Anonymous’ Pendleton Academies Testimony

2006-2007

Hi, I’m a 28 year old adult who suffered abuse in multiple facilities as a child/pre-teen. One of these facilities is listed on your site. Pendleton Academies. During my time there I was 12 years old. I was subjected to physical abuse by staff. The conditions at what they called “the unit” were terrible and I was terrified whenever I was forced to be there. I was hurt by other kids, if I had to go to the bathroom my clothes would get soaked in urine because the floors of the bathrooms were being peed on. I was made to be fearful of being forced to stay in “the unit” permanently so I was scared to tell the “home family” I was typically sent home to on evenings/weekends how bad it was. The worst thing that happened to me was sexual assault. A total of 3 boys over age 16 touched me inappropriately. The worst part was when a client who turned 18 while I was in the program forced me to perform oral sex on him in the barn when he took me down there with staff knowledge. He was supposed to be supervising me but instead he was molesting me. I tried to tell the staff what he did and I was told I was lying and received consequences. They would not let me talk to a police officer and instead told me the police talked to the other kids and the offender about it, but I doubt that even happened. After I left the program, kids I stayed in contact with informed me that the teen who had abused me was actually hired on as a staff member despite having been previously in treatment there himself. Pendleton Academies was an evil place and I’m grateful they were shut down. I’m grateful to have found this site and to know there are other survivors like me out there.