April 30, 2024 • 32 mins
In the late 1970s, a man named Robert Lichfield showed up on the doorsteps of Provo Canyon School, looking to get his start in the troubled teen industry. He would go on to create WWASP, or the Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools - the largest network of teen treatment programs in the history of the industry.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following episode contains disturbing and graphic accounts of survivor experiences.
It may not be suitable for younger audiences. Please listen
with care.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Now. In high Impact, they held us in dog cages
and we were forced to lay there or sit there
in these stress positions all day long, eight hours a
day in the hot desert sun. Most of us, especially
(00:33):
if we were then restrained and made to lay down
on the hot sand, would lose like sixty percent of
our skin because it would be burned off and we
would have boils everywhere, burns and injuries on our chin,
(00:57):
just rubbed raw from the sand. I mean, the pain
was just indescribable.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Hey everyone, it's Paris Hilton. I'm back.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
If you listened to season one of Trapped and Treatment,
you heard my personal story of my time in the
trouble teen industry. After running away from three programs when
I was seventeen, I was transported to the Provocanian School
in Utah, which would be my last stop. I would
be at Provo Canyan School for eleven months, completely cut
off from the outside world. My experience gives me personal
(01:34):
insight into the dark, tangled web of the trouble Teen
Industry or TTI for short. The trouble teen industry is
a casual term to describe residential programs that claim to
help struggling teens, but as we know, these programs often
cause way.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
More harm than good.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
When I started this journey of trapped and treatment, I
needed to make sure other survivors out.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
There knew that they weren't alone.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
We share a common background, a common experience, but so
many other people in our day to day.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Lives just don't quite understand.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Over the past few years, I've been lucky enough to
connect with so many of you who went through hell
and back at Provo Canyon and similar programs.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
You are the ones keeping me in this fight.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
That's exactly why we're back to continue building awareness and
uncover the story behind WASP. This season, we're following the
journey of one man who went from working as a
dorm parent at Provo Canyon School to running his own
empire of Troubled Team programs called the Worldwide Association of
Specialty Programs and Schools or WASP for short. His name
(02:42):
is Robert Litchfield. These accounts are incredibly shocking and disturbing.
My fellow survivors and I are determined to bring awareness
and fight against an industry that has caused trauma to
countless individuals, And by listening to these stories, we can
only hope that you'll feel angry enough to join the fight.
Despite the allegations of abuse, broad and everything else that
(03:04):
you'll hear over the course of this shocking season, very
few leaders of these institutions have faced any sort of
legal consequences.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Litchfield himself has never been charged.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
With any crime or held accountable for any of the
allegations you'll hear about this season. Instead, there are plans
to name buildings after him in Utah. Is there any
justice in that?
Speaker 3 (03:25):
We will not give up.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
We will not stop standing up for ourselves, our fellow survivors,
and the youth locked in programs today. This is an
expose of a notorious network of programs that extended across
state lines and country borders and would become the subject
of multiple FBI investigations and decade long core cases. This
is the story of the Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs
(03:50):
in Schools.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
This is the story of WASP.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I'm Caroline Cole, I'm a survivor. I spent two and
a half years of my formative teen years in one
of these teen treatment programs, and I'm here to advocate
for all of those people who aren't able to. As
one of the largest troubled teen industry organizations, WASP left
tens of thousands of survivors in its wake, including me.
(04:21):
In total, I gave up two and a half years
of my life to WASP. This search for justice is personal.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
And I'm Rebecca melln drgrown as head of Impact for
Paris Hiltan's company eleven eleven Media, I've been on the
front lines with her to reform the troubled teen industry
through state and federal policy change. It is my goal
to make sure that people who have never heard about
these atrocities come away with an understanding of how this
industry impacts every community in America. It's truly a human
(04:53):
rights scandal hiding in our backyard.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
This season, we're embarking on a journey into one of
the most contra virtual and complex chapters of the troubled
teen industry. We're peeling back the layers of an organization
that left indelible marks on the lives of many. Over
the next twelve weeks, Rebecca and I will investigate the
Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs in Schools, also known as WASP,
(05:21):
and Robert Litchfield's massive sphere of influence in the industry.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
WASP was a confusing and complex structure by design. Throughout
its years, It's believed that the WASP organization would generate
millions of dollars through its association with approximately twenty different
facilities during its lifetime. We've conducted rigorous research of the
various associations and ownership facilities, but we cannot guarantee that
(05:48):
every school mentioned was officially or legally tied to WASP
or Robert Litchfield.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
The stories you will hear are damning, filled with allegations
of abuse that go all the way back to the
late eighties. During its lifetime, schools within the WASP network
would be accused of a myriad of abuses that were
detailed in state and federal lawsuits, including things like keeping
kids in dog cages, violent physical restraints, forced feeding, rape,
(06:20):
reenactments with students, and later on, white collar crimes like
racketeering and fraud.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
How did one man create one of the largest networks
of troubled teen programs in the world, eluding countless lawsuits
and allegations of abuse. Why did so many parents buy
into these programs and their practices? What is it about
our country that allows schools like these to not only open,
but to flourish? Brought to you by iHeartRadio, London, Audio
(06:50):
and executive producer Paris Hilton. This is season two of
Trapped in Treatment.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Before we dive into any of these programs, specifically like
the one you heard about at the top of this episode,
it's imperative to understand where Litchfield came from and how
his childhood would impact his future.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
Robert Litchfield was born in Utah on a cold afternoon
in February nineteen fifty four. He was the fifth of
thirteen children and grew up in the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter day Saints. We were able to speak
with Narvin Litchfield, his younger brother, who shared with us
that he and Robert were close growing up, so close
that Narvin would eventually follow his brother into the troubled
(07:35):
teen industry years later to help grow the Wasp Empire.
