BURNET COUNTY, Texas — The Burnet County Sheriff's Office, along with several other agencies, raided a Bertram residential home for "troubled boys" as part of an investigation into a number of allegations, including abuse.
A nonprofit organization called Joshua Home Ministries managed the property, which is located on West FM 243. KVUE is not naming the operator of the home because authorities haven't formally charged him.
Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd said his office, the Texas Rangers, and the Texas Department of Public Safety had been investigating the Joshua Home after receiving allegations of abuse, neglect, labor and licensing violations, fraud, and human trafficking.
After serving a search warrant at the property on Wednesday, Boyd said investigators found enough "information and evidence" to remove all eight boys, who were between the ages of 10-17, from the home. They were temporarily placed into CPS custody before being reunited with their families, who were all out of state.
"It is a little bit surprising," Boyd said at a press conference Friday afternoon.
The man in charge of the Joshua Home operated in Missouri and Alabama before moving to Bertram, according to local reports.
"I'm not sure what brought him to Bertram, Texas, but we're not going to let him get away with anything. If there's anything going wrong, we're going to prosecute him," Boyd said.
The man's lawyer, Eddie Shell, told KVUE his client moved to Bertram because his wife is from there, and they wanted to be closer to her ailing mother. He denies the allegations.
A woman and her husband, who live near the property and did not want to be identified, said two boys escaped the home and came running to their home early Tuesday morning and begged for help.
"Heard a knock on the door. [My husband] went to go answer it, [and] realized that it was a little boy," the woman said. "The other boy was hidden in the trees. And he came out to talk to [my husband and the other boy] a little bit, just to make his presence known."
The woman told KVUE the boys claimed they were being abused at the Joshua Home.
"[One of the boys] was very nervous. The whole time he was talking, [my husband] was really afraid that [the boy] was going to try to run. He could tell this was all his courage he was using to do this," she said.
Andrew Nasiatka picked his 11-year-old brother up from the home on Thursday. He told KVUE he dropped his brother off at the home in December 2017 when it was still operating out of Missouri. He doesn't believe authorities have the full story.
"The police are not there. They may have done interviews. They may have put some pieces of fact together to tell a story, but they were not there," he said.
Nasiatka, who is from Kentucky, visited the home for about a week earlier in July and said he didn't find anything wrong.
"If that home was still open, I would not be taking my brother home right now. I wouldn't, because it's a great place for him to be," he said. "I see nothing in [the operator] that raises red flags."
Shell, the operator's lawyer, said investigators haven't found any credible evidence of abuse at the home. He said some parents were in agreement that the operator could use corporal punishment if necessary, but he doesn't think it was used at all.
Sheriff Boyd said the investigation into Joshua Home could take weeks.
"And if there's any charges that need to be filed, they'll be filed," he said.
The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about Joshua Home, Joshua Home Ministries, Joshua House Lawn Care, Joshua House Movers, or JJW House Services to call the investigations division of the at 512-756-8080 or email cidadmin@burnetsheriff.com.