Former students at Utah troubled-teen centers say their reports of sex abuse were ignored
Tribune analysis identifies youth treatment centers with higher rates of reported sexual abuse.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cedar Ridge Academy has a new owner as of February and a new name as the Makana Leadership Academy, Dec. 16, 2020. Cedar Ridge had a history of reports of sexual abuse. | Updated: March 8, 2021, 11:52 p.m.
Roosevelt • Police had uncovered a pattern of abuse at Cedar Ridge Academy.
A staffer, one who had worked with kids daily for 10 years at the “troubled-teen” facility, had made sexually charged comments to the boys. He had groped some of them during unapproved medical procedures in a small room after covering the only window with butcher paper so no one could see. He gave kids medications they weren’t prescribed so often, a lawsuit later alleged, they called him “the candy man.”