Virgil Miller Newton

Virgil Miller Newton III
Father Cassian in 2009
Born	1938 Tampa, FL
Other names	Father Cassian
Education	BA, MDiv and PhD
Alma mater	University of South Florida, Princeton University and Union Graduate School
Religion	Methodist, Antiochian Orthodoxy
Spouse	Ruth Ann
Children	Joanna, Miller and Mark
Parents	Louisa and Virgil Miller Newton, Jr.

Virgil Miller Newton (also known as Father Cassian Newton) is a priest in the Antiochian Orthodox Church and former Director of several rehabilitation centers for youth with drug problems, "behavior" problems, eating disorders and other compulsive behavior. His rehabilitative methods, including sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, and repeated beatings, have come under scrutiny as being torturous and medically unsound.^[1]

Several former patients have sued for abuse; his settlements to date have totaled more than $16 million.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Early life

Virgil Miller Newton III (b. 1938, Tampa Bay, Florida)^[9][10] was the son of Louisa and Virgil Miller Newton Junior. His father, better known as Red Newton, was managing editor of the Tampa Tribune and well known for his fight against secrecy in the government,^[11] authoring papers such as “Federal Thought Control a Challenge to American Liberties and Freedom.”^[12]

From 1956-1957, Newton was appointed state Master Counselor for the Florida chapter of The Order of DeMolay.^[13] In 1956, he began attending Princeton University. While there, he conducted religious services on the weekends at three small churches in Southern New Jersey.^[14] On February 1, 1957, the 18-year-old Newton was injured in a car crash that killed fellow occupant John Lee Robinson.^[15] Newton returned to Florida and recuperated for a year before resuming his studies at the University of Florida, where he obtained a degree in history.^[10] During this time, he married and had three children with wife Ruth Ann: Joanna (b. 1959), Miller (b. 1960), and Mark (b. 1964).^[16] He returned to Princeton University and earned his master's degree in divinity and subsequently worked as a Methodist pastor in Indianapolis, ministering to youth, homeless people, heroin addicts and alcoholics.^[10]

From 1969 to 1973, he taught education at the University of South Florida as an associate professor^[9][17] and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1972.^[3][17] In 1973, he was appointed by Governor Reuben Askew as Clerk of the Circuit Court in Pasco County, but gave up the position in 1976 to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Again, he failed to get elected.^[9][18]

In that same year, Newton enrolled in a doctoral program from Union Graduate School, Cincinnati, Ohio. The program was a correspondence non-accredited program without class attendance or test requirements. It refers to itself as an “alternative…learner-directed” school.^[3]

Two years later, in 1979, Newton’s youngest son Mark developed a drug problem and on September 26, was enrolled in Straight, Inc.. a drug rehabilitation program. At the time, Newton was Executive Director of the Florida Association of Alcohol Treatment Programs.^[19] The experience with Mark profoundly affected Newton.

Straight Years (1980-1983)

Four months after enrolling his son, Newton joined Straight, Inc. St Petersburg as Assistant Director. The Straight program was founded in 1976 by wealthy real estate developers Mel Sembler and Joseph Zappa. The average stay was twenty months long, and its corporate goals were, “to admit 14 clients per month.” Most clients paid an average of $14, 000 for the treatment.^[20]

In 1980, while he was assistant director at Straight, Inc., Newton’s only formal training in the drug field was a workshop on alcoholism, which he attended in 1979 at the Johnson Institute in Minneapolis.^[17] It was during this time he also switched his doctoral focus to teen drug abuse.^[16][17] He defended his doctoral thesis titled “The Organization and Implementation of Family Involvement in Adolescent Drug-Use Rehabilitation,” and graduated in 1981 with a PhD in Public Administration and Urban Anthropology.^[3][17]

Newton had obtained directorship of the St Petersburg facility by 1981, and in July 1982, Mel Sembler promoted him to the position of National Director of Straight, Inc.^[10] While National Director of Straight, Inc., Newton’s wife Ruth Ann joined the staff of the St Petersburg Straight Inc. program becoming an Associate Director.^[1] In 1982 the couple moved to Madeira Beach,^[18] which would remain their residence for the next thirty years.

