Statement from legal team representing multiple victims of sexual abuse at the Lord’s Ranch religious residential camp. The team has filed multiple civil complaints naming Alonza Jiles as a defendant for his knowledge, inaction and cover-up, which harmed young victims of abuse:
“The legal team representing a long list of survivors of sexual abuse at The Lord’s Ranch fully supports Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ insistence today that Alonza Jiles resign from his current role on the Arkansas Board of Corrections. Jiles is named as a defendant in our multiple civil complaints on behalf of multiple survivors of sexual abuse, which detail Jiles' knowledge of repeated incidents of sexual abuse of teenagers by counselor Emmett Presley and his cover-up of this abuse. He fully ignored his responsibility as both a staff member of this residential youth facility and as a decent human being. Had he done the right thing and reported these concerns when he first learned of them, he could have saved so many young people from the trauma of sexual abuse, which experts agree significantly alters the development of an individual and how they see and navigate the world. We are dedicated to holding him accountable for his actions and strongly believe Alonza Jiles has no role in public service,” said Stephan D. Blandin, Founding Partner of Romanucci & Blandin and Joshua Gillispie, Founder of Gillispie Law Firm.
Original source can be found here.