CEDU
Chuck E. Dederich University Educational Services, Inc
CEDU was created in 1967 and consisted of multiple therapeutic boarding schools, licensed group homes, wilderness programs, and behavior modification programs (cognitive behavioral therapy) for troubled children and teens. The company operated out of California and Idaho and was founded by Mel (Merle) Wasserman, who modeled the children’s therapeutic boarding school after Synanon, a drug rehab facility turn cult at which Wasserman had sponsored recovering addicts.
Synanon, Cults, LSD, & Manson
Let’s touch briefly on Synanon before continuing with CEDU, if only to show the relationship between the setting and people involved, AND because it goes from rehab facility to cult quickly. Synanon started as Tender Loving Care, an old store Chuck Dederich rented as a safe place for people wanting to join in Dederich’s seminars. Dederich was a former alcoholic who had worked his way through AA and began having after AA talk sessions at his home with other members. In 1957, Dederich volunteered as a test subject for research into the therapeutic uses of LSD by the University of California.
The LSD research at UCLA was headed by Dr. Keith Ditman, The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich (culteducation.com) , who happened to be the first ‘drug expert’ called to the stand to testify in the 1971 Sharon Tate‐Leno & Rosemary LaBianca murder trial. In his testimony, Dr. Keith Ditman stated that Charles M. Manson could have persuaded Leslie Van Houten, a chronic user of LSD, to commit murder… As for influencing one to murder, he said, “one of the basic effects of the drug is that it makes an individual more suggestible.”. Psychiatrist Assays Manson's Role - The New York Times (archive.org)
Dederich developed a form of treatment, referred to as “attack therapy”, by which he called The Game. The Game consisted of members belittling, criticizing, and verbally assaulting a member. Members were encouraged to be vulgar and to accuse one another of actual and imaginary crimes in order for the member to “admit their wrongdoings and mend their ways” CABINET / Shaved Heads, Snipped Tubes, Imperial Marines, and Dope Fiends (cabinetmagazine.org)
By 1958, Synanon was founded as a new age religious movement and by the 70’s it was a cult that called itself The Church of Synanon. “Beginning in the mid-1970s, women in Synanon were required to shave their heads, and married couples were made to break up and take new partners. Men were given forced vasectomies, and a few pregnant women were forced to have abortions.” http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~skent/Linkedfiles/Cults%20and%20Families.pdf , the honest story... (archive.org) . What once was a violence free safe space transformed into violence used to control the Synanon group. “Much of the violence by Synanon was carried out by an internal group called the "Imperial Marines".”. Synanon - Wikipedia , Nation: Synanon Sequel - TIME (archive.org) “The Internal Revenue Service revoked the organization's tax-exempt status and ordered them to pay $17 million in back taxes. This bankrupted Synanon, which formally dissolved in 1991.”.
Mel Wasserman & CEDU
Mel Wasserman, being influenced by Synanon therapies, utilized the same “attack therapy” at boarding schools and homes. The average stay in the program was 2 ½ years where the kids would attend “pseudo psychological” group therapy led by untrained staff. “At night there would be Group touching, called "smooshing", consisting of hand holding, spooning, snuggling, caressing, sitting on laps, petting hair, was expected of both teenagers and staff. It was common for staff to engage in this form of touch with teenagers.”. https://web.archive.org/web/20230320001433/https://www.allkindsoftherapy.com/blog/12-ways-teen-treatment-has-changed-since-paris-hilton-went-to-cedu , Paris Hilton: my boarding school hell and how I survived (archive.org) .
