How One Woman Escaped Her Horrible Teen Rehab Camp

A few weeks ago we presented you some stories about a terrifying underground industry in America. An industry in which middle and upper-class families pay tens of thousands of dollars to have their children kidnapped in the middle of the night and sent to rehabilitation centers. These 'troubled' teens ares sent away for reasons ranging from getting caught smoking pot, to getting bad grades, to having a new step-parent that just plain doesn't like you.

These unregulated rehab centers across America are often hyper-religious and don't require their counselors to have any formal training, resulting in systematic mental, physical and sometimes sexual abuse. The worst part is: the parents have no idea. They're told ahead of time that their kids will lie, beg and make up tall tales to get out of these camps, and to ignore these pleas as it's all part of the healing process.

While preparing for our podcast a few weeks ago, we came across a story so harrowing and unbelievable, we just had to make it it's own episode. Jack O'Brien and Robert Evans are joined by Darlene Molina, who recounts her story of being sent to two camps, getting kicked out of one, and escaping the other.

Throw on your headphones and click play above, go here to subscribe on iTunes, or download it here.

Also make sure to get your tickets to the next live podcast taping on Wednesday, March 9th at 7pm at the UCB Sunset Theatre. Jack O'Brien, Carmen Angelica, Dan O'Brien, Alex Schmidt, and Jake Weisman will discuss all the ways our dogs and cats are more powerful, creepy, and awesome than we ever could have imagined. Tickets are $6 and available here.

Footnotes:

New York Times article where former Bethesda School girls report beatings

New York Times article where Bethesda School operators Bobby and Betty Wills deny those reports

Court documents from a lawsuit against the Wills

Article about the murder at the Wills' Missouri reform school