{"id":9734,"date":"2022-03-11T17:16:47","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T01:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/?p=9734"},"modified":"2022-03-12T16:11:04","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T00:11:04","slug":"cedar-ridge-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/cedar-ridge-academy\/","title":{"rendered":"Cedar Ridge Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cedar Ridge Academy<\/b> (1996-2020) Roosevelt, UT<\/span><\/h1>\n

Therapeutic Boarding School<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

History and Background Information<\/b><\/h2>\n

Cedar Ridge Academy was a behavior-modification program that opened in 1996. It was marketed as a Therapeutic Boarding School for teenagers (13-17) dealing with issues such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, childhood trauma, school problems, relationship problems, mild to moderate substance abuse, ADD\/ADHD, and anger-management problems. The program had a maximum enrollment of 70 teenagers, and the average length of stay was between 10 and 14 months.<\/span><\/p>\n

The program was located at <\/span>4270 W 5625 N, Roosevelt, UT 84066<\/span><\/a>. This property originally belonged to the founder of the program, Robert Nielson, who had lived on the property for many years.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a <\/span>website<\/span><\/a> created by survivors of Cedar Ridge Academy, “Cedar Ridge was founded by Robert Alexander Nielson in 1996, after he spent time working in <\/span>Cross Creek Manor<\/span><\/a> in La Verkin, Utah. He learned of the (now disbanded) <\/span>WWASP<\/span><\/a> model, and decided he could do it \u201cbetter,\u201d in Roosevelt, Utah. Robert (Rob) was unlicensed at the time. He brought some girls from Cross Creek Manor, and a boy to live in his single wide trailer in the desolate, isolated high desert of northeastern Utah. Cedar Ridge, which is now called Makana, is in Roosevelt: a boom and bust oil town in the middle of nowhere. The facility was far from town, on one long dusty, bone shattering, washboarded dirt road. Sage, cacti, and stunted pinyon pines were all that grew there. This was not the picturesque southern Utah multicolored, Mighty-5, over-instagrammed-desertscape, nor the greatest \u201csnows on earth\u201d of the Wasatch Front for which Utah is notorious (these images are being falsely featured on Makana\u2019s deceptive marketing materials). Roosevelt is a small town, with a population of ~6,000. It is located in the land of abandoned or semi-functional oil wells, now the site of fracking. The region has recently gained notoriety for its abnormally high rates of infant mortality.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Between 2010 and 2015, two employees of CRA were arrested for sexually abusing multiple minors in the program. Both of them pleaded guilty and were sented to prison. More information about these incidents can be viewed <\/span>below<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2020, Robert Nielson sold CRA to new owners, who <\/span>reopened the program<\/span><\/a> under the name <\/span>Makana Leadership Academy<\/span><\/a>. Although Makana is now under new management, it appears that the “changes” they claim to have made to the program are merely cosmetic. The underlying structure of the program is identical to that of Cedar Ridge Academy. <\/span>Makana Leadership Academy is confirmed to be the re-brand of Cedar Ridge Academy. Makana currently continues to operate in the same location with many of the same staff. Robert Nielson continues to live on Makana’s campus.<\/b><\/p>\n

Founders and Notable Staff<\/b><\/h2>\n

Robert A. Nielson<\/b> is one of the Founders of Cedar Ridge. He also worked as the Program Director and Clinical Director. He previously worked at the <\/span>confirmedly abusive<\/b> Cross Creek Manor<\/span><\/a>, a notorious and violent <\/span>WWASP<\/span><\/a> program. It is reported that Cedar Ridge’s program structure and level-system was directly copied from Cross Creek’s. He is the father of Wes Nielson. It is reported that Robert sold the program in 2020 to the new owners of <\/span>Makana Leadership Academy<\/span><\/a>, but he continues to live on the property.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wes Nielson<\/b> is one of the Owners of Cedar Ridge, and the son of Robert Nielson. He also worked as the Executive Director of Cedar Ridge from 1996 until 2012. He was appointed to this position by his father, Robert Nielson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pamela Nielson<\/b> is one of the Owners of Cedar Ridge. She also worked as a Counselor at the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Geary David Oakes<\/b> worked as the Director of Student Services and as a Nurse at Cedar Ridge from 1999 until 2009. In 2009, it was discovered that he had been sexually abusing at least four boys at CRA, and illegally giving out prescription drugs to at least three other residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sean Haggerty<\/b> worked as the Director of Admissions at Cedar Ridge from 1996 until 2012. He currently works as the Director of Admissions at <\/span>Daniels Academy<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gregory L. Burnham<\/b> worked as a Therapist at Cedar Ridge from 1999 until 2002. He is remembered by survivors for his “creative and cruel methodologies”, and calling the children \u201cbud.\u201d He has a long, sordid history in this industry. He began his career at Cedar Ridge, where he reportedly forced a girl to carry buckets full of pebbles for months on end. She also reportedly had to carry a log. It is also reported that all the children were required to clap whenever she spoke, in order to fulfill her \u201cneed for attention.\u201d He left Cedar Ridge in 2002 (reportedly after a sexual abuse scandal involving one of the girls) and began working for the confirmedly abusive <\/span>New Haven RTC<\/span><\/a> from 2005 until 2013, eventually becoming the program’s Assisstant Clinical Director. He then went on to work as the Clinical Director of <\/span>WinGate Wilderness<\/span><\/a> until 2017, when he left to begin working as the Clinical Director of the reportedly abusive <\/span>Outback Therapeutic Expeditions<\/span><\/a>, an <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a> program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brent Crane:<\/b> joined Cedar Ridge and stayed for some time. He tended to work with the young boys. He and Robert Neilson were cited by Utah\u2019s Licensing Division in 2016 for failure to report sexual abuse at Cedar Ridge. This was by far not the only incident of abuse, but it was a case that they were caught for. Currently, Brent Crane resides in Texas where he offers \u201cfree therapy.\u201d It is unclear whether he is licensed.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Prior<\/b> worked as a Therapist at Cedar Ridge from 2000 until 2002. He then went on to work as a Therapist, and later, as the Assistant Clinical Director of <\/span>New Haven RTC<\/span><\/a> from 2002 until 2006. He then worked as the Executive Director of <\/span>Sunrise RTC<\/span><\/a> from 2006 until 2015. He now works as the Chief Operations Officer of InnerChange (<\/span>Embark Behavior Health<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Program Structure<\/b><\/h2>\n

Like other behavior-modification programs, Cedar Ridge Academy used a level system consisting of several “trust” levels (ranging from Level 0 to Level 900). New youth are placed on level 400 upon admission and could advance to level 500 as soon as they have mastered the student manual. They can move up or down, depending on behavior and attitude. Levels below 500 have restricted privileges such as not being allowed to watch the weekly movie. Cedar Ridge utilized a “daily point card” to track behaviors for all youth at the 500 level or below. Youth had to earn a sufficient number of points each day in order to earn privileges. Staff members then examined the point cards to ensure that the youth had a sufficient ratio (4 to 1) of “positive teaching interactions” to the number of times “attention is drawn to negative behaviors.” When the youth reached level 600, the point card was discontinued and the staff would then track target behaviors on a “daily rating sheet.”<\/span><\/p>\n