Amy Ritchie sent Facebook messages to students ‘she abused’ saying she’d ‘love to catch up’ years after Ivy Ridge closed | SK92R3Q | 2024-04-02 19:08:01
Amy Ritchie sent Facebook messages to students 'she abused' saying she'd 'love to catch up' years after Ivy Ridge closed | SK92R3Q | 2024-04-02 19:08:01
AN Academy at Ivy Ridge instructor accused of grooming and serial sexual abuse reached out to her alleged victims on Fb years later to catch up and reminisce concerning the occasions they shared.
Amy Ritchie, 52, was accused of grooming and sexual abuse by 5 former Ivy Ridge students in an investigation revealed by The U.S. Sun.
4 of the students claimed to have been groomed and molested by Ritchie –& the previous director of the woman's program – over a collection of months while attending the now-defunct troubled teen facility as teenagers within the mid-2000s.
They claimed the abuse happened both on and off campus and in some situations even in their own houses.
A fifth scholar claimed to have witnessed the abuse first-hand. She claimed she was instructed to escort one other underage classmate to Ritchie's room on campus after hours and can be sitting mere ft from them while Ritchie allegedly molested the classmate in her bed.
Ritchie has not been accused of or charged with any crimes referring to these allegations. Makes an attempt to succeed in her for remark have been unsuccessful.
A lot of the ladies interviewed for The U.S. Solar's investigation stated Ritchie attempted to contact them after they left the varsity and shared screenshots of those interactions.
Alexa Brand, who claims to have been sexually abused by Ritchie over two years, graduated from Ivy Ridge's program in Might 2005.
Earlier than and even after leaving the varsity, Alexa says that Ritchie would ask Alexa's mother and father if she might come to stay with them, or if Alexa might come to stay with her, to sustain their "particular relationship."
Alexa stated her mother and father have been none the wiser to the alleged abuse that was unfolding behind closed doorways.
She offered The U.S. Solar with a replica of an e mail from April 2005, despatched by Ritchie to Alexa's mother, describing Alexa's current visits with Ritchie and writing that Alexa seemed to be pushing her away and their "distinctive relationship" in a special path.
Ultimately, Alexa stated she had to beg her mother and father to stop allowing Ritchie to entry her.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> She tried to not assume or discuss Ritchie for the subsequent few years. Nevertheless, Ritchie began periodically reaching out to her on Fb, trying to reminisce about reminiscences from Ivy Ridge and the occasions they shared.
In one such message, Ritchie despatched a picture of lyrics from a music Alexa had written for her years earlier, telling her "I need to hear this again" and "I want you to sing this to me."
"For years I didn't respond to her as a result of I felt weird however I didn't know why," recounted Alexa.
"But, regardless that I'd left Ivy Ridge, I nonetheless felt like I had to reply, which is crazy.
"So there can be occasions the place she'd attain out and inform me she misses me so much, so I'd reply, 'Thanks, I hope you're nicely,' but actually on the inside, I'm having a panic assault.
"I felt like she still wouldn't depart me alone, however I additionally didn't have the power to block her because I apprehensive about what she would think of me."
Alexa ultimately agreed to satisfy Ritchie in 2013 after years of giving her the runaround.
As quickly as she saw Ritchie, she stated her face fell ashen because it dawned on her that the alleged "distinctive relationship" they'd shared at Ivy Ridge was, truly, youngster abuse.
"I ended up seeing her in individual in 2013, and it was a type of things where immediately upon in search of her my blood ran chilly," she stated.
"I knew in that moment that what happened shouldn't have occurred, that this wasn't okay, and I needed nothing greater than to get away from her.
"And she or he was pretending that all the things was regular and that she was so glad to see me."
That was the final time Alexa saw Ritchie. Ultimately, she blocked her on Fb too.
But despite the fact that she hasn't seen her for more than a decade, Alexa admitted that she still feels oddly beholden to Ritchie and is frightened of how she might react to her speaking out.
"Whenever you're the prey of the predator, even when you attain maturity, there's all the time this talon that's latched onto you by some means," she stated.
"And even at the moment, coming ahead, I fear about hurting her emotions or her being mad at me for telling the reality."
REWRITING THE PAST
Kristin Schwab, who spent 13 months at Ivy Ridge between 2005 and 2006, stated she too was contacted by Ritchie on Facebook shortly after leaving the power.
For a lot of her time on the faculty, Kirstin claims Ritchie set out to make her life a misery, hurling degrading insults at her in entrance of different college students, remarking about her hygiene, and ordering her to take obligatory showers, during which Kristin claims Ritchie would sexually abuse her.
