Were You Abused or Harmed at Diamond Ranch Academy in Hurricane, UT?

January 16, 2023

The youth rights organization UnSilenced is working to expose abuse and neglect in the troubled teen industry.

Among the more shocking recent incidents of abuse was the wrongful death of a 17-year-old girl who was a patient of Diamond Ranch Academy. Taylor Goodridge complained of abdominal pain but was ignored by Diamond Ranch staff. This went on for weeks, as her condition worsened, until she collapsed. Taylor died of a heart attack caused by having contracted sepsis (a life-threatening infection in the blood). 

Her death was completely avoidable, if staff had listened and gotten her to a hospital. 

If you spent time in the Diamond Ranch Academy program, please take UnSilenced's survey: https://bit.ly/3iOWDyh 

Comments
Halle Briggs
2023-01-20 18:49:19
I was at Diamond Ranch Academy when I was 16 and 17 years old from August 2011 through July 2012. I experienced and witnessed abuse and neglect during my time there. Diamond Ranch Academy should be shut down.

Katlyn resweber
2023-03-02 23:24:18
I attended diamond ranch academy in 2015 and was abused there in many ways along with many other children in that program. There%u2019s a Facebook group called I survived diamond ranch academy they have a pending lawsuit for wrongful death. 4 kids have died now in this program. They lie to ur parents the whole time you%u2019re there. It%u2019s a private prison where ur abused, neglected and traumatized. Upon intake nude photos were taken of me to for documentation that were suppose to have been given to my parent of which my mother never received. I was strip searched multiple times a day by untrained staff. They watch you shower and there%u2019s always cameras around but whenever something happens that doesn%u2019t look good on staff suddenly the cameras weren%u2019t working for that period of time specially. I got a fake Pap smear and offered a breast exam upon arrival that aren%u2019t done the way a normal Pap smear is done which leads me to believe everyone who got that was sexually assaulted. I had chemical and physical restraints used on me. what they call %u201Ctreatment%u201D is what I call child abuse and then they profit enough out of it every former resident could have had a fully paid off house instead and not been traumatized either. other former residents who are now adults feel the same way I do. Former staff are coming forward as well. They killed Taylor goodridge, have abused thousands of kids for profit, and so much more unspeakable things. all dra survivors deserve justice or at the very least our parents deserve their money back and for them to pay for our therapy fees since. Lastly I just wanted to highlight a disturbing factor for my stay at dra my parents sent me to dra when neither of them had custody of me. My grandfather had custodial guardianship over me and I got into a fight with my mom when I was visiting her outta state. My grandfather never consenting to anything to do with me being at dra and was the reason I was pulled only a little over a month into my stay. I tried to tell this fact to staff and was told I was manipulating and lying when it%u2019s literally information that available publicly over the internet that my parents didn%u2019t have custody of me.

Jacob
2023-05-05 10:13:14
I attended diamond ranch for about 6 months. It is by far the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to me. I saw other kids "restrained" (beaten) numerous times. They would tend to use methods that caused a lot of pain but didn't leave marks, such as forcefully bending the wrist to the elbow until the child was bawling, and then a little further. Many of the staff took pleasure in this, namely nick contrys, who still works there to my knowledge.

After a suicide attempt, I was stripped naked and forced to wear a scratchy yellow t-shirt and shorts that did not fit me, they made me sit in the front of detention, sleep in the hallway, and they 'monitored me' during bathroom breaks and showers. After a psychotic break where I was banging my head against a concrete wall over and over, Marcel (I forgot his last name) enjoyed screaming in my face and calling me ungrateful, before sending me back to RFI (basically detention). I spent 33 days in that white walled room, 14 hours a day, while still actively suicidal and entirely dissociated. I lost a part of myself at this time in my life, and some who knew me well before I was sent off have told me that the experience changed me.

My dad's side of the family still believes their lies to this day, and refuses to talk to me about my experiences at this facility.

I strongly believe that this place deserves to be shut down.

Christopher coiro
2023-10-01 13:33:18
Seeing this place being shut down makes me feel so much better.. I stayed there being abused for over 3 1/2 years. I was there from August 1 of 2008 until December 21st of 2012. Ricky would make me run at night in the orchards until I was sick cold and throwing up heat or frost no matter the weather. The staff would use me as a punching bag a lot and my wrists have severe problems now after all the restraining they did on me. I have psychological abuse now into my adulthood post traumatic stress disorder. I wake up every night feeling like them. They are sometimes and I can%u2019t get away from it. I tried cocaine at their facility for the first time when someone snuck it in the lining of their jacket. I since then have had a seriously mentally screwed up life. For some reason I can still recite 100% responsibility motto is if they brainwashed me. This place killed my friend Jim. He was about to graduate when he in 2009 fell down doing a layup on the court outside but the orchards and died right there on the court basically in the 110 degree heat that day: of course I took an OT citation for just sitting out. But I watched it all happen. I%u2019m going to see the hell out of this place as well as I%u2019m going to sue the state of Utah and Colorado for making me go there when they knew the abusive conditions.

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