LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Eight people have filed a lawsuit alleging they were subjected to sexual, psychological, and physical abuse as children at a Christian church camp known as The Lord's Ranch.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Nov. 7 by the Gillispie Law Firm and Romanucci & Blandin LLC, is against not only The Lord's Ranch but related entities, owner and former executive director Ted Suhl, and other former staff members.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say they "were repeatedly subjected to horrific" abuse by their counselor, who the lawsuit labels as "one of the most notorious child abusers at the facility."
That counselor oversaw the psychological treatment and therapy provided to the children there, which he allegedly used his "position of power and authority to prey upon countless patients."
He hasn't been charged by police with abuse, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The allegations against him were reported to numerous officials, including Suhl, who either "feigned concern" or sometimes "punished" those who reported abuse, according to the lawsuit.
The Lord's Ranch, also known as Trinity Behavioral Health, was in operation from 1976 until its closure in 2016 when Suhl was convicted of bribery and fraud. Suhl later had his sentence commuted in 2019 by President Donald Trump, who called him a "pillar of his community."
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee "strongly supported" the commutation of Suhl's sentence with Trump saying Huckabee "devoted considerable time and effort to securing his release."
The camp would take in children from the ages of seven to 17 and was presented as "being a wonderful place" to help kids that needed treatment for psychological, emotional, behavioral, or spiritual issues.
Seven of the plaintiffs were sent to the camp from Illinois while one was from Texas in the 1990s and early 2000s. They are identified as John Does in the lawsuit to protect their identities.
Lawyers say the civil complaint was filed to "get to the truth at what happened to so many young people" at the camp and to "hold accountable" the owners and staff members who either knew, should have known, or covered up abuse there.
"I was subjected to sexual, physical, and mental abuse too many times to account for, some of the worst memories still bring back the old experiences as if they are current in my present life," one of the plaintiffs recounted. "As a young boy, I was targeted by my pedophile psychiatrist based upon my history of sexual abuse experiences as a child and these experiences were used as a tool by him to sexually victimize me further. He used my trust as a weapon against me and destroyed my mind with manipulation and mental warfare."
We have reached out to lawyers who previously represented Suhl or the facility for comment.
The civil complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Eastern Division. All legal claims regarding this lawsuit must be filed by January 2024.