CHARLESTON — A newly filed group of lawsuits in Kanawha Circuit Court accuse the now-defunct Miracle Meadows School and its former director of a disturbing pattern of child abuse, neglect and exploitation, adding to the mounting number of legal claims that have emerged over recent years against the school.
The plaintiffs, identified in the cases as A.M., R.S., L.F. and D.K., allege that while they were minors enrolled at Miracle Meadows in Salem, they suffered repeated acts of physical abuse, emotional trauma, educational neglect and forced labor.
The lawsuits name Miracle Meadows School and its former director, Susan Gayle Clark, as defendants, accusing them of negligence, civil conspiracy and infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.
Ben Salango
“The sexual and physical abuse endured by these children is unimaginable,” Ben Salango, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told The West Virginia Record. “We plan to make sure that all of those who are responsible are held accountable.”
The lawsuits are part of a growing wave of litigation against the religious boarding school, which operated under the Seventh-day Adventist Church until its closure in 2014.
One complaint describes A.M.’s experience at the school as one marked by repeated, separate instances of abuse and neglect by various staff members and administrators.
While A.M. was never placed in the notorious “quarantine” cells — windowless rooms described in the filing as measuring as small as 4 by 10 feet and lacking proper sanitation — he was allegedly physically assaulted on separate occasions and subjected to forced manual labor without pay, in violation of West Virginia child labor laws.
A.M.’s lawsuit claims the abuse he suffered at Miracle Meadows caused lasting physical harm, vocational impairment and severe emotional distress that continues into his adulthood.
In the complaints, the plaintiffs claim children were subjected to starvation, isolationism, corporal punishment and repeated abuse, both sexual and physical.
The school is also accused of engaging in educational malpractice by failing to meet even basic instructional standards, leaving students without the education they were promised and paid for.
Clark, who served as the director of Miracle Meadows during the plaintiffs’ enrollment, previously pleaded guilty to child neglect, failure to report abuse and obstruction of an officer.
She was sentenced to six months for child neglect and abuse, and 30 days for failing to report, followed by five years of probation during which she was barred from unsupervised contact with minors.
The suit also alleges a broad civil conspiracy involving the defendants and other unnamed co-conspirators to conceal the abuse at Miracle Meadows, maintain its enrollment, and protect their financial interests.
The conspiracy extended over a period of years, even after the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals acknowledged abusive practices at the school in a 2000 decision, according to the suits.
The lawsuits assert that the school fostered a culture of silence and secrecy, and that staff repeatedly ignored or failed to report ongoing abuse.
The plaintiffs argue that Miracle Meadows and its leadership acted with “actual malice” and “outrageous indifference” to the well-being of children in their care, warranting punitive damages.
The lawsuits accuse the school of exploiting its religious affiliation to lure in families, only to subject children to systemic mistreatment under the guise of spiritual and behavioral reform.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages. They are represented by Salango of Salango Law and Brett J. Preston and Dan R. Snuffer of WV Lawyer PLLC.
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers: 25-C-681, 25-C-682, 25-C-683, 25-C-702
