An Exclusive Interview with the Director of Kidnapped for Christ

Director Kate Logan’s new documentary Kidnapped for Christ (watch the trailer here) tells the stories of several American teenagers who were taken from their homes and shipped off to Escuela Caribe, a Christian boarding school in the Dominican Republic. Although billed as a rehabilitation center for troubled teens—many of whom were sent there by their parents for being gay or experiencing same-sex attraction—the school is revealed to be a military-style work camp where students are regularly subjected to “humiliating and degrading” treatment.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign and with Lance Bass onboard as Executive Director, Kidnapped for Christ is premiering this Friday at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. I contacted Logan recently via email to learn more about the origins of the project, the atrocities she witnessed at Escuela Caribe, and how she lost her Christian faith during the course of filming the documentary.

You started off with the intention of making a pro-Escuela Caribe film. Can you talk about that and explain what changed along the way?

Yes, when I originally got the idea to make this film, I had no idea that anything controversial was going on at this school. I was under the impression that Escuela Caribe was an alternative therapy program where troubled teens could learn about another culture and work through their issues in a safe environment away from the bad influences back home.

My first clue that things might not be what they seem was when I got in contact with some former students of the school. They told me some very disturbing stories about abuse that they suffered there. However, most of them had been there 10-20 years ago, so I wasn’t sure if any of those things were still going on, or if these were just isolated incidents.

Once I got down to the school and started filming, it wasn’t long before I realized that not much had changed over the years. The points and levels system, the punishments, the lingo—they were all exactly as the former students described them. Even the staff admitted that the program hadn’t changed much over the 35 years they had been operating. I saw for myself that students were given humiliating and degrading punishments even for small offenses.

For example, one of my first days filming I saw a girl scrubbing the steps to the school all day long and she was reprimanded for “taking a knee"—she was told that she could not rest on her knees while scrubbing. So, basically she had to take a stress position for over six hours while scrubbing in the hot Dominican sun. There was also another girl who had to scrub an empty pot all day while facing the wall; I was told that this was her punishment for not having a good relationship with her house mother. These things were just the very tip of the iceberg, but they gave me insights into the culture of fear and intimidation that the staff created.

What shocked you the most about what was going on at the school?

I could tell stories for days about the bizarre and humiliating treatment that many students received at Escuela Caribe, but to me the most shocking thing was that no one was doing anything about it. For example, there were students there who had been sexually assaulted as children, and yet they were hit on the ass with a leather paddle just like everyone else. No one seemed to realize how wildly inappropriate this “treatment” was for any child, but much less for one who was the victim of abuse previous to coming to the program.

Since the film turned into an exposé and you’re now doing publicity, has anyone from Escuela Caribe heard about it and has there been any response from them?

To the best of my knowledge, the former staff members and administrators of Escuela Caribe have not made any public statements in response to the film. Crosswinds, the organization which took over the property in the Dominican where Escuela Caribe operated, and who now operates a Christian Therapeutic Boarding School on that same property, has made several public statements claiming to have nothing to do with the former administration. However, they did retain several former staff members from Escuela Caribe—several who appear in the film. They also continue to monitor their students’ communications with their families, which is always a red flag.

They actually did an amazing Reddit AMA where the CEO of the "new” school totally digs himself into a hole—it’s worth a read.

In a recent interview with The Raw Story, you said that you lost your Christian faith during the course of making this film. Was what you witnessed at Escuela Caribe the sole reason or were there other factors involved?

Making this film and witnessing what was going on at Escuela Caribe had a profound impact on my faith, but I don’t think it was the only reason I moved away from Christianity. The Church’s attitude towards women and the LGBTQ community also started to really wear on me, especially while I was attending a conservative Bible college. Ultimately, after many years of wrestling with these issues, I decided that I no longer believed in a god who would arbitrarily send people to Hell for believing the wrong thing.

How did Lance Bass get involved with the project?

One of our other Executive Producers, Mike C. Manning, knows Lance and approached him about getting involved with this project. He was really moved by the story and decided to join us in the fight against abusive residential programs for teens.

What’s next for the film? When can we see it?

We are hoping to get distribution soon so we can let everyone know when and where they can see the film. We’ll also be playing at festival across the U.S. so check in with us at kidnappedforchrist.com to say in the loop.

What would you like people to take away from Kidnapped for Christ? What kind of impact do you hope it has?

I really want people to leave this film with a righteous indignation that the blatant abuse of minors in the name of “therapy” is allowed to continue in the U.S. and abroad. I hope that through awareness and activism we can actually change our laws so that these types of programs are monitored to ensure the safety of their students.