Speaker 6 (07:40):
Robert was seven eight years older than I am, and
we had a unique thing where Dad would take one
of the older kids playing with the younger kids. So
I lived in the same room as Robert for seven years.
So we were roommates for seven years. And so you know,
he had as much to do with the development of
(08:00):
who I am as my parents did. He was sort
of a second parent in some ways.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
To its Narvin and Robert's father, Walter ran a tight
ship at home.
Speaker 6 (08:13):
Dad my dad was a drill course sergeant in the
Marine Corps. So it was if you ever watched the
sound of music, that's sort of.
Speaker 7 (08:21):
What it was like. You know, we would sound off,
march up.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
And you know, so there was some level of order
that my dad had to establish where it's complete paytos.
He established the order of the home, and he did
things like, for example, we would get up at six
point thirty in the morning.
Speaker 7 (08:41):
We would literally have.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
A scripture study where we went through the Bible, the
Book Mormon, all of.
Speaker 7 (08:46):
Our standard works, where we would.
Speaker 6 (08:48):
Read one hour, I mean one half an hour before
he would go.
Speaker 7 (08:51):
Off to work.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Everything in the Litchfield family's lives was about structure and discipline.
According to Narvin, his father was a proud Mormon man
and instilled a strong reverence for his faith in his children.
They started getting involved in the church when they were
as young as six or seven years old.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
Narvin chairs how their home life wasn't always easy. His
dad could be erratic and have mood swings or other
unpredictable behavior.
Speaker 7 (09:19):
My father my father.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
For whatever reason, and I had two of my siblings
do the same thing. They hit about twenty seven, twenty
eight years old, and they went off mentally.
Speaker 7 (09:33):
He had a full nervous breakdown.
Speaker 6 (09:36):
When he had full nervous breakdown, he was in American
four Hospital in American Port Utah Mental Hospital, which.
Speaker 7 (09:44):
Was the Ballini band for the state. I don't know
how to explained it other than.
Speaker 6 (09:48):
That, But what was amazing is what happened during that
time because while he was five years under doctor's care
in a bed that would come home sometimes on the weekends,
and I would only seem man. It happened almost the
exact same time I was born, and so I loved
my father that I couldn't understand what was going on,
(10:10):
and nobody explained it to me.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Narvin alluded to the fact that his father and many
other family members may have struggled with mental illness, but
they never really talked about mental health. They had to
put it together on their own. Their father's instability was
only one aspect that strained the large family.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
We also spoke with one of Robert and Narvin's older brothers,
Brent Litchfield. During our interview, Brent shared that the oldest
Litchfield brother, Lawrence fondly called Laurie, had a difficult birth.
A lack of oxygen led to irreversible learning and behavioral disabilities.
Brent told us his oldest brother had the mental and
(10:50):
emotional capacity of a two year old. He was raised
alongside his siblings until one incident changed everything. Here's Brent.
Speaker 7 (11:01):
And hit her serve all of the kids and one
brother in particular way. He picked on him, hitting over
the hand with a shell.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
According to Brent, Lawrence came close to seriously injuring one
of his siblings. Their mother, Wilma, and the family doctor
agreed Laurie was too great a risk to the other
children to stay in the home. Brent shared that Laurie
was sent away to a state run institution at six
years old, where he underwent shock therapy and would spend
(11:32):
the rest of his life locked away. What Robert's brothers
shared with us was surprising. I had no idea the
man who created the program that I went to had
two immediate family members also sent to institutions. According to
Narvin and Brent, As we know, so much of what
(11:52):
happens to us as children impacts the rest of our lives.
This includes Litchfield's religious upbringing and the Church of Latter
Day Saints.
Speaker 5 (12:02):
We spoke with filmmaker and producer Jared Ruga, who released
a documentary called No Crime in Sin in twenty nineteen.
Just like Litchfield, Ruga grew up in Utah, but he
himself wasn't Mormon. His mother was, so he grew up
in close proximity to the church. That, plus his research
for his documentary, gave him insight into what it might
(12:23):
have been like coming of age in the Latter Day
Saints community.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Here's Jared.
Speaker 8 (12:29):
You don't want the public embarrassment of someone stepping out
of wine because it's a very image conscious culture. And
so when a teen would kind of go wayward right,
like they would experiment with drugs or alcohol or god forbid,
have premarital sex and get pregnant, or they would come
(12:54):
out as queer or questioning. Usually the parents would try
and deal with it within the family. They would seek
counsel from the bishop at their local ward, and depending
on the severity of the issue or the personalities involved,
(13:15):
it would either get escalated into higher levels of the
church or it would be dealt with more quietly. But
almost never did things go to the civil government right like.
It was always like, Oh, the family can handle this,
the church can handle this. We're not going to get
(13:35):
the the secular authorities involved.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Established in the mid nineteenth century, the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter day Saints is a Christian church that
considers itself the restoration of the original church founded by
Jesus Christ. Since then, the religion has grown and built
a thriving community in Utah with a social fabric based
on the church and family. Its followers have a repute
(14:00):
for sticking together. Here's Jared again.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
The Mormon community, because of its history of kind of
being in exile for the first several decades of its
existence as a church, is incredibly insular, and so the
idea is like, if you're a member of the church,
you are of pure heart and mind, and you're a
member of the community and you can be trusted.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
You're one of us, and Lichfield was one of them.
He was surrounded by strong impressions of community, interdependence, and wealth,
observing all of the ways that these things could work together.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
While it is no excuse for the stories you will hear,
I am fascinated by the personal history of Robert Litchfield.
It's because he owned the facility that I went to.
