In 1982 Straight - Sarasota closed while being investigated for criminal child abuse by the states attorney. The Sarasota states attorney announced that Straight counselors had admitted they had been trained to abuse kids at Straight - St. Petersburg in Pinellas County and that Miller Newton had overseen their training. This forced Pinellas County prosecutor James T. Russell to launch yet another investigation of Straight. But he is the man who personally brought the Straight concept to Pinellas County under the name The Seed. One of his assistant state attorneys was on the board of directors for Straight! Not surprisingly, Russell found nothing wrong at Straight. In fact for 17 years he never found anything wrong at Straight. But Miller Newton left in 1983 under a barrage of civil suits. He setup his own Straight-like chain outside New York City in New Jersey called KIDS. Curiously Straight operated in major metropolitan centers around the country, but there was never a Straight - New York City area leading Straight trackers to suspect that KIDS may have been Straight - greater NYC area.
All KIDS' expansion programs closed under allegations of child abuse. When KIDS of Southern California was closed by the state for criminal child abuse, Mel and Betty stepped in, took over Newton's clients and setup Straight of Southern California. But California closed Straight within a year for criminal child abuse. Neither Mel or Betty Sembler nor Miller Newton went to prison for their crimes. In 1989 CBS's West 57th Street did an expose on Newton's Kids of Bergen County, New Jersey. A judge studied KIDS of Bergen County and said it should not get a license. County prosecutors raided the place and took out several young clients. So Newton changed the name to KIDS of North Jersey and moved to Hudson County.
After he was sued out of existence over his New Jersey program, Miller Newton moved back to Madeira Beach, Florida, bought a second home across the street from his home and boat, changed his name to Father Cassian, created a religious foundation, filed bankruptcy and donated his second property to his foundation. Now Newton's creditors know about the home across the street valued at $300,000 and they want it. Will he ever be put in prison for his frauds; for his crimes against children. To the people of Madeira Beach. Lee Drury Deceasar was one who tried to speak for you. What are you citizens going to do now? Read now the latest by T
he St Pete Times.