to.
The heiress flew to Jamaica to show her solidarity and demand the closure of the school.
“When I learned what eight American children had endured at the hands of a center for troubled teens in Jamaica, I knew I had to drop everything to show my support for their testimony,” he said.
He said the children had reported being “violently beaten, whipped, waterboarded and starved to death.”
“I am outraged that it is taking months to bring these children back to the United States and mere moments to send them away in the first place,” he said.
In the photo: Generic images of young people at the academy. The religious school specializes in helping teenagers overcome anger, depression and substance abuse.
Eight boys aged 14 to 18 were expelled from school in February after a surprise inspection uncovered allegations of abuse.
However, parents who sent their children to school as early as 2021 echoed the abuse allegations.
Their children told them that staff forced the children to stay alone in a small shed known as “The Box” for days on end, consuming only rice and water and urinating in a bucket.
A Florida mother claimed that children were suffocated if they misbehaved.
“We thought we were sending our son to paradise, to the beach every day, away from the problems of American culture,” she said. —The place was not on the beach. They did zero to help us. “All they did was create more problems.”
Another California mother told how she received photos of her son dragging sand and cleaning an empty pool.
The images showed the boy smiling during dinner, but McFarland, who also represents the family, dismissed the photo as “propaganda.”
“They take pictures of these once-in-a-blue-moon feasts, but the kids were going hungry,” McFarland said. “A lot of the parents had no idea why it was designed that way.”
Families say contact was strictly limited and monitored by staff. Flesichman said she did not have a phone call with his son for an entire year while he was at the facility.
Former students claim they were forced to exercise for two hours every day, sometimes until they vomited. Pictured: Promotional images of the school seen on Yelp.
Starvation was also a common punishment according to the children, some of whom lost a lot of weight during their stay.
But Cook said: “The way our interactions and updates with parents have never been an issue.”
“Those who have passed through ALA continue to express their gratitude for the services provided to their families.”
Employees Eddison Morris, 39, Courtney Wiggan, 51, Carson Cox, 33, and Odane Maswell, 31, along with a fifth worker, have since been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, cruelty to a child and assault on customary law.
The religious school claims to specialize in helping teenagers overcome anger, depression and substance abuse.
According to its website, it prides itself on being a ‘a structured and affordable boarding academy catering for young men who possess strong leadership skills, although they have taken some wrong turns in their lives.’
But critics say it is part of the controversial teen industry that has been plagued by allegations of abuse and neglect.
Cook responded to this characterization in a statement to NBC.
‘The outcome of this activism and narrative is simple and fast approaching; “Families will soon be left with short-term acute inpatient psychiatric services and/or juvenile facilities,” he said.
He previously described the allegations as a “hatchet job” designed to tarnish the school’s reputation.
The ALA did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.