WARSAW — A local Christian boarding school for girls faces allegations of abuse. Dozens of former students of Hephzibah House in Winona Lake say they were physically and mentally abused.

Hephzibah House is a private facility where some parents choose to send their daughters.

These women waited several years to talk. Some of them have kept their stories quiet for more than 20 years. Some say they didn't think anyone would believe them; others say shame stopped them from coming forward.

But now they're ready to face the past and change the future.

Renee Showers traveled hundreds of miles to spread a message, and she shared her story outside the courthouse in Warsaw.

Showers attended Hephzibah House for nine months in 1981. "And during that time I was starved. I was paddled," she said. "I had no real contact with my family."

It's a story Gabriella Fleury says she knows all too well. She says the treatment she endured made her feel violated.

"A man came in, he was never introduced us. We weren't put in a gown and given a proper exam. We were in dresses. Our dresses were forced up and we had to undergo a physical, invasive vaginal exam right there at the facility,” she recalled.

WSBT News traveled to Hephzibah House to get their side of the story; but they refused to talk to us.

“I'm not at liberty right now to do that, OK,” said Pastor Don Williams of Believers Baptist Church, which is affiliated with the school. “So I can't give you an interview right now. But I will discuss it with the director."

Through the Internet, 80 former students from across the country have reconnected and shared their stories. But now they have more than each other — a task force recently formed, giving them a local support system.

“[It’s] just a way to make some connections, and to help pull the people together in this community that do want to get involved and do want to help them,” explained Becky Moreno, a victims assistance coordinator with the Warsaw Police Department.

Moreno says under current state law, organizations like Hephzibah House are not regulated by the government. The task force hopes to change that.

"Focusing on 24-hour residential care centers for children so that there is some accountability there, so that the state can regulate things and make sure that these children are being taken care of,” she said.

But Showers is hoping for a different solution … one that will protect girls forever.

"I hope it is shut down because there's girls that are there that are being abused,” she said.

State Representative Dave Wolkins of Winona Lake gave the following statement to WSBT News:

“I believe in parental rights. I believe in the separation of church and state. And it’s a fact that those parents have placed those children in that facility and I think they know what type of facility they’re putting them into. I don’t think the state should interfere with those types of parental decisions. Anytime there is an accusation of abuse, I believe it should be taken seriously and investigated. I’m not ready to put more regulations on church ministries than we already have. It’s hard to draw the line because the law will affect all church ministries not just this one.”

Officials say because the statute of limitations has expired, the allegations by these former students can not be investigated.

The school's director released a statement saying it’s routinely inspected by the fire and health department. The school also says it allows girls' parents and pastors to make regular phone calls and personal visits.