In a statement released Tuesday, officials at Church Farm School said O'Neill was employed at the school from Sept. 2007 to June 2014. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. But many parents may also feel like their current options arent the best fit for their teen. We have encouraged anyone who experienced or had information about sexually abusive behavior by Mr. Spera or any other former or current employee to contact T & M Protection Resources at 646-445-7743 or [email protected]. He's also demanding reimbursement for all of the tuition and fees he paid the college. The Church Farm School 1001 E Lincoln Hwy Exton, PA 19341 Tel: (610) 363-7500 www.gocfs.net Church Farm School is a private boarding and day school for boys in grades 9-12 in the Episcopal tradition located on 150 beautiful acres in Exton, PA. Neither would seminary authorities tell him the name of whoever informed them of his alleged sexual misconduct. A jury awarded $6 million in damages, but the amount was reduced by a judge to $2.9 million to reflect caps on damages. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Search for Private Schools School Detail for Church Farm School", 2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Exton CDP, PA, West Chester Area Council of Governments Map, NRHP Nomination Form for the School at Church Farm, "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania", "Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form: Benjamin Pennypacker House", Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, The Young Men's Leadership School at Thomas E. FitzSimons High School, West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, US National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania, History of the National Register of Historic Places, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_Farm_School&oldid=1112389358, Nondenominational Christian schools in the United States, Educational institutions established in 1918, School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania, Tudor Revival architecture in Pennsylvania, Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania, National Register of Historic Places in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Articles using NRISref without a reference number, Articles needing additional references from December 2012, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, PIAA District 1, Bicentennial Athletic League, This page was last edited on 26 September 2022, at 03:16. He asks the court for at least $50,000 in restitution form the defendant. Speras attorney, Julia Rogers, did not return a request for comment. John Suggs came to CFS after his West Philadelphia third-grade class was offered a full scholarship to college by the Jane and Robert Toll program. When the student returned for his eighth-grade year, authorities said, Spera sexually assaulted him in his room on campus and forced him to perform sex acts, the affidavit said. The victim did not attend CFS as a sophomore but returned in 2005-06 as a junior, where he again lived in the same cottage as the defendant. The two expressed their love for one another and began a relationship that lasted 10 months, according to investigators. Over the first half of its history, the school's campus grew to 1700 acres, on which it operated a large farm with student labor. 57-year-old Marc Spera faces a laundry list of charges, including: The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Spera on these charges in May. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to [email protected]. Investigators said that during Rowleys time at Church Farm, a college-preparatory school run by Episcopal clergy, he groomed then allegedly raped the student during the teens freshman, junior, and senior years at the school in the late 2000s. Will be used in accordance with our terms of service & privacy policy. Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. The victim, however, was not ready to speak with law enforcement about the abuse at that time, the D.A. When you place your order, your Church Militant Premium membership will be activated. [4][5] In 1985, the campus was listed as a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places. Shreiner, because of his strict belief in the importance of discipline and a strong work ethic, was known to the boys as the "Colonel."