12 Step Stewart Marchman Act Adolescent Facilty has fired Corey Hodges 34, over allegations of sexually abusing minor girls at the facility. Corey Hodges had been arrested in 2007 on felony charges for bringing drugs into the Tomoka Correctional Institution while working there as a correctional officer. The charges were dropped after he went through the Stewart Marchman ADI Level 1 program (anti-drug initiative) diversion program. How did this man get employment as a “Child Specialist” at Stewart Marchman Act after that ? What kind of background checks do they do? What training did he have?
Child specialist from Palm Coast charged with molestation
A Palm Coast man who worked as child specialist at a residential addiction program in Daytona Beach has been arrested on a charge of molesting a teenage client.
Other teenagers interviewed by sheriff’s investigators said Corey Hodges, 34, would stare at their bodies, make inappropriate sexual comments and purposely drop things so he could watch them bend over to pick them up, said Volusia County sheriff’s spokesman Gary Davidson.
Hodges, who started working as a child specialist at Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare in February, was fired after the allegations surfaced earlier this month.
A 15-year-old girl and a client at the Residential Adolescent Program run by Stewart-Marchman-Act said Hodges molested her two times last month while she was in her room. On both occasions, the girl said Hodges touched her inappropriately, Davidson said.
Both times, the girl said Hodges told her not to tell anyone about it. On a third occasion, the girl said after she broke her finger playing football, Hodges drove her to the hospital. On the way back, the girl said Hodges rubbed her thigh and told her to pull up her shorts, but she refused and nothing more happened, investigators said.
Other teen girls were interviewed by investigators with the Sheriff’s Office’s Sex Crimes Unit.
A 17-year-old told investigators Hodges would ask her for hugs, made comments about other girls’ bodies and talked about beating up a boy she was dating because Hodges was jealous. An 18-year-girl said Hodges told her she should be a stripper because she had a nice body. And a 14-year-old girl revealed to investigators that while going through heroin withdrawal, Hodges ordered her to get out of her bed even though she told him that she was naked. She got up and tried to cover herself with a blanket, but she said that Hodges ordered her to drop it.
Hodges denied the allegations but surveillance video from inside the facility showed Hodges going into one of the girls’ rooms, in violation of staff policies.
He also violated policy when he drove the girl to the hospital instead of having a female employee do it, Davidson said.
Investigators offered Hodges an opportunity to submit to a voice stress analysis, but his lawyer told him not to take the test.
On Monday, investigators with the sheriff’s Sex Crimes Unit obtained a warrant for Hodges, who was arrested Tuesday by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. He is being held on $60,000 bail, Davidson said.
Hodges was arrested for possession of marijuana and introducing a controlled substance into Tomoka Correctional Institution, where he worked as a correctional officer in 2007, but court records show the charges were dropped after he completed a pretrial diversion program. Hodges gave up his correctional officer certification in 2009.
In 2008, a Stewart-Marchman facility on Tiger Bay Road near Daytona Beach was on officials’ radar after at least three employees of a program for delinquent girls were accused of having sexual relations with some of them.
Anyone with more information or complaints about Hodges is asked to call the sheriff’s Sex Crimes Unit at 386-323-3574
http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20120829/NEWS/308289972?p=1&tc=pg
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PLEASE take a look at these websites that talk about the obvious importance of implementing appropriate safety measures, background checks and more for organizations where people could be potentially vulnerable and at risk for possible abuse.
This is not new information. A child or anyone else with common sense realizes the need for appropriate safety measures! How is it that Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous along with many other 12 step programs and treatment centers consciously choose to ignore the risks and reject appropriate safety measures? It is well known that the majority of their clients are those who are vulnerable and at extreme risk.
They are more aware of the problems than anyone and yet for some reason they resist taking the appropriate steps to prevent the abuse of their clients. This exhibits a total lack of genuine concern for the well-being of the vulnerable people who come to them for help!
What possible good reason could they have for not implementing appropriate safety procedures?
PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THESE WEBSITES!
http://www.ncsisafe.com
http://nonprofitrisk.org/search/youth.shtml?cx=016947194574783241609%3At-cnj
unless yu have ever had a child in that facility you have no idea what goes on there and when they finally get out and tell they are too afraid to go further with charges ,the judges need to look at where they are putting these “children” and close all SM, ACT facilities down untill they are cleaned up,its too bad that these are the only facilities available in volusia county for these troubled youths!! I personally am sickened by these stories !!
Jeannie, it is so sad to hear more stories of sexual abuse from Stewart Marchman and Vince Carter. It sounds like they are covering up by saying they did a background check on this guy. Yet this guy looks like he had no business taking care of children. Did you have a child in one of these treatment centers? It is terrible what the judges are doing by sending these teens to a place that teaches 12 step dogma. Then hire inexperienced, incompetent employees. The article said he had been hired by Vince Carter since 2008. God knows what he has been doing or saying to these kids in 4 years. He was sent to SMA because of sexual harassment allegations, yet he could not control himself and finally got caught. The newspaper needs to continue to investigate these places owned by Stewart Marchman, including Vince Carter.
I believe you, so much goes on unchecked with these groups! All these people straight out of jail mixed up with vulnerable adolescents.
If it weren’t for being caught on a security camera I’m sure everyone would be denying everything. There is an unhealthy culture of AA/NA repeat offenders being used to getting off easy and feeling above the law!
They think because they are in the program that they are golden and untouchable. They think ANONYMOUS means that they do not have to be accountable and cooperate with investigations. NOT A GOOD MESSAGE TO BE SENDING TO CAREER CRIMINALS!
Medical attendant surrenders to face sexual battery charges in Volusia
Sexual Assault/Molestation, Volusia County — posted by Gary Taylor on July, 21 2008
A 50-year-old medical attendant has surrendered to face two counts of sexual battery, accused of coercing a client at a substance-abuse facility of having sex by telling her she wouldn’t get into a treatment program if she refused.
Carmelo Eduardo Reyes-Rosado was named in a warrant obtained last week by Volusia County Sheriff’s investigators, Sheriff’s spokesman Brandon Haught said this morning.
The investigation began June 2 when a 26-year-old woman who had been a client in the Stewart-Marchman Center in Daytona Beach revealed she was pressured into having sex on multiple occasions, Haught said. The victim, struggling with drug and alcohol problems, voluntarily entered the facility May 22. She told investigators that the next day she was approached by an attendant and told she needed to have sex with him if she wanted to get into a residential treatment program, Haught said.
She told investigators she had sexual encounters with the man about seven times, each time either in the facility’s laundry room or a conference room, Haught said. The final time, May 31, the man brought another female client into the room to witness the sex act, Haught said.
The Sheriff’s Office has obtained surveillance video showing the suspect and the victim walking into the laundry room on May 26 and the other female client walking to a conference room May 31.
Reyes-Rosado quit his job the same day the complaint was filed and two days later his attorney arranged for a meeting with Sheriff’s investigators where he admitted to two of the sex acts, Haught said. Circuit Judge Patrick G. Kennedy issued an arrest warrant Thursday.
The suspect’s home in Palm Coast was empty when authorities went there to serve the arrest warrant.
Later, after learning he was wanted, Reyes-Rosado went to a district office and surrendered to deputies, Haught said.
Employees of girls program accused of sexual abuse 2008
DAYTONA BEACH – Authorities say at least three employees of a program for troubled girls in Daytona Beach are under investigation, accused of having sexual relations with some of the girls they were supervising.
An investigator with the Department of Children & Families filed a complaint on Sunday with the sheriff’s office regarding sexual abuse involving at least four girls at the Stewart-Marchman Center.
A spokesman for the Juvenile Justice Department says the three employees are no longer working with juveniles.
Its stewartarchman what do you expect?theyve been getting away with ot for years.this time they got caught.but you still have vince carter andother famous people sponcering this unfit program that in my opinion should be shut down permant!!!