I endured years of misery because this man, this one man,
decided to open these programs. I wonder if he knew
(15:01):
back then, all those years ago, that he would go
into the industry just a few years after leaving home,
if he knew that, following his first volunteer religious mission,
he would end up at none other than the infamous
Provocanyon School. As an impressionable young man looking for a job.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
Litchfield worked his way up at Provocanyan School, eventually becoming
director of residential living. According to a two thousand and
three Los Angeles Times article called Keys to his School's Success,
It's god founder, says a former student, describes Lichfield as
being a quote humorless dictatorial figure who seems to delight
(15:51):
in taunting students. In that same Los Angeles Times article,
Lichfield expressed that working at Provocanyan School was quote baptism
by fire, he told the outlet, you learn real fast,
just as a physician's assistant learns doctoring skills by working
with doctors. Defending the program, he went on to say
(16:12):
in that article, God can't help everybody. I don't know
how we're going to, but it does provide an opportunity
for thousands of kids to improve their lives those who
choose not to choose not to. Whether his desire to
work in the troubled teen industry was inspired by the
experiences in his childhood, a personal desire to help troubled youth,
(16:35):
or knowing that this industry was lucrative. He would work
at Provocanyon for almost a decade before starting his own
troubled teen programs. Jared's explanation of the importance of community
and the reliance on social connections within the Church of
Latter day Saints gives us some insight into what we
would come to find out was lichfield preference for working
(16:57):
with people he knew and keeping things insular to build
a thriving business. His childhood had modeled a world where
your community was your network, and you utilize those relationships
for almost everything. We see that same core belief in
how he built his WASP empire. Not long after he
left Provocanyon. Given what he learned during his tenure at
(17:19):
the school, we were curious to know how his programs
would mirror or differ from where he was trained. So
Caroline asked his brother Narvin.
Speaker 9 (17:29):
And what was you know at the time, do you
remember any of the conversation of you know, he had
had such a long experience at Provocanyan school. Was it
the idea that, like, well, we can replicate this like
I've been running Provo pretty much, right.
Speaker 6 (17:44):
I mean, yeah, basically, and we could then take some
of the things we didn't like Provo was doing and
sort of, you know, make a.
Speaker 7 (17:52):
Better mouse trap.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Yes, a better mouse trap. That language itself is so
telling and yet so vague. Better who exactly does better
refer to? And who is better benefiting.
Speaker 10 (18:10):
To me?
Speaker 1 (18:10):
At least, this concept of a better mousetrap ended up
making so many of our lives worse.
Speaker 5 (18:19):
In the following clip, Robert Litchfield sheds light on his
approach in a conversation with Dateline NBC for a feature
about another WASP program, Paradise Cove, that we will cover
in an upcoming episode, But this clip is relevant to
more than just Paradise Cove. It seems to show a
clear example of his outlook and model that he implemented
at his schools.
Speaker 11 (18:40):
We hire people with good use leadership, have some talent
working with youth. I think I'm talented working with youth,
but I don't have a quote college degree in that area,
and so I personally don't believe it's necessary.
Speaker 10 (18:59):
But when you're dealing with troubled kids, and seriously troubled
kids as you describe them, is it not necessary to
have someone who knows about that in academic detail.
Speaker 11 (19:09):
They change because of the experiences in their lives, and
so that's what we're after, an experience, not a counseling
type of situation.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
And an experience is definitely what many survivors would report
having at WASP programs, including myself. Something I've seen across
the board in the troubled teen industry is that their
treatment model is essentially break you down to build you
into what they want you to be. But I think
what a lot of us have experienced is that we
(19:41):
never got built into anything else. A lot of us
just walked away feeling really broken.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Wasp's program model relied heavily on behavior modification, although some
of the programs did have therapists for hire if the
parents paid extra. In a lawsuit we will dive into
later on this season, the lawyer for WASP is quoted
at trial saying, these programs are primarily based on behavior modification.
That is, they try to teach the kids responsibility and
(20:16):
life skills by showing them that if they do things
that are not acceptable in society, there are consequences for
those things. Chelsea Filer is a survivor and well known activist,
one who would become a huge proponent in the fight
against WASP. You will hear her story throughout this season,
but here she is emphasizing a similar point.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
A WASP was a network of specialty programs I would
say mostly focused on providing behavior modification for troubled teens. Now,
some of these programs were more geared towards wilderness boot
(20:57):
camp experience, or a little bit more towards the therapeutic realm,
at least that's the way that they market themselves. But realistically,
what we were experiencing in this program was a very
extreme form of behavior modification. Specifically, I think that it
(21:19):
was based on aversion therapy, and that's the pretty much
the theory that if you can punish a child enough,
eventually they'll learn. And that's exactly what was was. It
was punishment, and they used fear and control, peer pressure,
(21:43):
making examples out of some kids in order to control
the other kids. And it really wasn't. Okay. Let's use
a frame of reference, right, A lot of people could
compare this to let's say, a boarding school, or a
(22:09):
mental health hospital or a correctional facility juvenile hall. But
the problem is is that WASP did not provide real school.
WASP did not provide real therapy. WASP did not provide
(22:29):
the same kinds of rights that we would have had
if we were in juvenile hall, let alone basic necessities.
