Joyce Gail Arbeiter filed the lawsuit on behalf of her son, alleging that Blue Creek, its leaders and Bible Baptist Church starved and physically abused her son, according to a complaint filed June 24 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Arbeiter claims her son was sexually abused by a school staff member’s son due to “lack of supervision” and “other improper standards utilized by the facility.”
A previous lawsuit was filed in May 2015 against Blue Creek, Bible Baptist, Pastor James Waldeck and former Blue Creek Director J.R. Thompson alleged A.B., who was a minor, claimed he suffered significant physical and emotional abuse.
A.B. claims he was sexually abused by another resident of the facility due to the lack of supervision, and was subjected to malnourishment, isolationism, corporal punishment, starvation and physical abuse.
On June 10, 2014, the negligence and abuse at Blue Creek was so extreme that A.B. fled, running through the wilderness with no place to go, according to the suit.
Arbeiter’s suit claims that her son spent 17 months at Blue Creek, facing both isolationism and corporal punishment and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which A.B. also alleged he suffered in his lawsuit.
In September 2014, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources removed Blue Creek’s students and a letter was sent to Waldeck revoking the school’s Exemption (k) status.
Arbeiter and A.B. are both represented by Troy N. Giatras of the Giatras Law Firm PLLC.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Tod J. Kaufman.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 16-C-950