Vince Carter and Stuart Marchman centers need to come out and admit their negligence in allowing this man to be in charge of these vulnerable underage girls!
THE RESPONSIBLE NEED TO COME OUT PUBLICLY AND APOLOGIZE TO THESE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHERS IN THE PAST WHO HAVE SUFFERED AT THEIR HANDS!
ACCOUNTABILITY PLEASE! ISN’T THAT WHAT THEY’RE TRYING TO TEACH THEIR CLIENTS?
THEY NEED TO HAVE THERE FEET HELD TO THE FIRE ON THEIR INCOMPETENCE WHEN IT COMES TO CARING ABOUT THOSE IN THEIR CARE BY IMPLEMENTING REAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AND SAFETY STANDARDS!
This is not the first time they have had sex abuse problems either. I do not think the state is doing anything about it. It is a horrible situation.
I worked there during that time and none of those allegations were true. The young ladies that made those allegations had crushes on those men and the men paid them no attention. Furthermore if you never worked with this population you have no idea how manipulative and deceitful they can be. People should not pass judgment on programs such as this because of what the media put out there. Go and volunteer some time in these places and see for yourself. Unfortunately the program did eventually get closed down and over 60 people lost their jobs, over lies that were never proven.
Kay that is not true, they had it on video. You blaming the victims is very sick. Thank thr lord this program closed down and girls no longer can be sexually abused by the employees. Thi sman never should of been allowed to work there.
EXCERPTS FROM OJJDP and National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Sober Support Groups Brochure
In mandating youth to attend sober support, juvenile courts are following a trend set by adolescent treatment programs where the use of AA/NA has become widespread. A recent study found that 67% of reporting adolescent treatment programs identified their services as “12-step focused.” In addition 86% of adolescent-specific substance use disorder programs refer their patients to AA and NA groups as a continuing care resource. With the growth of juvenile drug courts across the country, judges and other juvenile court professionals have become more educated about adolescent treatment needs and treatment modalities, and this also has contributed to increased use of sober support groups, including 12-step programs. With this increase, however, come as many questions as answers: Is sober support developmentally appropriate for adolescents? Which adolescents are most likely to benefit? How is sober support different for adults and adolescents? How frequently should adolescents attend? What if a youth objects to the spiritual focus of a 12-step program?To date, there has been little research on the effectiveness of sober support specifically for adolescents. Of the studies that have been done, nearly all have focused on inpatient settings, reporting short-term, limited success. But these findings have only limited relevance to youth involved in the juvenile justice system who rarely reach a level of substance abuse requiring inpatient care. Unfortunately, no studies have looked specifically at youth involved in the juvenile justice system although some research on this population is currently underway.
(snip)
However, serious addiction — and the mind-set that seems to accompany it — is rare among substance-involved youth in the juvenile justice system. Many court-involved youth referred to or required to attend sober support or 12-step meetings do not meet the diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder (SUD). For court-involved youth with less serious substance use, the overall finding of the inpatient study may be more relevant: Adolescents simply do not engage or “buy into” the model in the way their adult counterparts may. This was reflected in their attendance, which was strongest when these youth first left treatment, but declined steadily and sharply over the years.
(snip)
Many juvenile drug courts have not found the AA/NA model to be effective or helpful for their clients. It is not at all uncommon to step into a courtroom or juvenile probation office and listen to a youth explain that the AA/NA meeting simply didn’t work for them. The most frequent reason that youth give for leaving AA/NA is boredom or perceived lack of fit.
Why does AA/NA so often fail to engage adolescents? The most obvious reason may be its focus on adults. As mentioned above, adolescents do not display the level of addiction severity, or the long history of substance use, that adults may have accumulated.
Complete Brochure
http://ncjfcj.webfactional.com/sites/default/files/using%20sober%20support%20groups.pdf
I advocate for SAFE, EFFECTIVE RECOVERY PROGRAMS FOR MINORS AND ADULTS and don’t understand how in this day and age, knowing what we know that stringent background checks for potential employees who handle these vulnerable minors are not considered mandatory!