And considering the fact that most of us didn't even
commit any crimes, it's all the more concerning. And that's
what's really put WASP in a league of their own.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
One of the most notorious schools in the WASP network
was called Kassa by the Sea in Mexico. As its
name suggests, Kasa by the Sea was just a few
steps away from the water, but the teens were kept
behind high walls just yards from the ocean that created
even more distance between them and the outside world. Chelsea
(23:15):
Filer arrived in two thousand and one. This is her
recollection of her time at CASA.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
We were right there on the beach Kasa by the Sea,
and yet I don't think most of us even saw
the beach the whole time we were there. We were
surrounded by these high walls. There were no windows out
to see the water except for there was this one
(23:46):
red gate, and it was the only peak that we
could ever take at the ocean. Now we'd have to
sneak a peak because we weren't allowed to look out
of line. So I'd have to say. That's one of
my only fond memories of Cossa by the Sea is
(24:06):
that sometimes you'd be able to look out and see
dolphins on the water cruise ship, where you know, the
island far away in the distance, and and it really
kind of made you long for freedom, just watching the
(24:27):
birds flying above the facility, and you just wish that
was you wish you could actually go to the beach.
You're so close, so close, but so far. On one hand,
Costa by the Sea was a large facility. We had,
(24:48):
you know, regular food, we had somewhat of a regular schedule,
we had school, so I would say that it was
there was more normalcy to it.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Cassa followed the same WASP model, where we had a
level system and this would be where the upper levels
would essentially be policing the lower levels, and that was
you know, kids that had been there longer and moved
(25:26):
up in the levels based on a point system. And
that point system, very much like a game, was that
you needed to try to get points so that you
could earn your rights back and basic privileges, privileges like
being able to speak to other people, being able to
(25:48):
call your parents, even eat condiments at dinner and a
candy bar once in a while. That being said, there
was still quite a few things that I consider abusive.
Speaker 7 (26:05):
We had.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
We had we had quite a bit of physical abuse
at Kasa by the Sea, but not everyone experienced it.
We also had somewhat of a systemic psychological abuse that
we were all under and and that and that was significant.
(26:32):
That was what made Kasa Casa, and realistically that's what
made WASP WASP.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Marina was another survivor of CASA. Growing up in California.
She didn't have an easy life when she was young.
She shares that she encountered both sexual abuse and family addiction.
Speaker 12 (26:52):
But I grew up with a family of drug addicts.
I watched my aunt get clean off of heroin. I
watched my alcoholic uncle and his tweaker girlfriend and ruined
to beautiful children. I did find pot at a young age.
I didn't use it to escape. It fixed a serious
problem that hindered my ability to be comfortable and functioning.
(27:13):
So when my mom found out about that, she just
assumed it was a drug addict.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Due to the family history. Her mom assumed that her
pot smoking was part of a larger problem.
Speaker 12 (27:28):
And I had found out that my mom had to
pack it from WASP. So I saw all the schools,
I saw everything, and I stole her car keys and
stole her car. So I stole her car. Not really
the smartest thing to do, but I just felt like
if I could get as far away away, I would,
and I did at fourteen with no license and no
previous driver's experience. But I did crash your car trying
(27:51):
to do a U turn, and that is the actual
incident that got me sent to Casa.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Marina spent a lot of her time at cart in isolation,
and she said being alone was familiar territory. She shares
how she managed upon arrival.
Speaker 12 (28:11):
I obviously shut a lot of it out just being real.
I knew they weren't going to follow the rules. I
knew they weren't going to do what they said in
the rule book. I knew what I knew. It all
was just designed to break me down. And I had
been so alone before that. It was just I was conditioned. Yeah,
(28:34):
I had some friends here and there, But like I said,
I knew from a very young age, stay alone, stay alone,
because as soon as someone attaches to you, it just
it leaves you vulnerable. I'd get out and I'd have
to sit in group and someone would tell me that
everything was my fault, and yet they don't know my story.
Like to hear that, to hear that a lot of
(28:55):
the things that I could barely remember were my fault,
and then you've lost my love for the day. Well, yah, Marine,
it's really hard to love you. Look at how you
act here. You hear that in therapy or in a
group session. Well, yah, Marine, it's really hard love the
type of person you are. You're always in staff watch,
you're always violent, you're always staff it, staff.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
It, And I was like, yeah, I love that about me.
Speaker 7 (29:20):
You don't have to, but I do.
Speaker 12 (29:22):
It was the fight that kept me going, and it
was the ability to dissociate. It was the ability to
cope in really heinous situations that I didn't care. I
was going to make it out of there. I wasn't
going to be someone who died because of this place.
I wasn't going to be someone who ran away, and
I was going to give him hell until I left.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
How did these survivors end up at facilities like CASA
and allegedly endure so much abuse. We need to start
at the beginning this season on Trapped in Treatment.
Speaker 7 (29:58):
They will tell parents that their kids are going to die.
You're going to find your kids in a gutter. If
you don't do something now, your child will die.
Speaker 13 (30:07):
If someone presented this program to me, and not just
because I've already experienced it, not just because I can
say I've been there, done that, sham, scam, beware, harm, danger,
you know.
Speaker 7 (30:20):
I'm just telling you up front. We were the first
real thing on the internet, actually making.
Speaker 8 (30:26):
Money, and they just sit on you until you were
done being sad on until you had to work fight
left in you.
Speaker 12 (30:34):
And I was not put into the general population. I
was instantly put into a dog cage.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
That was my punishment.
Speaker 6 (30:42):
It was some kind of weird combination of like Lord
of the Flies and state prison.
Speaker 14 (30:48):
One of the things I've learned about human nature is
when we see someone suffering, it's painful for us, so
we want to avoid it. And after a while, people's
eyes just slide past you like you're not even there.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
All of our efforts to reach Robert Litchfield for comment
were unsuccessful, and he did not respond to our requests
for comment. According to our research, Robert Litchfield has never
been charged with or found guilty of any crime stemming
from allegations of abuse or in connection with WASP or
any of the schools affiliated therewith.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Hey everyone, it's Paris. Thanks for listening to episode one.
Today's show is just the beginning. This season is shocking.