For participating in the group therapies, kids in the CEDU program would earn privileges. One of these program privileges was to attend a workshop called the “Propheet”. The “Propheet” was also taken from one of Synanon’s programs called “trip”. The “Propheet” workshop would last between a day to 3 days. “The propheets were led by unlicensed staff along with teenagers at an advanced stage of the program…They employed sleep-deprivation, humiliation, exposure to large variations in temperature, guided imagery, loud and repetitive music, regression therapy, physical reenactments of trauma, and forced emoting. The propheets were based on the book The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.” Cedu offers hope to young, hard-core addicts - 1972-12-14 - Newspapers.com™
The intake process of the workshop included strip searches by staff and advanced program members (peers) and members were made to sign an agreement while in the program which stated they would not engage in sex, drugs, or violence, along with strict daily routines. If a participant broke any of the agreements, “violators would be sent to the Ascent Wilderness Program located in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, which was CEDU's version of a six-week boot camp.”. CEDU - Wikipedia
The Expansion of CEDU & Community Concern
CEDU initially ran out of a ranch in Reche Canyon, California from 1967 – 1968. “In 1968, there were 28 people living on the ranch under the guidance of Wassermann, ranging from 13 to 24 years old. However, despite the fact that they were working on the ranch, they were not receiving any payment for their labor.”. CEDU.... an experiment in youth work - 1968-06-12 - Newspapers.com (archive.org)
CEDU Running Springs Lodge
In 1969, after not being able to secure a permit to continue using the ranch for public use Riverside County planners deny Cedu Ranch permit - 1968-09-25 - Newspapers.com (archive.org) , CEDU bought a townhouse in San Bernadino and also owned and operated a gas station in Loma Linda. Clipping from The San Bernardino County Sun - Newspapers.com (archive.org)
CEDU Community Center - San Bernadino
The townhouse at 1434 Parkside Dr, San Bernadino was to be used as a “community center for ex- residents” and a business office / residence for Wasserman. Clipping from The San Bernardino County Sun - Newspapers.com (archive.org)
Nearby residents began making allegations against the CEDU homes, claiming “- There are no professional staff, no psychiatrists, no social workers. – The young people at CEDU do not get adequate medical attention. – CEDU is the scene of sexual orgies and widespread drug use. -CEDU is a communist inspired venture. – Food is inadequate. -CEDU is wrecking homes because it is brainwashing young people to turn against their families. -Schooling is unorthodox and poor.” Clipping from The San Bernardino County Sun - Newspapers.com (archive.org)
After the CEDU Community Center, CEDU relocated to its Running Springs address at 3500 Seymour Rd. The historic lodge was to serve up to 50 kids and incorporated vocational instruction along with its standard group therapies and workshops. Dec 14, 1972, page 34 - Corvallis Gazette-Times at Newspapers.com One of the directors at Running Springs also shared a Synanon past with CEDU founder Wasserman. Barry Weiss, CEDU graduate program director, was a member of Synanon for 6 years and considered himself an ex-addict. CEDU expanded their programs by opening schools. A middle school was opened at the Running Springs location, an Ascent wilderness program in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, Northwest Academy in Idaho, Boulder Creek Academy, and Hilltop. Expansions and offshoots would continue until 2005 when they could no longer run from allegations, lawsuits and missing children.
The End of CEDU, The List of Crimes, & A Serial Killer
In 1998, CEDU Education was sold to Brown Schools. “Brown Schools operated 11 boarding schools and educational facilities in California, Idaho, Texas, Vermont, and Florida. Upon closure, several CEDU employees reported to Lake Arrowhead Mountain News that pending litigation against CEDU for abuse and violation of rights as well as citations against the schools contributed to the downfall.”. Lake Arrowhead Mountain-News (archive.org) Rocky Mountain Academy closed in 2005 with CEDU’s spokesman stating its closing was not related to the lawsuit parents filed against Rocky Mountain Academy and Boulder Creek. “More than two dozen parents filed lawsuits against Rocky Mountain Academy and Boulder Creek Academy in October, alleging misconduct and breach-of-contract issues. The plaintiffs allege, among other complaints, that one boy was forced to dig a grave and lie in a closed coffin in the grave while staff members tossed dirt on it. They also allege that staff members called students degrading names such as “whore” and “fatty,” and failed to intervene when some students were hazed and beaten by other students.”. Rocky Mountain Academy to close | The Spokesman-Review
CEDU had accumulated many accusations, lawsuits, and missing children being reported. I’m sure there is much more that can be added to the list that was compiled on the CEDU Wikipedia page, but we will start there. CEDU - Wikipedia
- December 12, 1985 - Rescue teams search for five girls who went missing in a snowstorm during a survival course run by CEDU in the Joshua Tree National Park. The girls were found by a US Marine Corps helicopter safe after a 3-day search, unaware that anyone had been searching for them.