At the very least these rehabilitation programs and centers should care enough to voluntarily insist on having appropriate background screening procedures in place for applicants whether it has been mandated or not!
How could the employers of the Stewart Marchman Residential Treatment Center in Daytona Beach Florida have considered Corey Hodges to be a good candidate for employment in a similar capacity to the one he abused with Tomoka Correctional Institution? IN 2007 he was fired and charged with a felony for bringing drugs into the facility where he was employed as a corrections officer!
What is so disturbing and is such a wake-up call is that The Stewart Marchman Center should have been well aware of Corey Hodges’ abuse of position and chose to put this man back in a similar position. This time he would be handling vulnerable minors recovering from addiction in a Stewart Marchman Residential Treatment Center!
Prior to being employed by the Stewart Marchman Center, Corey Hodges participated in the Stewart Marchman ADI level 1 diversion program in order to have his 2007 felony charge dropped.
In 2008, at least 3 employees of the Stewart Marchman facility on Tiger Bay Road near Daytona Beach were accused of having sexual relations with vulnerable at risk girls who were at the center for help.
EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF BACKGROUND CHECKS WERE BEING DONE at the time for interviewing applicants as potential employees and how have they changed in light of what happened in 2008?
What kind of screening did Corey Hodges go through to become a Stewart Marchman “CHILD SPECIALIST?”
WE NEED STRAIGHT ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS!!
THE STEWART MARCHMAN CENTER OWES THIS TO THESE VICTIMS!!
APPROPRIATE, STRINGENT BACKGROUND CHECKS ARE A NO- BRAINER WHEN DEALING WITH VULNERABLE MINORS AND ADULTS AND NEED TO BE IMPLEMENTED TO REDUCE THE POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE VICTIMS!!
I wonder if Corey Hodges is a Daytona NA Member? I would think with him being charged with a felony, that he was required to do more than take a short ADI pre-treatment online course by Stewart Marchman. This is a 12 step facility and they heavily promote both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings for inpatient clients and for aftercare. Stewart Marchman even refer minors to AA/NA Meeetings as aftercare, knowing that sexual predators and violent felons attend those very same meetings! There have been complaints made to the Florida Govenor Scott about this horrific practice of sending minors to AA/NA meetings. Juvenile Justice hires Stewart Marchman to handle juveniles for residential treatment. National Juvenile Justice does not think sending adolescents to 12 step meetings is appropriate. Yet Volusia County Juvenile Justice continues to throw our children to the wolves by allowing 3rd party providers such as the Stewart Marchman Act Residential Treatment Center by referring minors to AA meetings with sex predators attending! There is no requirement to do background checks on sponsors. Violent felons are allowed to sponsor our teens in AA/NA! Where is Children and Family Services? Why is this being allowed to continue?
What is up with these people not doing background checks!?What is it going to take for them to wake up??
This mug shot that was used in the Daytona News Journal article is from Corey Hodges 2007 felony arrest.
The felony was for smuggling a controlled substance into the Tomoka Correctional Institution where he worked as a corrections officer.
Did the people at Stewart Marchman Act really think that Corey Hodges was well-suited to supervise and control recovering drug addicted teenage girls in a residential treatment center? What standards do they have when hiring someone to have such an important trustworthy position as a so-called child specialist?
At the Stewart Marchman Act facility on Tiger Bay Road in 2008, at least three employees were accused of having sexual relations with delinquent girls at the center.
If they really care about the welfare of their clients, why don’t they actually do real background screening before hiring employees??
Well in this article they said they did do a background check back in 2008. They just did not care that he was charged with a felony drug charge in 2007 and was fired!
http://nadaytona.org/2012/09/08/12-step-vince-carter-employed-corey-hodges-after-his-felony-arrest-at-tomoka-state-prison-for-smuggling-drugs/
Background checks are not to helpful if you allow people like Corey Hodges to be employed to work with minors!