‘It was too much.’ Former employee of Christian boys ranch raised discipline concerns

When Derek Lorenz showed up at Master’s Ranch West in March it reminded him of a plantation.

He came to the sprawling Eastern Washington property in Prescott to interview for a job at the newly opened Christian boarding school for troubled boys.

The vast property with homes for staff, dorms, classrooms and chapel is in rural Walla Walla County, about 35 miles east of the Tri-Cities.

Lorenz, a former drill sergeant, had received a medical retirement in May 2019 after 12 years in the Army. He’d also spent 15 years volunteering in youth ministry and became an ordained minister in November.

He thought the combination of skills left him well suited for the challenges of a school for at-risk boys.

He was hired as a mentor and exercise drill sergeant at the school, bringing his wife and three young children from California to live at the ranch.

But he told the Herald he quit after just a couple months and called Child Protective Services (CPS) over his growing concerns about the treatment of some boys at Master’s Ranch West.

“Being in the military, I was a combat instructor. I had four year of martial arts,” he said. “In my experience, it was too much.”

On Monday, Walla Walla County sheriff’s deputies and state child welfare officers showed up at the ranch to interview some of the boys and staff.

They ended up taking eight boys into protective custody and made plans to return the next day to remove 30 others or have them picked up by parents.

But before the authorities came back, the remaining teens had armed themselves with shovels and brooms in an angry protest.

Deputies have responded to the ranch seven times in 13 days, including reports of several boys stealing a car and shoplifting.

They arrested a 20-year-old employee on suspicion of molesting the daughter of a staff member. Deputies say they are investigating other abuse allegations.

Officials with the state Department of Children, Youth and Families told the Herald they cannot discuss their investigation. It’s not clear what laws govern the faith-based facility that is not state licensed.

Master’s Ranch

The Master’s Ranch West website, which was inactivated Saturday, said they offer a mentoring, military-like environment that integrates educational, spiritual and personal growth curriculum to help at-risk boys succeed in life.

Pastor David Bosley of the Master’s Baptist Church and his wife Tresa opened the Prescott school about six months ago, though they’ve been in talks to buy it since 2018.

They have operated the nonprofit Master’s Ranch Therapeutic Ranch & School for At-Risk Boys in Missouri since 1997 and recently announced on Facebook plans to open Belle Vie Academy for Girls in Missouri.

The Master’s Ranch Missouri website describes its self as “helping rebellious or difficult boys get back on a better track for life.” It says it offers a “balance of discipline and training in an unmistakable atmosphere of mentoring, one and acceptance.”

This week, Bosley posted on the Master’s Ranch West Facebook page that they are no longer accepting students in Prescott until they can work out issues with the state. The Facebook page was later taken down.

It was unclear Friday on the status of the ranch. At one point, they housed 40 boys from 10 states, Bosley said.

On Tuesday, he told the Herald he was driving from Missouri to return to Washington state because of the problems.

On Friday, he declined to talk about the current status of the ranch and state investigation, referring the Herald to his attorney for a formal statement, which had yet to be released.

Bosley said Tuesday that the problems this month stemmed from two disgruntled former employees — one who he says was too aggressive and another who was stirring up the students. Some of the riled up kids then ran away, he said.

In a Facebook video that he’s since taken down, Bosley called CPS’ actions “poorly thought out,” saying that it converted a normally peaceful academy into “Lord of the Flies chaos.”

“I’m confident that CPS will pay heavily,” he told the Herald Friday. “It was undeserved.”

Orchardists Ralph and Cheryl Broetje operated the Jubilee Christian Academy and ranch at the same site for years.

Walla Walla County Assessor online records show the Jubilee Foundation sold the ranch to First Fruit Farms in late 2018 for about $288 million.

And First Fruit Farms confirmed Thursday that the Bosleys are under contract to buy the land, staff housing, dorms and outbuildings but they have not closed on the sale. Details about how many acres were involved in the sale were not available.

At-risk boys

Earlier this year, the Bosleys were hiring more staff for Master’s Ranch West when Lorenz was searching for a youth pastor position on the job site Indeed and saw the opening.

Lorenz and Bosley talked for about a month before Bosley asked him to drive up from California to interview. He brought along his family.

After they arrived, the Washington state stay-home orders were enacted and the Lorenzes stayed on with the intent of moving their belongings later.