Ivy Ridge alumna Alexa Brand alleges to have been abused by Amy Ritchie quite a few occasions while at the faculty[/caption]
Alexa shared with The U.S. Sun an e mail sent by Amy to her mom, discussing her distinctive relationship with the then-17-year-old[/caption]
''
Kristin Schwab claims to have been abused by Ritchie in the facultys showers[/caption]
'
The Academy at Ivy Ridge was thrust into the highlight following the discharge of a surprising Netflix documentary detailing abuse on the faculty[/caption]
It wasn't till simply before she graduated that Ritchie's angle in the direction of her changed, Kristin stated, and she or he began treating her with some semblance of kindness, as an alternative of unrelenting cruelty.
"I don't know, however abruptly she took an curiosity in me, and it just felt good to finally have that approval," stated Kristin, who graduated shortly after turning 18.
"After I left, she discovered me fairly shortly on Fb and she or he began talking to me after that. I know she went on to open one other [troubled teen facility] and she or he started asking my recommendation on how she might make this system better.
"She made me feel like I mattered, all of the sudden."
Ritchie's correspondences began with Kristin very similar to Alexa's – by reliving the so-called good occasions from Ivy Ridge however neglecting to mention any of the alleged abuse.
She opened the line of communication by sending Kristin a music they typically performed during Ivy Ridge's now extremely controversial "brainwashing" seminars, Ready to Fly by Richard Marx.
<!--googleoff: all--> <blockquote class="article__quote"> </blockquote> <!--googleon: all--> Though rare, their correspondences lasted for years, proper up till 2019, when Kristin began questioning and reanalyzing her experiences at Ivy Ridge, and the alleged abuse she'd been subjected to.
Ritchie would talk about with Kristin all manner of issues: journeys she was taking or hoping to take, a dog she'd rescued, her health issues, and increasing numerous invites to satisfy up, screenshots sent to The U.S. Sun present.
Later in 2019, Ritchie appeared to acknowledge a few of the claims being made about her in Ivy Ridge alumni Facebook groups, concerning physical and sexual abuse.
Responding to Kristin, Ritchie wrote, "Concerning the teams? It's alright. They all the time will speak s**t about me.
"Unhappy some can't recover from it."
Not long after, Kristin stated she attempted to rearrange a time to take a seat down with Ritchie to ask her a couple of questions and help reclarify some of her hazier reminiscences from the varsity.
Nevertheless, Ritchie all of the sudden turned evasive and ultimately stopped responding, Kristin stated.
The next yr, Kristin said in a prolonged Fb submit that she had been sexually abused at Ivy Ridge, quietly naming Ritchie as the perpetrator inside closed circles.
She hasn't heard from Ritchie since.
REGAINING CONTROL
Cynthia Lane opted not to answer Ritchie's olive branch when she was contacted by her on Fb in 2011, six years after leaving Ivy Ridge.
She was enrolled in the faculty in September 2004, aged 14, after trying to take her life twice in three years, following a collection of traumatic events.
A number of months into this system, Cynthia alleges she was groomed and later sexually abused by Ritchie on no less than 5 or 6 totally different events.
She left the varsity after 12 months and tried to bury her experiences.
But when Ritchie cold contacted her on Fb in 2011, forgotten feelings and reminiscences came racing again to the surface.
Ritchie contacted most of the college students after they graduated, asking to satisfy up and denying accusations made about her on Fb[/caption]
Cynthia Lane struggles with post-traumatic stress dysfunction and continues to be working to get well a few of her reminiscences from Ivy Ridge[/caption]
Felicia Sanger alleges Ritchie abused her roommate for months whereas she was in the room[/caption]
"Completely happy Birthday!" began Ritchie's message, dated April eight. "I didn't know that you simply have been within the Marines. I'm so pleased with you. How are you doing?
"I stay in Baja, Mexico, by San Diego. In case you are ever house in California on depart I might like to meet up with you. I hope things are going nicely."
Ritchie left the message on read.
"This was six years after I left. She still knew my birthday, she searched me out, and she or he still needed to see me, and that's when the truth of all this type of hit me and I noticed one thing wasn't okay," stated Cynthia.
"I used to be actually excited about her attention in this system however I did not really feel okay when she reached out. I just type of brushed it off and ignored it for years until in all probability about 2021.
"Then the troubled teen business started exploding with the Paris Hilton documentary [about Provo Canyon] and that's once I began to unpack what occurred to me.
"After which it hit me: this wasn't right."
DISTURBING ENCOUNTER
Felicia Sanger, who attended Ivy Ridge between 2005 and 2007,& final saw Ritchie every week after her commencement, when Felicia went to visit a pal from Ivy Ridge in New England after a member of the good friend's household died unexpectedly.