Desert Sun 12 December 1985 — California Digital Newspaper Collection (archive.org)
Desert Sun 13 December 1985 — California Digital Newspaper Collection (ucr.edu)
- January 16, 1993 - John Christopher Inman goes missing from Cedu High School.
- June 26, 1994 - Blake Wade Pursley goes missing from Cedu High School He was last seen about 8 p.m. going out to the barn to check the animals. 15 years later, boy who vanished from Running Springs school still missing – San Bernardino Sun (sbsun.com)
Article clipped from The San Bernardino County Sun - Newspapers.com™
Missing Person Case (namus.gov)
- July 15, 1994 - A male client from Texas hanged himself with a belt from a pipe of an overhead sprinkler system in one of the dormitories of Lower Camelot at Rocky Mountain Academy in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search RMA (archive.org)
- July 28, 1994 - It is revealed that a former CEDU employee and white separatist planned to kidnap students attending Rocky Mountain Academy for ransom, including the children of celebrities Barbara Walters and Clint Eastwood. The employee, who was a friend of Randy Weaver - a central actor in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff with federal agents at his cabin near Naples, Idaho, during which his wife and son were killed-, was fired after federal agents discovered the plot. Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search
- June 27, 1996 - John C. D'Abreo files a lawsuit against CEDU in Monterey County, claiming he was physically and emotionally abused at Ascent and Northwest Academy. Teen Sues North Idaho Therapy Camps Family Says Boy Was Abused | The Spokesman-Review
- November 1996 - Former Rocky Mountain Academy staff and owner of Boundarylines Crisis Intervention Richard "Rowdy" Armstrong is accused of drugging, raping and sodomizing former Rocky Mountain Academy staff and Boundarylines Crisis Intervention co-worker Twila Stephenson. Woman Sues Ex-Boss, Alleging Sexual Assault Lawsuit Claims Man Drugged, Raped And Sodomized Woman (spokesman.com)
- January 1997 - Five people are injured in a riot at Northwest Academy in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Parents, Authorities Trying To Get To Bottom Of Riot No Charges Filed After Violent Outbreak At Academy For Troubled Teens (spokesman.com)
- March 31, 1998 - Marsha and Ronald Accomazzo file a lawsuit against CEDU. Their son was enrolled at Ascent and Rocky Mountain Academy and injured in the Northwest Academy riot. ACCOMAZZO v. CEDU EDUCATIONAL SERVICES INC (2000) | FindLaw
- March 31, 1998 - Nancy Dark makes allegations leading to charges against CEDU. Her son was enrolled at Boulder Creek Academy, Ascent, and the Northwest Academy, and injured in the Northwest Academy riot. LEWIS v. CEDU EDUCATIONAL SERVICES INC (2000) | FindLaw LEWIS v. CEDU EDUCATIONAL | 15 P.3d 1147 (2000) | 3d114711155 | Leagle.com
- April 1, 1998 - CEDU is sued for fraud, racketeering, and battery. Suit Says Schools For Troubled Teens Set Stage For Abuse State Report Says Allegations By Former Students Are Valid (spokesman.com)
- April 5, 2000 - Dianne and Robert Reibstein file a lawsuit against CEDU for neglect and abuse. Their son was at Ascent and Rocky Mountain Academy. REIBSTEIN v. CEDU/ROCKY MOUNTAIN ACADEMY, CIVIL ACTION: NO. 00-1781 | Casetext Search + Citator Wayback Machine (archive.org)
- October 8, 2002 - an article titled "Hilfiger CEO Helps Kids" is published by Forbes it goes into Detail how the CEO Joel Horowitz found his daughters drug stash and all he could think about was the fastest way to get Leigh to Ascent, a CEDU wilderness-based rehabilitation program. Hilfiger CEO Helps Kids (forbes.com)
- February 8, 2004 - Daniel Ted Yuen goes missing from CEDU. The missing person case is still open in 2024. “On a late Sunday morning in February 2004, the Twin Peaks Station of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department received a call about a male juvenile who had fled from a location intimately known to law enforcement.” Suspect No. 1: Inside Daniel Yuen's Missing Person Case - LAmag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles
- May 26, 2020 - Adam Eget, an actor and comedian known for his work with Norm Macdonald, talks about his experiences with CEDU on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Eget describes CEDU as an abusive cult and talks about multiple examples of child endangerment he saw as a client attending a CEDU School. Adam Eget Survived Three Years in an Abusive Cult | Ghostarchive
- September 14, 2020 - This Is Paris, a documentary that covers the time Paris Hilton spent at CEDU School, Ascent Wilderness Program, Cascade School, and Provo Canyon School, premieres on YouTube. (YouTube removed and video will not play via archive.)
- January 17, 2021 - The Los Angeles Times publishes an article where CEDU client Rachel Uchitel describes allegedly having to dig a grave with a spoon and then being forced to lay in it. “Uchitel is the daughter of Robert N. Uchitel (1946–1990) and the granddaughter of Maurice Uchitel (1911–2000) a restaurant and nightclub owner born in the Russian Empire. She first encountered publicity when, following the September 11 attacks, a photo of her holding a picture of her fiancé, who worked in the World Trade Center, was published on the front page of the New York Post and circulated worldwide. She made headlines again in 2010 as one of golfer Tiger Woods' mistresses.” Rachel Uchitel - Wikipedia Rachel Uchitel claims Donald Trump once trolled her with impersonator of ex Tiger Woods at party (msn.com)
- April 23, 2022 - Rich & Shameless kicks off episode one of their first season with an exposé on Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis. Dead, Insane, or in Jail author Zack Bonnie is interviewed about the time they spent together at Rocky Mountain Academy in the late 1980s. CEDU – LATHROP LYBROOK Girls Gone Wild Exposed | TNTdrama.com (archive.org)
- October 31, 2022 - Los Angeles Magazine published the article “Why Are Police Stifling the Investigation Into 3 Teens Who Vanished from a Controversial Residential Treatment Facility?” The article addresses the disappearance of John Inman, Blake Pursley, and Daniel Yuen who vanished from CEDU School's campus in Running Springs, California in 1993, 1994, and 2004. Are Police Stifling the Investigation Into 3 Teens Who Vanished From a Controversial Residential Treatment Facility? (archive.org) John Christopher Inman – The Charley Project Blake Wade Pursley – The Charley Project Daniel Ted Yuen – The Charley Project
CEDU Running Springs had contracted with a California psychiatrist, Doctor Burnell Forgey, to assist in resident’s therapy. Dr Forgey lost his license in 1998 “after the Medical Board of California determined that he had been “grossly negligent” in allowing James Lee Crummel (the Dr’s reported ‘assistant’) to have unsupervised contact with his patients when the two visited ‘CEDU’ group homes for troubled teenagers.” Other Possible Molest Victims of Psychiatrist Are Being Sought - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) “Forgey and Crummel apparently met sometime between 1975 and 1980, in 1990 Forgey hired Crummel as an assistant. Before Crummel moved in with him, Forgey had hired two other registered sex offenders to work for him, both of whom also lived with him, police said.”.
In 2009, “California Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators are researching the possibility that serial child molester and child murderer, James Lee Crummel had years of free, unsupervised access to the students at the now defunct CEDU School in Running Springs. In 1997, California State Investigators were notified that Crummel was accompanying Forgey when he would travel to the youth homes. State officials said Forgey described Crummel to group home staff as his assistant, but Forgey never informed the staff that Crummel was a registered sex offender and pedophile.