You won't want to miss an episode, so be sure
to subscribe on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts. While you're here, Support our work and leave
us a review or follow us on Instagram at Trapped
in Treatment.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
And for the survivors out there, I see you, survivor,
The following episode contains disturbing and graphic accounts of survivor experiences.
It may not be suitable for younger audiences. Please listen
with care.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Now. In high Impact, they held us in dog cages
and we were forced to lay there or sit there
in these stress positions all day long, eight hours a
day in the hot desert sun. Most of us, especially
(00:33):
if we were then restrained and made to lay down
on the hot sand, would lose like sixty percent of
our skin because it would be burned off and we
would have boils everywhere, burns and injuries on our chin,
(00:57):
just rubbed raw from the sand. I mean, the pain
was just indescribable.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Hey everyone, it's Paris Hilton. I'm back.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
If you listened to season one of Trapped and Treatment,
you heard my personal story of my time in the
trouble teen industry. After running away from three programs when
I was seventeen, I was transported to the Provocanian School
in Utah, which would be my last stop. I would
be at Provo Canyan School for eleven months, completely cut
off from the outside world. My experience gives me personal
(01:34):
insight into the dark, tangled web of the trouble Teen
Industry or TTI for short. The trouble teen industry is
a casual term to describe residential programs that claim to
help struggling teens, but as we know, these programs often
cause way.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
More harm than good.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
When I started this journey of trapped and treatment, I
needed to make sure other survivors out.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
There knew that they weren't alone.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
We share a common background, a common experience, but so
many other people in our day to day.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Lives just don't quite understand.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Over the past few years, I've been lucky enough to
connect with so many of you who went through hell
and back at Provo Canyon and similar programs.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
You are the ones keeping me in this fight.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
That's exactly why we're back to continue building awareness and
uncover the story behind WASP. This season, we're following the
journey of one man who went from working as a
dorm parent at Provo Canyon School to running his own
empire of Troubled Team programs called the Worldwide Association of
Specialty Programs and Schools or WASP for short. His name
(02:42):
is Robert Litchfield. These accounts are incredibly shocking and disturbing.
My fellow survivors and I are determined to bring awareness
and fight against an industry that has caused trauma to
countless individuals, And by listening to these stories, we can
only hope that you'll feel angry enough to join the fight.
Despite the allegations of abuse, broad and everything else that
(03:04):
you'll hear over the course of this shocking season, very
few leaders of these institutions have faced any sort of
legal consequences.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Litchfield himself has never been charged.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
With any crime or held accountable for any of the
allegations you'll hear about this season. Instead, there are plans
to name buildings after him in Utah. Is there any
justice in that?
Speaker 3 (03:25):
We will not give up.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
We will not stop standing up for ourselves, our fellow survivors,
and the youth locked in programs today. This is an
expose of a notorious network of programs that extended across
state lines and country borders and would become the subject
of multiple FBI investigations and decade long core cases. This
is the story of the Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs
(03:50):
in Schools.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
This is the story of WASP.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I'm Caroline Cole, I'm a survivor. I spent two and
a half years of my formative teen years in one
of these teen treatment programs, and I'm here to advocate
for all of those people who aren't able to. As
one of the largest troubled teen industry organizations, WASP left
tens of thousands of survivors in its wake, including me.
(04:21):
In total, I gave up two and a half years
of my life to WASP. This search for justice is personal.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
And I'm Rebecca melln drgrown as head of Impact for
Paris Hiltan's company eleven eleven Media, I've been on the
front lines with her to reform the troubled teen industry
through state and federal policy change. It is my goal
to make sure that people who have never heard about
these atrocities come away with an understanding of how this
industry impacts every community in America. It's truly a human
(04:53):
rights scandal hiding in our backyard.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
This season, we're embarking on a journey into one of
the most contra virtual and complex chapters of the troubled
teen industry. We're peeling back the layers of an organization
that left indelible marks on the lives of many. Over
the next twelve weeks, Rebecca and I will investigate the
Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs in Schools, also known as WASP,
(05:21):
and Robert Litchfield's massive sphere of influence in the industry.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
WASP was a confusing and complex structure by design. Throughout
its years, It's believed that the WASP organization would generate
millions of dollars through its association with approximately twenty different
facilities during its lifetime. We've conducted rigorous research of the
various associations and ownership facilities, but we cannot guarantee that
(05:48):
every school mentioned was officially or legally tied to WASP
or Robert Litchfield.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
The stories you will hear are damning, filled with allegations
of abuse that go all the way back to the
late eighties. During its lifetime, schools within the WASP network
would be accused of a myriad of abuses that were
detailed in state and federal lawsuits, including things like keeping
kids in dog cages, violent physical restraints, forced feeding, rape,
(06:20):
reenactments with students, and later on, white collar crimes like
racketeering and fraud.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
How did one man create one of the largest networks
of troubled teen programs in the world, eluding countless lawsuits
and allegations of abuse. Why did so many parents buy
into these programs and their practices? What is it about
our country that allows schools like these to not only open,
but to flourish? Brought to you by iHeartRadio, London, Audio
(06:50):
and executive producer Paris Hilton. This is season two of
Trapped in Treatment.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Before we dive into any of these programs, specifically like
the one you heard about at the top of this episode,
it's imperative to understand where Litchfield came from and how
his childhood would impact his future.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
Robert Litchfield was born in Utah on a cold afternoon
in February nineteen fifty four. He was the fifth of
thirteen children and grew up in the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter day Saints. We were able to speak
with Narvin Litchfield, his younger brother, who shared with us
that he and Robert were close growing up, so close
that Narvin would eventually follow his brother into the troubled
(07:35):
teen industry years later to help grow the Wasp Empire.
