by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Gov. Sarah Sanders on Thursday (Feb. 29) joined the call from others for Arkansas Board of Corrections member Alonzo Jiles to resign after it was revealed he faces lawsuits alleging that he helped cover up decades of sexual abuse at the Lord’s Ranch.

The Lord’s Ranch Church Camp was located in Warm Springs, Ark., and was open between 1976 and 2016. The facility in 2014 was suspended by the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and then the license was revoked by the department’s Child Welfare Agency.

“The accusations against Alonza Jiles are concerning and a distraction from his work and the work of the Board of Corrections. I am calling on Mr. Jiles to resign from his post and allow our state to fully focus on improving community safety and ending the revolving door in our prisons,” Sanders said in a statement issued Thursday.

Gov. Sanders calls on Jiles to resign from Board of Corrections

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A lawsuit is underway against a former religious camp and treatment center.

The Lord's Ranch Church Camp was a therapeutic facility created for troubled teens. It was located in the Randolph County community of Warm Springs, just south of the Missouri border, and was open from 1976 to 2016.

Now, former residents are alleging physical and sexual abuse at the facility. Two law firms, Romanucci & Blandin and the Gillispie Law Firm, are bringing several lawsuits on behalf of more than 30 former residents seeking punitive damages.

Lawsuit alleges widespread abuse at Arkansas religious camp