It’s always in those often ignored corners of America that some of the worst behavior imaginable is tolerated. Civilization is slow to reach some parts, and in these places, religion is still calling all the shots. Generally speaking, city folks think that the rest of the world has the same attitude about how to properly raise children. The notion of nurturing creativity, self expression and above all, their physical wellbeing, is a foreign concept to the harsh taskmasters of religion. Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child has been the attitude of many a Christian, and it’s not very surprising when the news identifies yet another story of abuse at their hands.

Religious schools benefit from little oversight. In the case of Lighthouse Christian Academy in Missouri,

ABM Ministries owners Larry Musgraves Jr., 57, and his wife, Carmen Musgraves, 64, were charged over the weekend with first-degree kidnapping for allegedly locking a student in a small room. The allegations are the latest against people associated with Christian boarding schools in Missouri.

The 15 year old boy was allegedly punch multiple times in the face, breaking his nose, as a supposed “preparation” for an upcoming boxing match. He was also apparently locked in a small room as punishment. The kid claims that it was because of comments he had made previously about one of the school administrators wife.

The school used to accept female students, until a lawsuit in 2009 that claimed a former principle had sexually abused a female students, and the Musgraves had been aware of the abuse and had done nothing. They settled for almost 1 million dollars. The offender walked away scot-free, and simply headed to another religiously run school called Agape Boarding School to cause more pain and hurt:

A former student at Agape said he was constantly raped and called “seizure boy” because of epilepsy from which he suffered, while other students have said they suffered permanent injuries after facing disciplinary action or being forced to work long hours of manual labour, it was reported.

There was also another nearby religious school, called Circle of Hope Girl’s Ranch, that had at least 5 employees charged with abuse, with their doctor, David Smock, being accused of over 100 separate counts of child abuse.

It’s beginning to be difficult keeping track of all these abusers. They all have one thing in common: because of Missouri’s lax laws when it comes to oversights, religious organizations are free to do pretty much anything that comes to mind, which tends to be some pretty unsavory shit.