Nine more lawsuits filed against Missouri boarding school

(AP) — A southwest Missouri boarding school is facing nine new lawsuits from former students alleging they were abused at the school. 

The Kansas City Star reports the lawsuits against Agape Boarding School in Stockton were filed by former students who attended the school from March 2015 to June 2019. 

They accuse other other students and staff of abuse, battery and, in some cases, starving and torturing students. 

Five staff members at Agape face charges of assaulting students. 

Fourteen former students have now sued Agape since February 2021. 

Five similar lawsuits against the now-closed Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, an all-girls boarding school also in Cedar County, have been settled.