The Straight, Inc.. model that Newton used and later exported to his KIDS programs had five phases. In the first phase youths were not allowed to attend school, to speak about anything other than their addictions, to speak to members of the opposite sex, to live at home with their family, to read, to play outside, to go to the bathroom alone, or to eat sugar. In the second phase the youths had the same restrictions, but were responsible for supervising Phase 1 youths and were allowed to speak about issues other than their addictions. In the third phase, the youths were allowed to attend school and in the fourth and fifth phase, they were allowed to watch TV and develop relationships.^[21]

The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services sent Newton a letter on July 14, 1982, reporting accounts at Straight Inc. of Marathoning for up to 70 hours (i.e. sleep deprivation), disciplining by the “Spanking Machine,” confrontations (including physical), restricted diets and false imprisonment of legal adults.^[22] The Florida state’s attorney for Sarasota County released a 600 page criminal investigation of Sarasota Straight Inc. including allegations of kidnapping, false imprisonment, threats of being court ordered into the program unless the youth voluntarily enrolled, enrolling youths who were not drug dependent, hair pulling, grabbing clients around the neck and throwing clients against the wall. David Levin, principal investigator (and assistant state attorney) stated “…it was child abuse and torture, directected by Miller Newton.” Sarasota Straight Inc. subsequently closed voluntarily, and so the state dropped its investigation.^[4]

Newton resigned as Straight Inc.'s National Director in 1983.^[4]

KIDS Years (1984-2000)

KIDS of Bergen County (1984-1990)

While still claiming residence in Madeira Beach FL, Newton commuted to New Jersey^[18] where in May 1984 he set up a new program called KIDS of Bergen County. It was located in Hackensack^[3] and was staffed with former graduates from the Straight Inc., Life and Seed programs. Newton was the program’s President and Clinical Director and his wife Ruth Anne, its Assistant Director.^[23] The program had the capacity to treat over 175 youths at a time^[23] and the initial fee was $7, 200 with an average stay in the program of 12–14 months.^[19] Youths with drug, eating and behavior problems were admitted ^[23] and spent 85 hours a week in intensive peer-group therapy. Newton also enrolled sibling groups to prevent brothers and sisters from following in the same destructive lifestyle.^[19] One-third of his patients were Canadian.^[4]

Newton used a system of peer monitoring to enforce his program’s rules. New youths or youths in the first stages of the program were called “newcomers” and were forbidden to be alone, even to shower or use the bathroom. Newton labeled the youths that advanced to a later stage of the program “oldcomers” and they escorted the Newcomers everywhere through hand-to-belt looping. Socializing was not allowed, and the youths were isolated from their family and friends. To be allowed to speak during peer-group therapy, the youths had to wave their hands in a ritual called “motivating”. After speaking and receiving their peer’s judgments the group collectively yelled “love you!”. Twice a week, Newton held open meetings in which the families were seated on one side of the room and youths on the other. These open meetings would exceed over 100 participants. The purpose of these meeting was for the youths to publicly confess their deviant lifestyle and poor choices, and advancement from the first stage depended upon how revealing their confessions were. The program's counselors were former graduates of the program.^[19]

In 1984, Newton co-authored Not My Kid: A Parents Guide to Kids and Drugs with TV producer Beth Polson. The book was endorsed by Barbara Walters and was the basis for the 1985 CBS made-for-TV movie Not My Kid, starring Stockard Channing and George Segal, which depicted many of the methods used in Newton's real-life treatment centers (albeit in a more watered-down form).^[16] Newton began to expand KIDS programs nationally, and in February 1986, he chartered a plane and transported 19 youths to El Paso, Texas where he opened up his first franchise, KIDS of El Paso.^[23] Between 1987 and 1988, Texas officials reported youths being hit, pushed, assaulted, deprived of sleep, soiling their pants, and denied bathroom privileges.^[4] Newton went on to open of KIDS of Southern California in Yorba Linda in March 1988 and KIDS of Greater Salt Lake in Utah in 1989.^[23] KIDS of El Paso and KIDS of Southern California shut their doors in 1989 due to bankruptcy.^[23]

Despite being director of KIDS in New Jersey, Newton still held residence at Madeira Beach, Florida where he had served on the city’s Board of Adjustment since 1982. In 1988, the outgoing mayor of Madeira Beach endorsed Newton for mayor. Newton admitted to attending a single city commission meeting in the last 6 years,^[18] and in 1988 he made an unsuccessful run for Mayor of Madeira Beach, FL.^[3][9][18]