“At the time, I felt like this was a pretty good fit for my skill set,” he said.

He told the Herald he understood that the boys, ages 9 to 17, came from tough situations, bad life experiences and had anger issues.

“Some of the boys had a rough, violent past,” he said.

Still, Lorenz said he grew increasingly concerned about what he felt were a lack of policies, procedures, methodology and discipline.

He said that the restraint tactics taught to staff were not the best and most effective practices to avoid hurting a student.

He also was frustrated because he wanted to be more creative in the team building and exercises for the boys.

“I had little free rein,” he said. “(Management) really just wanted to do manual labor, running, sit-ups and push-ups.”

He also was critical of the ranch’s assessments used to gauge each boy’s success. The only way to advance to the next rank and earn more privileges was by memorizing Bible verses, Lorenz said.

He called church services extremely rigid and boring for a teen. He said it was a formal setting where all boys had to wear dress clothes and sit at attention without being distracted or dozing. Lorenz saw one student hit on the head with a book after being caught reading during service.

As an ordained pastor, Lorenz also took issue that only narrow passages and certain books of the Bible were used — mostly Revelation, Psalms and Proverbs.

Bosley started and operates Master’s Baptist Church, which does business as Master’s Ranch and Christian Academy, and has oversight of the boarding schools in Prescott and Missouri.

“It’s highly conservative. Almost to the point that it is off-putting,” said Lorenz who has been a self-described believer since he was a child.

“Coming from a youth pastor’s perspective — I didn’t like it,” he said.

Raising concerns

Lorenz said he raised his concerns to Bosley about policies and procedures, including the need for employee background checks, and a lack of documentation of counseling sessions and student progress.

One parent who called the Herald earlier in the week said that she emailed and called numerous times to get regular updates on the status of her son, but received nothing during the few months he was there.

Lorenz’s uneasiness grew for two months until he saw another employee physically restrain an 11-year-old who weighed about 100 pounds. He thought it was too heavy-handed — he said he saw the employee push the boy to the ground by pulling his arm behind his back and holding him down with a knee.

He took his initial concerns to two on-site supervisors.

The next morning, May 5, he was called into a staff meeting that Bosley was leading remotely from Missouri.

Lorenz said the meeting included the 11-year-old, the boy’s parents on the phone, several staff members, the ranch director, another supervisor and chaplain.

He claims the meeting “turned into a slam fest,” with Bosley questioning his credibility and his account of what happened.

Another employee quit on the spot and walked out. Lorenz resigned the next day.

The second employee who quit also contacted the Herald on Wednesday to refute Bosley’s claim that he had been fired and confirmed that he quit during the meeting and left the ranch.

However, Bosley told the Herald on Tuesday that the two employees overreacted to the treatment of the 11-year-old.

He said that the boy was being violent. Bosley said one of the employees “went crazy” and “started an emotional riot,” over the belief the child had been physically abused. Bosley said he terminated them both after the meeting.

Lorenz told the Herald he called state child welfare officials with his concerns, including a claim that two students were forced to sleep outside at the ranch as a punishment for running away.

The other employee, who asked not to be named, told the Herald he contacted the Walla Walla Sheriff’s Office to report other alleged mistreatment that some boys told him about.

On May 7, the day after Lorenz resigned, five boys ran away and stole a car and were arrested. Three days later, two others ran from the ranch but were found and returned.

Then May 12, deputies investigated the excessive force claim against the 11-year-old student.

The next day, a male employee, Max Shelton, 20, was jailed for child molestation and communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He’s accused of sending nude photos of himself to a teen girl and grabbing her inappropriately.

When deputies talked with Shelton, his eye was swollen shut, he had blood on his jeans and he complained of being hit several times in the chest by Bosley, whom he called his “Dad,” and the girl’s father, according to court records.

He was taken to a Walla Walla hospital for a CT scan before he was cleared to be taken to jail.

As of Friday, a video was posted on the Prescott ranch’s website, showing about 10 people in the chapel for a morning prayer and devotional.

“Even through the storms we are going to rely on God,” Jonathan Alsup, ranch director, said in the video.

He said the staff continues to pray for the boys and hopes they pray for the ranch because, “We are in the midst of a satanic battle.”

This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 5:35 PM.