[6]. According to the department, the charges date back to Speras time at Church Farm School in Exton, Pennsylvania where he worked and lived on campus from 1995 to 2010. Edmund K. Sherrill, said in a statement that the school staff holds sincere and deep empathy for a former CFS student and regret that he suffered while attending our school.. | (Photo: Facebook/World Harvest Church) Televangelist Rod Parsley, who leads the Columbus, Ohio-based World Harvest Church, has come under fire for a recent message he shared on social media in which he urged people not to hate America's slaveholding founding fathers as a national conversation rages around the removal of confederate monuments. Most of the stories we've heard from the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal come from the United States or Ireland, but the epidemic there was light compared to what was going on in Australia. Interim headmaster, Thomas Rodd, Jr., led the school before Edmund K. Sherrill II, an Episcopal clergyman, became headmaster in July 2009. Welcome to Church Farm School Exton, PA About Message from Head of School Church Farm School exists to provide real and meaningful opportunity to motivated, hard-working boys from many places in our region and around the world, especially those who desire an excellent education. Angela Torres, mother to Josh '21 and Caleb '22, says sending her boys to boarding school was one of the best decisions she's ever made." At 14, Oscar Lu has taken it upon himself to be college-ready, saying "I was relying on my family too much.". A Chester County teacher is accused of having sex with one of her students during a relationship that lasted nearly a year. The sons of the clergy, members of the armed services, and police officers were a second focus of the school in its early days. The scandal centered around the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union, which was created to serve a poor black neighborhood in Omaha . But I am too formal for such outlandishness.". In the land down under, sex abuse was more rampant than anywhere else on . Theres something equally exciting and terrifying when youre the first to try something new. Officials say that Spera moved to Florida in 2016 to work at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg and that he also lived on the campus there. Following the meeting, Doe claims he wasn't allowed to go back to his room if he wasn't accompanied by someone from the school. It's the sort of thought that we have when we bury people so often. If you have any information about this case, please call Detective Michael Buchmann at 610-363-0200. Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone by making a one-time donation today. Heavyweight Champion Under Investigation for Hate Crime After Comments on Sodomy, National Catholic Reporter Names Gay Men Persons of the Year. According to the lawsuit, other dorm parents and members of the CFS administration were aware of the unusual amount of time that the plaintiff spent alone with the defendant. Reportedly more than 12,000 people attend the church, located in the Columbus suburb of Canal Winchester. The victim in that case has a pending federal lawsuit against Spera and the administration of Church Farm, asserting that the school failed to hold Spera accountable and allowed him to spend an inappropriate amount of private time with him. However, this defendant removed that sense of safety when he targeted his student his victim to satisfy his lewd behavior.. The teen claimed he and O'Neill shared their first kiss at a Motel 6 in King of Prussia in February, 2014 then kissed again at the motel in March to celebrate O'Neill's birthday. He was Chaplain and taught at his alma mater, Wooster School, in Danbury, Connecticut. 's report alleges Rowley's sexual abuse continued during the victim's senior year. A former teacher at a private boarding school in Chester County was sentenced this week to 15 to 30 years in prison for sexually assaulting a student at the school. Doe officially started his program toward the priesthood in 2010 and was set to graduate next May. A former Pennsylvania private school employee who now works at a Florida private school was arrested last month for allegedly sexually abusing a student during his time at the Pennsylvania school. Quarterly: $30 every 3 months Sign up for only one day for the low cost of $1.99. The victim contacted Chester County investigators in 2018 to report the sexual assaults but provided limited detail at the time, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Speras arrest. EXTON, PA A dorm parent at Church Farm School in Exton is charged with sexual abuse after a student reported he was repeatedly sexually assaulted in the boiler room of a cottage at the boarding school and in other situations, hundreds of times. Following the pattern of exploitive behaviors, Spera allegedly forced Sinclair into a series of sexual acts against his will, including watching pornographic materials, kissing, masturbation and oral sex. The school offers a challenging college preparatory curriculum and an exceptional level of personal attention, with class sizes averaging between just 7 and 12 students. Call Childline at 1-800-932-0313 if you suspect a child or student is being abused. This is a story about how Grace Fellowship Christian School outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, handled a child sex abuse scandal. We are still accepting rising 9th-11th graders for 2023-2024. They will lead an army of prayer warriors to pray for YOUR needs!" The idea of attending boarding school intrigued him as he felt it was where he can learn to be fully independent. Nieman Storyboard: "In wrapping the piece around the larger culture of evangelicalism and consequences of