In 1989, CBS’s West 57th aired a damaging piece on Newton and his KIDS program.^[4] A former client and Senior Staff member, along with others, exposed Newton in this in-depth piece by Meredith Viera. Newton was cornered in fraudulent comments and blackmail attempts to protect his image that included hospital records contradicting his story. The physical abuse of clients to ensure compliance and the pressure on clients to lie about past behavior in an effort to escape this abuse was exposed in this piece, as well. That same year, as former "clients" began reporting the abuse to the prosecutor's office, Bergen County Prosecutor Larry McClure began investigating the KIDS program. He recommended that the state Attorney General’s Office launch an official probe of the program. When interviewed by county officials, a dozen youths said they desired to leave the program and were escorted out. As a private non-profit organization, regulation was a problem and little else was done to address illegal practices. However, KIDS of Bergen County was closed after nonpayment of more than $400,000 in back rent.^[3] For a short while, Newton continued to operate the program out of family homes, as well as a church in River Edge, New Jersey.^[23]

KIDS of North Jersey (1990-1998)

In 1990, Newton relocated his program to Secaucus, New Jersey and renamed it KIDS of North Jersey to escape recent publicity. He obtained a special certificate to operate from the New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Human Services.^[23]

In September 1993, he obtained a clinical psychology doctoral degree, again from Union Institute. His thesis, titled “Guiding Youth Through the Perilous Ordeal”,^[3] was published in 1995.^[24] The same year he obtained his psychology degree, three of Newton’s peer counselors were convicted of assault. The presiding Secaucus Municipal Judge, Emil DelBaglivo, called KIDS a “highly questionable” program. He said something was “radically wrong” if the program director would condone “almost unbelievable” conduct.^[3]

By 1996, only one youth successfully progressed and graduated from the program, and in 1997. none did.^[21] Clients remained "stuck" on lower phases for years at a time. In 1998, the state Department of Human Services demanded that Newton make changes to his program, or else they would suspend Medicaid reimbursements. The state cited use of physical restraints and the use of senior patients with no qualifications. Unlike Kids of Bergen County, which had many suburban youths enrolled, Kids of North Jersey’s patients mostly consisted of Urban youth, so the program relied heavily on Medicaid.^[3]

KIDS of North Jersey finally closed on November 2, 1998 and Virgil Miller and Ruth Ann Newton returned to Madeira Beach.^[3] Earlier the same year, a Federal tax lien had been issued by the IRS to the Newtons for unpaid taxes.^[25] They subsequently formed the non-profit incorporation Christ at the Sea Foundation and transferred their Madeira beach property to it before declaring bankruptcy.^[26]

Orthodoxy Years (2002-Present)

In 1999, Newton converted to Antiochian Orthodoxy and was serving at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church by 2001.^[27] The same year, he had applied to the State of Florida to give substance-abuse counseling to youth in Pinellas County, but was denied.^[4][23] In subsequent years, he became a priest and director of the Christ at the Sea Foundation, an Orthodox retreat center he built at his home in Madeira Beach. In 2007, the Orthodox watchdog organization POKROV.ORG listed Father Cassian Newton as an abusive priest.^[28]

Lawsuits

In March 1982, Karen Norton was forcibly entered into the Straight Inc. program by her parents and Newton. When she tried to walk out of the intake interview, she alleged Newton threw her up against a wall ^[5] and called her an expletive. During her time in the program she alleged she was subjected to consecutive hours of verbal abuse (“spit therapy”), sleep deprivation, restricted peanut butter diet, and denied bathroom privileges. She reported she had sit erect for hours and was forcibly restrained if she rested her back on the chair back. Norton escaped Straight Inc. in 1983 and contacted the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, who escorted her back to Straight Inc. in order to witness her signing herself out. The lawsuit against Straight was filed in 1986, and four years later, a jury awarded her $721,000 in damages.^[5][6]

