Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Group Home Owners Accused Of Forcing Residents To Sleep Outside, Write Bible Verses
A group home in the Adams district has been described as a house of horrors by city officials. The owners are accused of keeping residents in horrid conditions, as well as punishing them for not attending church.
The husband-and-wife owners of the Agape Mission House and Agape Home Church, Kang Won Lee and Jung Hwon Lee, have been accused in a lawsuit by City Attorney Mike Feuer of subjecting residents to cruel punishments for not attending religious meetings twice a day.
The punishments described by Feuer sound awful: residents who did not attend church were allegedly forced to copy Bible verses all day, sleep outside at night or stand against a tree for hours at a time, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Lees don't have licenses to operate an establishment like Agape, the Times says.
Support for LAist comes from
In addition to the biblical punishments, Feuer and Asst. City Attorney Jose Egurbide claim that the residents were forced to live in "deplorable" conditions, including sleeping in bunk beds that only had paper-thin mattresses and having only one shower or toilet for the over 50 residents who lived in the two houses.
"The kind of conditions in which you or I would never want one of our loved ones to live in," Feuer told NBC 4. "And yet these are the conditions that we allege the people at this facility had been enduring for months and sometimes for years."
Despite the allegations from city officials, residents at Agape, many of whom were homeless, have sung the praises of the house and the Lees. Bertell Brinkley, who lived in the house for three months, had nothing by nice things to say about the place. "It's nice and very organized," Brinkley told the L.A. Times. "Some of the guidelines we have here can be compared to college guidelines, things that students have to do. It's just as organized."
Feuer issued a civil enforcement action, which does not equate to criminal charges, on Friday and ordered residents to vacate the house. Court-appointed managers will begin finding new places for them to live, NBC 4 reports.
LAist reached out to Agape, but they declined to comment on the allegations.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. -
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Best of LAist