abuse, [Feldman] elevates the story beyond the sensationalism that can sink a sex . Exton, Pennsylvania - Former Church Farm School Employee Marc Spera Charged with Several Sex Crimes For Allegedly Abusing Student, Rape & Sexual Assault Victim - Lawyer Commentary, Disclaimer / Terms Of Service & Privacy Policy, 10 counts of unlawful contact with a minor-sexual offenses, 10 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years of age, 10 counts of endangering the welfare of children, 10 counts of indecent assault of a person less than 16. It's morbid, I know. District Attorney Deborah Ryan said the former students actions should set an example for others to come forward and report abuse, no matter how long it may take them to do so. Spera, also a dorm supervisor, admitted to sexually assaulting a teen at the school in his private room, and bought the boy an Xbox 360 console to keep in touch with him during the summer months away from the school. School staff said they found a love note O'Neill wrote to the teen on a school printer in May and she was asked to resign. Marc Spera, 58, pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and unlawful contact with a minor for the assaults, which began when the student was enrolled at the Church Farm School in Exton in 2008, prosecutors said. Deputy District Attorney Erin OBrien is the assigned prosecutor. The school gradually phased out agricultural activities, beginning in the mid-1970s, selling off most of the remaining farmland to developers by the late 1990s. Church Farm School, 1001 E. Lincoln Highway, in West Whiteland Township, is a boarding and day school that says it is "in the Episcopal tradition." Rowley is not the first employee of Church. Many students come from neighborhoods where the high school graduation rate hovers around 50%, All Seniors are accepted by . Mar 23, 2021 PHILADELPHIA - The Church Farm School (CFS) in Exton faces civil charges from a North Carolina man who says he was sexually abused by a former CFS teacher, according to documents filed earlier this year in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. For junior Fayi Nshanji, the first Church Farm School student to participate in a term-away program, that adage has proven accurate. The school is still associated with the Church, and an Episcopal Chaplain leads mandatory chapel services. In another recent case, Marc Spera, 58, of St. Petersburg, Fla., pleaded guilty earlier this year to one first-degree felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and two first-degree felony counts of unlawful contact with a minor, related to the sexual abuse of a student. This past October, the vice rector of PCJ, Rev. from Yale Divinity School. 1001 Lincoln Hwy, Exton, PA 19341. gocfs.net TYPE: Boarding Schools. Marc Spera assaulted the student over the course of two years at the Church Farm School, prosecutors said. The teen also told police he and O'Neill engaged in oral sex several times in her car, the Motel 6 as well as in Narberth Park in Narberth, Pennsylvania over the summer. Lawyer Comments:In the second part of this article, school abuse attorney Brian Kent will discuss the legal rights of private school sex abuse victims and their families. Class Vice President Sebastian Corrales '19, from Philadelphia, is a leader in every sense of the word: in the cottage, classroom and on the wrestling mat. We seek to prepare each boy in mind, body and spirit for life in some of the countrys best colleges and universities with most receiving significant scholarships, the kind we provide at CFS. Founded in 1918 to provide an excellent education to young men from limited means, Church Farm School now serves boys from a range of socio-economic circumstances who are seeking an extraordinary educational opportunity. "Do not miss this opportunity for Pastor Parsley to pray for you, along with KENNETH COPELAND, a gifted preacher with incredible understanding of God's power a man of astonishing faith! 2. We look forward to expanding the dialogue. The Reverend Edmund K. Ned Sherrill became Church Farm Schools fourth Head of School on July 1, 2009. Fayi has spent the past four months at the High Mountain Institute (HMI) in Colorado; his brother Rafael Arellano will participate in the spring term. He lived in a residential cottage where then-teacher Marc Spera acted as a dorm parent. Sibo Tuyishimire '22, self-proclaimed "Happy Boy," is a cancer survivor from Rwanda who was highlighted by 6ABC in 2020. There was no indication that he had hired an attorney. His bravery should be an example for other children and adults to come forward and seek help. Return to homepage. [4] [5] In 1985, the campus was listed as a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places . Church Farm School #4 in Best Private High Schools in Chester County A+ Overall Grade Private, Boarding, Episcopal, All-Boys 9-12 EXTON, PA 43 reviews Apply Now Virtual Tour COVID-19 Update for Prospective Students and Families: We can't wait to welcome you to our beautiful Exton campus to learn more about our boarding or day school programs.