In 1983, while Newton was still National Director of the Straight Inc. Program, there were a rash of lawsuits. In May of that year, Michael Daniels sued St. Petersburg Straight Inc. for driving him insane. That same month, in a trial that Newton testified in, Fred Collins was awarded $22,000 for false imprisonment. In August, Newton and St Peterburg Straight Inc. settled separate suits with Arietha Schauteet and Hope Hyrons. Martin Brashears sued Atlanta Straight Inc. that month for false imprisonment. In September, Benson Williams sued Sarasota Straight Inc. for abuse and torture, as did Larry Williams. Also in September, a Florida judge ordered the release of a boy, Charles, who had been kidnapped and forced into the program, despite no evidence of drug abuse. In October, Michael Keen sued St, Petersburg Straight Inc. for false imprisonment and Jacqueline Stallings sued them for physical assaults and false imprisonment. She won her case #83012161C1 after the court decided St Petersburg Straight Inc. had committed a “malicious act” against her.^[4]

In 1984, at age 13, Lulu Corter was admitted to KIDS of Bergen County and remained there in treatment Phase 1 for the next thirteen years. Although her admission records subsequently went missing, Newton asserted she had no history of drug abuse, but had been admitted for behavior issues. Corter alleged during her time in the KIDS program she was tortured, abused and deprived of her liberty. Jeffery Stallings, a former staffer testified that Newton altered records in anticipation of visits by regulator and also withheld records. Defense witness and experts all testified that Corter had been brainwashed by Newton and his program. In July 2003, Newton’s insurance carriers settled the case for $6.5 million.^[3][10]

On February 24, 1987, 14-year-old Rebecca Ehrlich was enrolled in KIDS of Bergen County. She had not done drugs and received a B average in school, but was obstinate with her parents. At a cost of $9,500 per year, year she was removed from school, cut off from her family, strip-searched, locked in rooms, guarded at all times and was forbidden books, telephone calls, letters, sleep and the freedom to speak. She alleged for six years she endured physical and emotional abuse until her release in June 1993. Newton later admitted that no one with any professional license ever diagnosed, evaluated or treated Ehrlich and that such evaluation and subsequent treatment was carried out by former participants of the program. On December 23, 1999 she received a $4.5 million settlement from Newton’s insurers and four defendant psychiatrists, Raymond Edelman, Zisalo Wancier, Harry Panjwani, and the late Alvin Galitzin.^[3]

Antonio Carrera was a patient of the Kids program from July 1994 until 1998. During his preliminary interview, Ruth Ann Newton diagnosed Carrera as having a marijuana and alcohol addiction, despite Carrera twice testing negative for drugs and his parents claiming they never saw any signs of drug use.^[7] During his time in Kids, he was stuck in phase 1 and 2 of the program and was not allowed to live with his family, attend school, nor speak without permission. He alleged that he was frequently restrained for hours by staff members and was forced to make up stories about being addicted to drugs and alcohol, sexually assaulting his siblings and possessing weapons. In 2007 a $3 million settlement was reached with the Newtons.^[7][8]

In 1996, the Federal Government lodged 245 claims against Newton and KIDS for billing the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for treatment by physicians when the physicians signing the forms had not provided services. Newton did not admit wrongdoing, but agreed to pay back $45,000.^[3]