Speaker 6 (07:40):
Robert was seven eight years older than I am, and
we had a unique thing where Dad would take one
of the older kids playing with the younger kids. So
I lived in the same room as Robert for seven years.
So we were roommates for seven years. And so you know,
he had as much to do with the development of
(08:00):
who I am as my parents did. He was sort
of a second parent in some ways.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
To its Narvin and Robert's father, Walter ran a tight
ship at home.
Speaker 6 (08:13):
Dad my dad was a drill course sergeant in the
Marine Corps. So it was if you ever watched the
sound of music, that's sort of.
Speaker 7 (08:21):
What it was like. You know, we would sound off,
march up.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
And you know, so there was some level of order
that my dad had to establish where it's complete paytos.
He established the order of the home, and he did
things like, for example, we would get up at six
point thirty in the morning.
Speaker 7 (08:41):
We would literally have.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
A scripture study where we went through the Bible, the
Book Mormon, all of.
Speaker 7 (08:46):
Our standard works, where we would.
Speaker 6 (08:48):
Read one hour, I mean one half an hour before
he would go.
Speaker 7 (08:51):
Off to work.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Everything in the Litchfield family's lives was about structure and discipline.
According to Narvin, his father was a proud Mormon man
and instilled a strong reverence for his faith in his children.
They started getting involved in the church when they were
as young as six or seven years old.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
Narvin chairs how their home life wasn't always easy. His
dad could be erratic and have mood swings or other
unpredictable behavior.
Speaker 7 (09:19):
My father my father.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
For whatever reason, and I had two of my siblings
do the same thing. They hit about twenty seven, twenty
eight years old, and they went off mentally.
Speaker 7 (09:33):
He had a full nervous breakdown.
Speaker 6 (09:36):
When he had full nervous breakdown, he was in American
four Hospital in American Port Utah Mental Hospital, which.
Speaker 7 (09:44):
Was the Ballini band for the state. I don't know
how to explained it other than.
Speaker 6 (09:48):
That, But what was amazing is what happened during that
time because while he was five years under doctor's care
in a bed that would come home sometimes on the weekends,
and I would only seem man. It happened almost the
exact same time I was born, and so I loved
my father that I couldn't understand what was going on,
(10:10):
and nobody explained it to me.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Narvin alluded to the fact that his father and many
other family members may have struggled with mental illness, but
they never really talked about mental health. They had to
put it together on their own. Their father's instability was
only one aspect that strained the large family.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
We also spoke with one of Robert and Narvin's older brothers,
Brent Litchfield. During our interview, Brent shared that the oldest
Litchfield brother, Lawrence fondly called Laurie, had a difficult birth.
A lack of oxygen led to irreversible learning and behavioral disabilities.
Brent told us his oldest brother had the mental and
(10:50):
emotional capacity of a two year old. He was raised
alongside his siblings until one incident changed everything. Here's Brent.
Speaker 7 (11:01):
And hit her serve all of the kids and one
brother in particular way. He picked on him, hitting over
the hand with a shell.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
According to Brent, Lawrence came close to seriously injuring one
of his siblings. Their mother, Wilma, and the family doctor
agreed Laurie was too great a risk to the other
children to stay in the home. Brent shared that Laurie
was sent away to a state run institution at six
years old, where he underwent shock therapy and would spend
(11:32):
the rest of his life locked away. What Robert's brothers
shared with us was surprising. I had no idea the
man who created the program that I went to had
two immediate family members also sent to institutions. According to
Narvin and Brent, As we know, so much of what
(11:52):
happens to us as children impacts the rest of our lives.
This includes Litchfield's religious upbringing and the Church of Latter
Day Saints.
Speaker 5 (12:02):
We spoke with filmmaker and producer Jared Ruga, who released
a documentary called No Crime in Sin in twenty nineteen.
Just like Litchfield, Ruga grew up in Utah, but he
himself wasn't Mormon. His mother was, so he grew up
in close proximity to the church. That, plus his research
for his documentary, gave him insight into what it might
(12:23):
have been like coming of age in the Latter Day
Saints community.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Here's Jared.
Speaker 8 (12:29):
You don't want the public embarrassment of someone stepping out
of wine because it's a very image conscious culture. And
so when a teen would kind of go wayward right,
like they would experiment with drugs or alcohol or god forbid,
have premarital sex and get pregnant, or they would come
(12:54):
out as queer or questioning. Usually the parents would try
and deal with it within the family. They would seek
counsel from the bishop at their local ward, and depending
on the severity of the issue or the personalities involved,
(13:15):
it would either get escalated into higher levels of the
church or it would be dealt with more quietly. But
almost never did things go to the civil government right like.
It was always like, Oh, the family can handle this,
the church can handle this. We're not going to get
(13:35):
the the secular authorities involved.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Established in the mid nineteenth century, the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter day Saints is a Christian church that
considers itself the restoration of the original church founded by
Jesus Christ. Since then, the religion has grown and built
a thriving community in Utah with a social fabric based
on the church and family. Its followers have a repute
(14:00):
for sticking together. Here's Jared again.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
The Mormon community, because of its history of kind of
being in exile for the first several decades of its
existence as a church, is incredibly insular, and so the
idea is like, if you're a member of the church,
you are of pure heart and mind, and you're a
member of the community and you can be trusted.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
You're one of us, and Lichfield was one of them.
He was surrounded by strong impressions of community, interdependence, and wealth,
observing all of the ways that these things could work together.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
While it is no excuse for the stories you will hear,
I am fascinated by the personal history of Robert Litchfield.
It's because he owned the facility that I went to.
