A FORMER Ivy Ridge employee who previously spoke out about abuse at the school has been arrested and charged with murder.
John Free, a former dorm parent at the disgraced Ivy Ridge Academy of Ogdensburg, New York, is accused of murdering a man he knew.
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Free, 50, allegedly killed John Barr, 58, last Thursday.
Barr was found dead in his own home in Canton, New York, near the Canadian border, after being struck in the head with blunt objects around April 11, according to the St. Lawrence County District Attorney, Gary Pasqua, CBS affiliate. WWNY reported.
Although Pasqua declined to comment on the motive or object Free allegedly used to kill Barr, the lawyer said the two knew each other.
Free was charged with second-degree murder and is being held without bond in the St. Lawrence County Jail.
His preliminary hearing will be on May 28.
‘A HORRIBLE PLACE’
On April 30, Free spoke to WWNY about the physical and psychological abuse she witnessed at the school, which closed in 2009.
Ivy Ridge Academy was advertised as a school that helped troubled teens, but was exposed for its horrific mistakes in a recent Netflix documentary.
“It was a horrible place. At least staff and students can agree,” said Free WWNY.
He worked at the school, supervising teenage boys from 2002 to 2006.
Free said he was with the students 16 hours a day and said, “Many of the allegations from the boys’ side are true.”
The former employee discussed the school’s point system, which was based on the school’s strict rules.
If they obeyed, the students would earn points during their stay, but if they violated the rules, there would be shocking punishments.
“I saw abuse when I took students to administrative offices,” Free said.
“The kids got some beatings there and it’s horrible to say that now because that’s…but that’s what happened. Some of those kids didn’t deserve some of those things.”
Free also stated that Jason Finlinson, former principal at Ivy Ridge, was one of the worst to students.
“If a child was hit on the leg and the owner-director put his knee on someone’s throat and they almost passed out, that was abuse. If he threw her against the wall, that’s abuse,” he recalled to the outlet.
“These things that happened – I wouldn’t say they were daily – but they were weekly, for sure.”
Chronology of Events: Academy at Ivy Ridge
- 2001: Academy at Ivy Ridge Opens by Jason Finlinson in Ogdensburg, New York
- 2003: Congressman Rep. George Miller urges the U.S. Attorney General to investigate Ivy Ridge and the 10 other WWASP facilities in the U.S. and on board over allegations of “an ongoing practice of physical and emotional abuse of children”
- 2004: Attorney General refuses to investigate WWASP, citing lack of jurisdiction
- 2005: Male students plan and carry out a riot at school to protest inhumane living conditions; 12 were arrested and many others escaped but were later captured
- 2006: New York Department of Education writes to Finlinson and expresses concerns about “serious deficiencies” in Ivy Ridge’s educational practices and health and safety protocol
- 2006: The state ruled that Ivy Ridge was a behavior modification center, not a school, thus preventing the facility from issuing student diplomas. The school was later fined
- 2009: Ivy Ridge closes its doors for good after years of bad press caused enrollment to plummet
- 2024 (March 5): A three-part documentary series by Ivy Ridge alum Katherine Kubler drops on Netflix, exposing numerous allegations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse
- 2024 (March 7): Jason Finlinson loses his job as security operations manager at a Utah-based construction facility
- 2024 (March 9): Abandoned Ivy Ridge campus is for sale for $850,000
- 2024 (March 11): St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary M. Pasqua announces that dozens of allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Ivy Ridge are under investigation
He also recalled that students called the group of abusive employees the “pain train.”
During the interview, Free confirmed a multitude of things that former students said in the documentary.
He claimed there was a “room without cameras” where students would be abused, classrooms where nothing was taught, and “seminar” classes where students were forced to participate in cult-like programs.
“Everyone got a towel and you had to hit the floor for an hour and you were yelling things like about your parents or about things that happened and it just goes on and on, like — what is this? This is crazy,” Free said. about “seminars”.
The employee looked back and reflected on what would have happened if he reported the traumatic events saying, “Were we all wrong because we didn’t report it? Now, sure. But if we reported it, we were reporting it to the guy who was doing it a lot, so there’s no victory there.”
“If we went to the police, the police came to the school sometimes. It was not possible to talk to students without their parents,” he continued.
SURVIVORS PROTEST
On April 27, just before Free’s interview, the gym’s victims returned for the first time to call for change after the documentary aired.
Survivors were seen hugging each other and holding sad signs, one of which read: “Treatment should not abandon a community of survivors.”
Another survivor created a “Student Complaint Form” poster that detailed sickening allegations of psychological abuse, PTSD, and abandonment.
The kids got a few beatings there and it’s horrible to say that now because that was it… but that’s what happened. Some of those kids didn’t deserve some of those things.
João Livre
One victim wore an Ivy Ridge Academy sweatshirt with the word “survivor” written on a ribbon placed over the school’s name and a fourth held a tombstone-shaped sign.
After the social, the group came together to shout “F**k you Ivy Ridge” in unison and give the middle finger to the school.
DISGRACED DIRECTOR
After the exposé documentary was released, Jason Finlinson, former director of Ivy Ridge, was fired from his job as a security operations manager at a construction company in Utah.
The company denied comment to The US Sun about what led to Finlinson’s firing.
Julie Peyskahova, a former student who attended Ivy Ridge in 2005, said Finlinson’s firing was a “sense of justice,” admitting she never thought any ramifications would happen to school administrators.
“I didn’t expect any legal repercussions, but for me justice is that people in these communities will see the names and faces of all these former employees and have to answer for what they did,” Peyskahova said. The US Sun.
“They can no longer hide or try to lie, and to me that gives a great sense of justice.”
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She went on to say that the dismissal proved to be an “outrage” and a challenge for allowing those responsible to get away with their crimes.
“The fact that two of Ivy Ridge Academy’s biggest abusers were fired from their jobs just two days after the documentary’s release proves that communities are outraged and refuse to let them get away with it, even all these years later. “
Peyskahova believes Finlinson’s firing is just the beginning for former Ivy Ridge employees demanding legal repercussions.
“After so many years of being told they wouldn’t believe us or that we should just ‘get over it’, it’s the most amazing feeling knowing that not only do we believe in ourselves, but we have real support around us,” she told The Sun USA .
“Of course, I still believe they deserve legal repercussions more than anything. They are child abusers.
“But this is an incredible first step toward holding accountable those who are responsible for our abuse and trauma.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