In 1998, Forgey confessed that he had engaged in oral sex with a 16-year-old patient while Crummel sodomized the minor. Forgey also admitted that he gave Crummel free access to his adolescent patients’ files, took Crummel with him on his rounds to group homes and would leave him alone with young patients during his visits from 1990 to 1994. After Forgey confessed to taking Crummel with him to youth homes, State of California officials began examining records of psychiatrists used by group homes around Southern California. During the still-in-progress investigation, it was discovered that Forgey also practiced at CEDU in Running Springs.
In an exclusive interview with The Alpenhorn News, DOJ Missing Person Investigator Bill Gleason confirmed that Forgey was a contracted psychiatrist at CEDU, and it appears that Crummel also accompanied him when he visited CEDU. It might have been a strange coincidence, Gleason said, but the number of runaway juveniles reported from CEDU always seemed to have increased just after Forgey had sessions at the CEDU campus.
Gleason said what the DOJ is examining now is the connection between Crummel being on the CEDU campus and the disappearance of then 17-year-old John Christopher Inman on January 16, 1993 and Blake Wade Pursley, aged 14, on June 26, 1994. A third student, Daniel Ted Yuen, aged 16 at that time, disappeared from CEDU on February 8, 2004, but is not considered a possible victim of Crummel due to the date of disappearance, and subsequent reported sightings of Yuen.” Wayback Machine (archive.org)
The Comedy Store, Adam Eget, Joe Rogan, The Comedy Mothership, former home of the Buddahfield Cult, & The Great Austin Migration
There is a long list of ‘celebrity’ kids and other well-known names that came out of CEDU. The term “holocaust denier” is thrown about with Adam Eget’s name, something that was also known as a belief of his deceased father. However, Eget was raised jewish and is considered to follow ‘jewish traditions’. Eget was sent to CEDU as a teenager after suffering from depression and ‘cutting’ in dealing with his parents’ separation. Adam Eget [2024 Update]: Career, Controversy & Net Worth - Celeb Doko
Adam Eget
Eget was the manager of the Tempe Improv in Tempe Arizona, before becoming the manager of The Comedy Store in LA and was Norm Macdonald’s co-host on his live talk show. Eget took over managing The Comedy Store after working under its owner, Mitzi Shore (Pauly Shore’s mother). After taking over as the clubs’ manager and talent manager, he refurbished its appearance and comedy talent.
“Eget immediately started recruiting back the comedians who had left like Joe Rogan, Joey Diaz, and others who had stopped coming, although Rogan had been banned from the ‘Carlos Mencia incident.’ One of the best things that Eget did for The Comedy Store was bring back legendary stand-up comedian and JRE podcast host Joe Rogan.” Who Is Adam Eget? The Unsung Hero of Comedy Talent – Rogan Tribe
The Comedy Store Lineup
“After his successful run with The Comedy Club, Eget was one of many top talent in the comedy industry that left Los Angeles for a new city with big potential as a new comedy startup – Austin, Texas. Top comedians that made this venture included Joe Rogan, Tom Segura, and Tony Hinchcliffe, among many others.”. Who Is Adam Eget? The Unsung Hero of Comedy Talent – Rogan Tribe
“He (Rogan) already convinced Tony Hinchcliffe to move his “Kill Tony” show and podcast from The Store to Austin, and other comedians, including Tim Dillon and Fahim Anwar, put down temporary roots in the area. From the other coast, The Creek and The Cave already has closed its doors in New York City and begun final work renovating a new venue in downtown Austin. Austin’s longtime mainstay comedy club, meanwhile, Cap City (formerly known as the Laff Stop and frequented by the likes of Bill Hicks), is in the process of moving into a new spot in the Domain center north of the city.” Adam Eget Leaving The Comedy Store to run Joe Rogan’s Austin Comedy Club at One World Theatre – The Comic's Comic (thecomicscomic.com)
Rogan’s new Austin comedy venue is “called Comedy Mothership and was orchestrated in large part by Rogan and Eget, with Rogan purchasing the famous Ritz building on 6th street in 2022.” Who Is Adam Eget? The Unsung Hero of Comedy Talent – Rogan Tribe “The theatre itself was initially built as a private residence and home for the Buddahfield cult, as depicted in the 2016 documentary, Holy Hell. It was sold to the current owners, Hartt and Nada Stearns, and reopened as One World Theatre in 1999.” https://thecomicscomic.com/2021/04/01/adam-eget-leaving-the-comedy-store-to-run-joe-rogans-austin-comedy-club-at-one-world-theatre/ Buddhafield (cult) - Wikipedia What Happened To Jaime Gomez & His Buddhafield Cult (How To Become A Cult Leader) (screenrant.com)
Note- The One World Theatre location mentioned by The Comics Comic 2019 article may have been the speculative location before the 2022 purchase of the Ritz bldg on 6th St.