I endured years of misery because this man, this one man,
decided to open these programs. I wonder if he knew
(15:01):
back then, all those years ago, that he would go
into the industry just a few years after leaving home,
if he knew that, following his first volunteer religious mission,
he would end up at none other than the infamous
Provocanyon School. As an impressionable young man looking for a job.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
Litchfield worked his way up at Provocanyan School, eventually becoming
director of residential living. According to a two thousand and
three Los Angeles Times article called Keys to his School's Success,
It's god founder, says a former student, describes Lichfield as
being a quote humorless dictatorial figure who seems to delight
(15:51):
in taunting students. In that same Los Angeles Times article,
Lichfield expressed that working at Provocanyan School was quote baptism
by fire, he told the outlet, you learn real fast,
just as a physician's assistant learns doctoring skills by working
with doctors. Defending the program, he went on to say
(16:12):
in that article, God can't help everybody. I don't know
how we're going to, but it does provide an opportunity
for thousands of kids to improve their lives those who
choose not to choose not to. Whether his desire to
work in the troubled teen industry was inspired by the
experiences in his childhood, a personal desire to help troubled youth,
(16:35):
or knowing that this industry was lucrative. He would work
at Provocanyon for almost a decade before starting his own
troubled teen programs. Jared's explanation of the importance of community
and the reliance on social connections within the Church of
Latter day Saints gives us some insight into what we
would come to find out was lichfield preference for working
(16:57):
with people he knew and keeping things insular to build
a thriving business. His childhood had modeled a world where
your community was your network, and you utilize those relationships
for almost everything. We see that same core belief in
how he built his WASP empire. Not long after he
left Provocanyon. Given what he learned during his tenure at
(17:19):
the school, we were curious to know how his programs
would mirror or differ from where he was trained. So
Caroline asked his brother Narvin.
Speaker 9 (17:29):
And what was you know at the time, do you
remember any of the conversation of you know, he had
had such a long experience at Provocanyan school. Was it
the idea that, like, well, we can replicate this like
I've been running Provo pretty much, right.
Speaker 6 (17:44):
I mean, yeah, basically, and we could then take some
of the things we didn't like Provo was doing and
sort of, you know, make a.
Speaker 7 (17:52):
Better mouse trap.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Yes, a better mouse trap. That language itself is so
telling and yet so vague. Better who exactly does better
refer to? And who is better benefiting.
Speaker 10 (18:10):
To me?
Speaker 1 (18:10):
At least, this concept of a better mousetrap ended up
making so many of our lives worse.
Speaker 5 (18:19):
In the following clip, Robert Litchfield sheds light on his
approach in a conversation with Dateline NBC for a feature
about another WASP program, Paradise Cove, that we will cover
in an upcoming episode, But this clip is relevant to
more than just Paradise Cove. It seems to show a
clear example of his outlook and model that he implemented
at his schools.
Speaker 11 (18:40):
We hire people with good use leadership, have some talent
working with youth. I think I'm talented working with youth,
but I don't have a quote college degree in that area,
and so I personally don't believe it's necessary.
Speaker 10 (18:59):
But when you're dealing with troubled kids, and seriously troubled
kids as you describe them, is it not necessary to
have someone who knows about that in academic detail.
Speaker 11 (19:09):
They change because of the experiences in their lives, and
so that's what we're after, an experience, not a counseling
type of situation.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
And an experience is definitely what many survivors would report
having at WASP programs, including myself. Something I've seen across
the board in the troubled teen industry is that their
treatment model is essentially break you down to build you
into what they want you to be. But I think
what a lot of us have experienced is that we
(19:41):
never got built into anything else. A lot of us
just walked away feeling really broken.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Wasp's program model relied heavily on behavior modification, although some
of the programs did have therapists for hire if the
parents paid extra. In a lawsuit we will dive into
later on this season, the lawyer for WASP is quoted
at trial saying, these programs are primarily based on behavior modification.
That is, they try to teach the kids responsibility and
(20:16):
life skills by showing them that if they do things
that are not acceptable in society, there are consequences for
those things. Chelsea Filer is a survivor and well known activist,
one who would become a huge proponent in the fight
against WASP. You will hear her story throughout this season,
but here she is emphasizing a similar point.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
A WASP was a network of specialty programs I would
say mostly focused on providing behavior modification for troubled teens. Now,
some of these programs were more geared towards wilderness boot
(20:57):
camp experience, or a little bit more towards the therapeutic realm,
at least that's the way that they market themselves. But realistically,
what we were experiencing in this program was a very
extreme form of behavior modification. Specifically, I think that it
(21:19):
was based on aversion therapy, and that's the pretty much
the theory that if you can punish a child enough,
eventually they'll learn. And that's exactly what was was. It
was punishment, and they used fear and control, peer pressure,
(21:43):
making examples out of some kids in order to control
the other kids. And it really wasn't. Okay. Let's use
a frame of reference, right, A lot of people could
compare this to let's say, a boarding school, or a
(22:09):
mental health hospital or a correctional facility juvenile hall. But
the problem is is that WASP did not provide real school.
WASP did not provide real therapy. WASP did not provide
(22:29):
the same kinds of rights that we would have had
if we were in juvenile hall, let alone basic necessities.
And considering the fact that most of us didn't even
commit any crimes, it's all the more concerning. And that's
what's really put WASP in a league of their own.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
One of the most notorious schools in the WASP network
was called Kassa by the Sea in Mexico. As its
name suggests, Kasa by the Sea was just a few
steps away from the water, but the teens were kept
behind high walls just yards from the ocean that created
even more distance between them and the outside world. Chelsea
(23:15):
Filer arrived in two thousand and one. This is her
recollection of her time at CASA.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
We were right there on the beach Kasa by the Sea,
and yet I don't think most of us even saw
the beach the whole time we were there. We were
surrounded by these high walls. There were no windows out
to see the water except for there was this one
(23:46):
red gate, and it was the only peak that we
could ever take at the ocean. Now we'd have to
sneak a peak because we weren't allowed to look out
of line. So I'd have to say. That's one of
my only fond memories of Cossa by the Sea is
(24:06):
that sometimes you'd be able to look out and see
dolphins on the water cruise ship, where you know, the
island far away in the distance, and and it really
kind of made you long for freedom, just watching the
(24:27):
birds flying above the facility, and you just wish that
was you wish you could actually go to the beach.
