[November 02, 2011] Witnesses Alerted City About Abuse at Pasadena Boot Camp Tweet Nov 01, 2011 (KTLA-TV - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- PASADENA, Calif. -- New allegations have surfaced of abuse at a boot camp for juveniles on Pasadena City property. The Pasadena Star News reports that at least three Pasadena women claim to have witnessed what they considered abuse by drill instructors from Family First Growth Camp. The paper says the three women emailed the city, but the city did not respond. The city now says it is looking at those emails. Last week, the Star News published videos of children at boot camps at two city-owned parks. The videos feature Kelvin "Sgt. Mac" McFarland, the operator of Family First Growth Camp. McFarland also worked at Sarge's Community Base/Commit II Achieve Camp in Pasadena, owned by Keith "Sarge" Gibbs. McFarland and three other boot camp instructors -- at least one of whom was allegedly on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps at the time -- can been seen screaming at a boy and coaxing him to say he "loves his sergeant," according to the newspaper. Another video shows kids being told to drink until they vomit. McFarland has denied being in the videos. Gibbs also claimed he was not present at the time the videos were filmed, despite the fact that he can be heard talking on one of the videos. "If that's my voice on tape, I don't know how it got there," Gibbs said, continuing on that the videos were doctored to feature his voice in an attempt to sabotage his operation. He also claimed his tactics are tamer than those in the videos, saying the students' daily routine merely includes exercise, academics and motivational talks. Still, some experts say the tactics seen in the videos constitute child abuse. "I was really disturbed when I watched the video," USC psychology professor Thomas D. Lyon told KTLA. Lyon said the conduct was "really cruel enough that it rises to the level of what I would constitute criminal child abuse." McFarland was arrested in May on suspicion of kidnapping, child abuse, false imprisonment, extortion and unlawful use of a badge. The charges stem from a May 16 incident during which McFarland allegedly handcuffed a truant Pasadena Unified School District high school student and extorted money from her family. McFarland was later charged with kidnapping, extortion and child abuse. He remains free on $185,000 bail. McFarland once worked for Gibbs, but the 2 parted ways in 2009, when McFarland failed to pass a background check and allegations emerged of inappropriate training methods, Gibbs told the newspaper. The newspaper cites a government report which found that more than 1,600 teens have been victims of abuse in juvenile boot camp programs since 1990, and 10 have died. ___ (c)2011 KTLA-TV (Los Angeles) Visit KTLA-TV (Los Angeles) at www.ktla.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]