I’m sure there will be more to follow as the rabbit holes leading to The Great Austin Migration continue to unfold.
Soundtrack used while posting: Butthole Surfers - Pepper
https://youtu.be/KRXty8lDUW0?si=YnkN9OghaKwz091S
Links that were used & links of interest:
When Rich Kids Go Bad (archive.org)
The last resort – Chicago Tribune (archive.org)
The rebirth of Running Springs (jewishjournal.com)
Riverside County planners deny Cedu Ranch permit - 1968-09-25 - Newspapers.com (archive.org)
Clipping from The San Bernardino County Sun - Newspapers.com (archive.org)
Dec 14, 1972, page 34 - Corvallis Gazette-Times at Newspapers.com
Clipping from The San Bernardino County Sun - Newspapers.com (archive.org)
The Lost Kids: Tell It All on Apple Podcasts (archive.org)
Death and Denial at Herbalife - LA Times (archive.org)
index/ceduhs - troubledteens (reddit.com)
Wayback Machine (archive.org) healonline.org cedu pdf
The story behind Mount Bachelor Academy’s closure – Oregon Mental Health Archive (oregonarchive.org)
How Synanon Inspired Abusive Teen Rehabilitation Methods Still Used Today | Teen Vogue
Running My Anger: The Legacy of CEDU | by Medium Anonymous | Medium
Nation: Synanon Sequel - TIME (archive.org)
The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich (culteducation.com)
Charles E. Dederich Archives - It's Time for Morning Meeting (synanon.com)
CABINET / Shaved Heads, Snipped Tubes, Imperial Marines, and Dope Fiends (cabinetmagazine.org)
Psychiatrist Assays Manson's Role - The New York Times (archive.org)
Tate–LaBianca murders - Wikipedia
CEDU.... an experiment in youth work - 1968-06-12 - Newspapers.com (archive.org)
Anonymous' Testimony - Ascent and CEDU (1995-1996) Unsilenced
index/cedu - troubledteens (reddit.com)
Desert Sun 8 March 1979 — California Digital Newspaper Collection (ucr.edu)
'CEDU Ranch to seek San Bernardino Haven' - Imgur
cedu-school-running-springs.jpg (2000×1334) (nypost.com)
Home for dropouts, ex-addicts fighting for life - Part 2 - 1968-08-26 - Newspapers.com™
Aug 26, 1968, page 15 - The San Bernardino County Sun at Newspapers.com
Rocky Mountain Academy to close | The Spokesman-Review
Other Possible Molest Victims of Psychiatrist Are Being Sought - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
Serial killer may be linked to missing kids at Paris Hilton's boarding school (pagesix.com)
Who Is Adam Eget? The Unsung Hero of Comedy Talent – Rogan Tribe
Adam Eget [2024 Update]: Career, Controversy & Net Worth - Celeb Doko
Adam Eget Biography - Net Worth, Career, Girlfriend | BiographySet