You're so close, so close, but so far. On one hand,
Costa by the Sea was a large facility. We had,
(24:48):
you know, regular food, we had somewhat of a regular schedule,
we had school, so I would say that it was
there was more normalcy to it.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Cassa followed the same WASP model, where we had a
level system and this would be where the upper levels
would essentially be policing the lower levels, and that was
you know, kids that had been there longer and moved
(25:26):
up in the levels based on a point system. And
that point system, very much like a game, was that
you needed to try to get points so that you
could earn your rights back and basic privileges, privileges like
being able to speak to other people, being able to
(25:48):
call your parents, even eat condiments at dinner and a
candy bar once in a while. That being said, there
was still quite a few things that I consider abusive.
Speaker 7 (26:05):
We had.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
We had we had quite a bit of physical abuse
at Kasa by the Sea, but not everyone experienced it.
We also had somewhat of a systemic psychological abuse that
we were all under and and that and that was significant.
(26:32):
That was what made Kasa Casa, and realistically that's what
made WASP WASP.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Marina was another survivor of CASA. Growing up in California.
She didn't have an easy life when she was young.
She shares that she encountered both sexual abuse and family addiction.
Speaker 12 (26:52):
But I grew up with a family of drug addicts.
I watched my aunt get clean off of heroin. I
watched my alcoholic uncle and his tweaker girlfriend and ruined
to beautiful children. I did find pot at a young age.
I didn't use it to escape. It fixed a serious
problem that hindered my ability to be comfortable and functioning.
(27:13):
So when my mom found out about that, she just
assumed it was a drug addict.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Due to the family history. Her mom assumed that her
pot smoking was part of a larger problem.
Speaker 12 (27:28):
And I had found out that my mom had to
pack it from WASP. So I saw all the schools,
I saw everything, and I stole her car keys and
stole her car. So I stole her car. Not really
the smartest thing to do, but I just felt like
if I could get as far away away, I would,
and I did at fourteen with no license and no
previous driver's experience. But I did crash your car trying
(27:51):
to do a U turn, and that is the actual
incident that got me sent to Casa.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Marina spent a lot of her time at cart in isolation,
and she said being alone was familiar territory. She shares
how she managed upon arrival.
Speaker 12 (28:11):
I obviously shut a lot of it out just being real.
I knew they weren't going to follow the rules. I
knew they weren't going to do what they said in
the rule book. I knew what I knew. It all
was just designed to break me down. And I had
been so alone before that. It was just I was conditioned. Yeah,
(28:34):
I had some friends here and there, But like I said,
I knew from a very young age, stay alone, stay alone,
because as soon as someone attaches to you, it just
it leaves you vulnerable. I'd get out and I'd have
to sit in group and someone would tell me that
everything was my fault, and yet they don't know my story.
Like to hear that, to hear that a lot of
(28:55):
the things that I could barely remember were my fault,
and then you've lost my love for the day. Well, yah, Marine,
it's really hard to love you. Look at how you
act here. You hear that in therapy or in a
group session. Well, yah, Marine, it's really hard love the
type of person you are. You're always in staff watch,
you're always violent, you're always staff it, staff.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
It, And I was like, yeah, I love that about me.
Speaker 7 (29:20):
You don't have to, but I do.
Speaker 12 (29:22):
It was the fight that kept me going, and it
was the ability to dissociate. It was the ability to
cope in really heinous situations that I didn't care. I
was going to make it out of there. I wasn't
going to be someone who died because of this place.
I wasn't going to be someone who ran away, and
I was going to give him hell until I left.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
How did these survivors end up at facilities like CASA
and allegedly endure so much abuse. We need to start
at the beginning this season on Trapped in Treatment.
Speaker 7 (29:58):
They will tell parents that their kids are going to die.
You're going to find your kids in a gutter. If
you don't do something now, your child will die.
Speaker 13 (30:07):
If someone presented this program to me, and not just
because I've already experienced it, not just because I can
say I've been there, done that, sham, scam, beware, harm, danger,
you know.
Speaker 7 (30:20):
I'm just telling you up front. We were the first
real thing on the internet, actually making.
Speaker 8 (30:26):
Money, and they just sit on you until you were
done being sad on until you had to work fight
left in you.
Speaker 12 (30:34):
And I was not put into the general population. I
was instantly put into a dog cage.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
That was my punishment.
Speaker 6 (30:42):
It was some kind of weird combination of like Lord
of the Flies and state prison.
Speaker 14 (30:48):
One of the things I've learned about human nature is
when we see someone suffering, it's painful for us, so
we want to avoid it. And after a while, people's
eyes just slide past you like you're not even there.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
All of our efforts to reach Robert Litchfield for comment
were unsuccessful, and he did not respond to our requests
for comment. According to our research, Robert Litchfield has never
been charged with or found guilty of any crime stemming
from allegations of abuse or in connection with WASP or
any of the schools affiliated therewith.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Hey everyone, it's Paris. Thanks for listening to episode one.
Today's show is just the beginning. This season is shocking.
You won't want to miss an episode, so be sure
to subscribe on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts. While you're here, Support our work and leave
us a review or follow us on Instagram at Trapped
in Treatment.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
And for the survivors out there, I see you, survivor,
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