Court documents show a Kansas military school accused of fostering a culture of abuse has been repeatedly sued by parents.
St. John’s Military School is due in federal court Tuesday. The Salina school is seeking a gag order prohibiting people involved in the case from publicly talking about the current litigation or past lawsuits that ended in settlements.
But evidence in the public record allege long-running abuses. Nine other abuse-related lawsuits have been filed since 2006.
One lawsuit included photos of a student who had been branded on his arm with a hot, star-shaped medal. A school official acknowledged in a deposition that at least 10 other students were similarly branded.
A cadet testified how higher ranking students would swat young cadets on their bare bottoms with ceremonial sabers.