In 1999, the state of New Jersey filed an action against Newton’s KIDS for $1 million in Medicaid over billings.^[3]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Fager, Wes (2000). "Reverend Doctor Virgil Miller Newton at Straight, Inc. and at KIDS of North Jersey / KIDS of Bergen County". http://www.thestraights.com/people/medical-doctors/newton/newton-theclinician.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-03. 
2. ^ "Newton settles with Corter". http://thestraights.com/articles/newton-settles.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-03. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} O'Brien, Tim (January 24, 2000). "Closure for a quack victim". New Jersey Law Journal. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} POKROV (May 16, 2007). "Fr. Cassian Newton: Criminal Investigations and Civil Suits". http://www.pokrov.org/resource.asp?ds=Article&id=192&sSrch=Miller%20NEwton&sType=Articles. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} McDivitt, Anita; Pitts, Jay (November 10, 1990), "Drug treatment center loses case", St Petersburg Times (St Peterburg, FL) 
6. ^ ^{a b} Journey, Mark (November 10, 1990), "Straight client wins $721, 000 suit", St Petersburg Times (St Petresburg, FL) 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Winston, Ali (January 23, 2007), "Ex-patient: I was prisoner at treatment center", The Jersey Journal (Hudson County,NJ) 
8. ^ ^{a b} Winston, Ali (January 25, 2007), "Settlement reached in KIDS abuse case", The Jersey Journal (Hudson County, NJ), http://www.isaccorp.org/straight/miller-newton.01.25.07.html 
9. ^ ^{a b c d} "Candidate says he’s motivated by duty", St Petersburg Times (St Petersburg, FL), January 26, 1988, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19880126&id=WsQMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E2EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4330,3485783 
10. ^ ^{a b c d e} Maia, Szalavitz (2006). Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids. NY, NY: Riverhead Books. pp. 226–246. ISBN 1594489106. 
11. ^ "V.M. Newton Jr., Former editor of the Tampa Tribune, Dies 73", New York Times (NY, NY): 51, December 14, 1977, http://ficanetwork.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/miller-newton-aka-dr-newton/newtons-obituary2/ 
12. ^ Newton, V.M. (1952). "Federal thought control a challenge to American liberties and freedom". The Journal of the Florida Medical Association 39: 179–184. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez. 
13. ^ Jones, Ryan; Pickren, Anthony Lee (August 7, 2006). "2006 Proceedings of the 73rd Annual Conclave Florida Jurisdictional Chapter". Tampa Bay, FL. http://www.fldemolay.org/files/2006_FJC_Proceedings.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
14. ^ Schoenstein, Ralph (June 9, 1957), "Teen-age pastor: He’s a college boy with three growing congregations", Corpus Christi Caller Times Supplement (Corpus Christi, TX) 
15. ^ "Crash kills Princeton student", New York Times (NY, NY): 35, February 2, 1957, http://ficanetwork.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/miller-newton-aka-dr-newton/crash-kills-princeton-studen4/ 
16. ^ ^{a b c} Polson, Beth; Newton, Miller (1984). Not My Kid. NY, NY: Avon. pp. 1–4. ISBN 0877956332. 
17. ^ ^{a b c d e} Fager, Wes (2000). "Academic Credentials of Father Doctor2 Miller Newton". http://www.thestraights.com/people/medical-doctors/newton/newton-credentials.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
18. ^ ^{a b c d e} Bridges, Patti (January 26, 1988), "Mayoral candidate motivated by duty", St Petersburg Times (St Petersburg, FL), http://fornits.com/anonanon/articles/200003/20000322-22.htm 
19. ^ ^{a b c d} Fein, Ester B. (May 24, 1987), "Turning kids off drugs", New York Times Magazine (NY, NY), http://www.maryellenmark.com/text/magazines/nytimes%20magazine/904Z-000-032.htm ^{[dead link]}
20. ^ Baum, Dan (1996). Smoke and Mirrors: The war on drugs and the politics of failure. NY, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316084123. 
21. ^ ^{a b} Winston, Ali (January 23, 2007), "KIDS: Few made it all the way to graduation", The Jersey Journal (Hudson County, NJ), http://www.isaccorp.org/straight/miller-newton.01.23.07.b.html 
22. ^ Goldsby, Frankie S. (July 14, 1982), Official letter sent to Dr Miller Newton Regarding Alleged Abuse, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, http://www.isaccorp.org/archives.asp#straight 
23. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} "FACTS". 2004. http://www.kidsofbergencounty.com/kobcfacts.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
24. ^ Newton, Virgil Miller (1995). Adolescence: Guiding youth through the perilous ordeal. NY, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393701948. 
25. ^ Estrada, Shelia Mullane (July 27, 2005), "Church retreat may be seized", St Petersburg Times (St Petersburg, FL), http://www.isaccorp.org/straight/miller-newton.07.27.05.html 
26. ^ Estrada, Shelia Mullane (April 3, 2005), "Bankruptcy case zeros in on chapel", St Petersburg Times (St Petersburg, FL), http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=20050406&id=PyEMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dVwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6777,528006 
27. ^ Waveney, Ann Moor (December 1, 2001), "Hope, prayer and sacrifice lead to Christmas", St Petersburg Times (St Petersburg, FL), http://www.bucsgameday.com/News/120101/NorthPinellas/Hope__prayer_and_sacr.shtml 
28. ^ POKROV (2007). "Father Cassian Newton". http://www.pokrov.org/display.asp?ds=Person&id=45. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 

Persondata
Name	Newton Miller, Virgil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1938
Place of birth	Tampa, FL
Date of death
Place of death