CNN Series Follows MoJo’s Investigation of Teen Homes

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Photos: New Bethany Alumni; Barbed Wire: Brian Hagiwara/Getty Images

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A month after Mother Jones published our investigation of fundamentalist religious compounds, CNN is covering abusive teen homes in a two-part investigative series on Anderson Cooper 360° called “Ungodly Discipline.” On September 1, coverage focused on Hephzibah House, an Indiana boarding school for troubled teenage girls that has long battled accusations of abuse from its former students.

Just in case you missed it in our July/August issue, read “Horror Stories From Tough-Love Teen Homes,” and see our slideshow of “Survivor Snapshots From Teen-Home Hell.” Teen girls were sent to Independent Fundamental Baptist homes like the New Bethany School for Girls to build character and to reform from troubled ways, but instead, they say they were abused and tortured. Former residents call themselves “survivors” and compare their time in teen homes to prison sentences.