Throughout her time on the faculty, though she was never abused herself, she alleges she'd had to escort her bunkmate to Ritchie's room at night time, and can be sitting mere ft away from them while Ritchie allegedly molested the bunkmate in her bed.
She was shocked when she arrived at her good friend's residence for the funeral to seek out that Ritchie had traveled down for the service too and planned to remain the night time.
They all slept within the basement, and Felicia says Ritchie and Felicia's grieving good friend shared the identical bed.
"[The friend's] mother and father thought that they had a singular relationship. They thought they might trust Amy, and that the connection was regular and wholesome," claimed Felicia.
"I know Amy continued to go to there, long after the program ended until she reduce off ties after this specific scholar stated she couldn't do it anymore. It made her too uncomfortable.
"She begged her mother and father to stop inviting her over. She was free from that place and she or he needed to be free of Amy too."
That was the last time Felicia spoke with Ritchie.
She never conversed together with her on Facebook beyond that encounter.
</div> </div> All the ladies interviewed for this story stated they believed Ritchie's purpose for reaching out was two-fold: firstly, to show and indulge in the influence she still held over them, and secondly, to probably diminish or gloss over the severity of the abuse in her personal thoughts.
Ritchie worked at Ivy Ridge for seven years. She left in 2008 to work at one other troubled teen facility on the West Coast alongside the US-Mexico border, before returning to Ogdensburg some years later to work at a psychiatric middle.
Ivy Ridge closed in 2009 after years of dangerous press prompted enrollment numbers to plummet.
'SHE NEEDS JAIL'
The varsity – and Ritchie particularly – have come underneath mounting scrutiny because the release earlier this month of the Netflix documentary,& The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnappings, a three-part collection exposing years of alleged bodily, psychological, and sexual abuse at the now-defunct troubled teen facility.
In The Program, Ritchie was accused of partaking in and enabling physical and emotional abuse towards younger women placed in her care.
The& documentary, which featured interviews with quite a few former students, additionally referred to an unnamed feminine employees member whom they accused of serial sexual abuse and referred to as a pedophile.
Five college students later named that employees member as Ritchie in separate interviews with The U.S. Sun, together with the 4 ladies named on this story.
Ritchie is at present on depart from her job as a& mental health& remedy help at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Middle, pending the result of an inner investigation.
<!--googleoff: all--> <blockquote class="article__quote"> </blockquote> <!--googleon: all--> The Ivy Ridge alumni accusing her of sexual abuse have referred to as for Ritchie to be fired immediately and criminally charged by the DA.
They all voiced considerations about Ritchie being permitted to share close contact with weak people undergoing psychiatric care – with one alleged abuse sufferer likening her to a "kid in a f**king candy store."
"That woman deserves to be in jail," stated the accuser, recognized in The U.S. Sun's investigation beneath the pseudonym Jane.
"I'm not the only individual she did this to. She has harm so many different women," Jane alleged.
"Understanding that she's not working with weak individuals and figuring out that she's in jail, unable to harm anyone else, that may help me sleep at night time."
Kristin Schwab provided an identical plea to native officials.
"She needs to be eliminated instantly and shouldn't be allowed to work in that surroundings ever once more," urged Kristin.
"The very least we will do is forestall her from being round other youngsters or weak individuals.
"I will do no matter it takes to make it possible for occurs," she continued.
"She just isn't protected to be around. I might not need my youngsters in her care; I might not need my aged grandparents in her care; I might not even need any pets to be in her care.
"She shouldn't be chargeable for the welfare of anyone or something."
Alexa Brand stated she had a panic attack when she discovered about Ritchie's newest line of employment; caring for an additional weak inhabitants who would possible not be believed should they complain about any potential abuses.
"I additionally need to add on prime of that, despite the fact that Amy sexually abused lots of us, she was very bodily abusive as nicely," alleged Alexa.
"This was a lady who acquired a look of excitement on her face each time she was capable of take part in the restraining or hurting of a child.
"All types of abuse can occur within a psychiatric middle […] making them a primary searching floor for individuals like Amy."
New York's Workplace of Psychological Health has been contacted for an updated statement.
The St. Lawrence District Lawyer's Workplace is at present investigating dozens of accusations of bodily and sexual abuse at Ivy Ridge however has declined to call any of the accused school.
At the very least three of The U.S. Solar's sources say they have reported Ritchie to the DA.
In case you or someone you already know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
More >> https://ift.tt/HMyfj5b Source: MAG NEWS
No comments: