Netflix fans slam WWASP boss’ “pathetic” response to new documentary

Narvin Lichfield, the brother of WWASP founder Robert “Bob” Lichfield, has shared a lengthy Facebook post about the new Netflix documentary, The Program – and viewers are slamming his “pathetic” response. 

In The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping, filmmaker Katherine Kubler and her former classmates expose the abuse they experienced at the Academy at Ivy Ridge – but the story doesn’t end there. Shining a light on the troubled teen industry, the true crime series reveals the shocking truth: many of these programs are still in operation today. 

Ivy Ridge was one of many institutions under the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP) umbrella, an organization founded by Utah-based Robert “Bob” Lichfield in the late ‘90s. His brother, Narvin Lichfield, faces some heavy accusations in the docuseries, some of the most damning coming from his own son. 

Following the release of The Program on Netflix, Narvin – who goes by Marvin online – has shared a lengthy response on Facebook. And it hasn’t gone down too well with viewers. 

Viewers slam Narvin Lichfield’s “pathetic” response to Netflix’s The Program

Taking to Facebook yesterday (March 6), Narvin “Marvin” – whose bio states he’s a consultant at “Teen Recovery” – wrote: “In response to a recent Netflix documentary making claims of alleged abuse at programs connected to me personally, here are the facts as I have them in my possession.”

Facebook

He claims that he was “falsely accused” of abuse by two male students at the Costa Rican WWASP facility, Academy at Dundee Ranch, who he had “never really met.” When “a riot that was inappropriately, and even illegally started by a Costa Rican temporary prosecutor” unfolded, Narvin states that he left his “aging parents” in the US to jump on a flight to Costa Rica. 

“If I had been guilty of the alleged abuse of the two students I had never met, why would I go back to Costa Rica immediately and willingly?” he asks, before stating that he was found innocent in the case. Narvin spends a great deal of the statement detaching himself from the abuse claims.

“My heart goes out to the woman’s experience in the Netflix documentary, who seems to have a personal vendetta against me personally or any person that may have been involved at Ivy Ridge Academy,” he adds. The second half of his post focuses on his son Nathan, who appears in The Program to share the “chaos” he endured after his father sent him to a number of the WWASP schools. 

“I would ask the Netflix documentary the following questions… did you vet or do any background checks on my son Nathan?” says Narvin. “Are you aware that he is on full disability for mental health issues?”

“The main problem I have with the documentary is that it seems to try to paint with her own bias everything with one brush and tries to make everyone guilty that had anything to do with the programs,” he adds. 

It’s not surprising there’s been a heavy backlash to Narvin’s post, especially given the involvement he had in these troubled teen programs and the trauma it caused to his son. 

His response has been shared on numerous Reddit threads, with one writing: “That dumb f*cking piece of shit. I’m friends with his son Nathan, and many of his mental health issues are due to, or exacerbated by, the abuse from his dad. I cannot believe he would use that stuff against him. Of course he would gaslight the world by bringing up his past issues. I want to scream.”

Another replied, “I thought the same. I find it hilariously pathetic that this guy is saying to dismiss his son because he’s mentally ill, while also running ‘programs’ for troubled kids. Total piece of sh*t. Guess every kid in his school can be waved off as a liar!”

A third referred to the “victim” tag the staff members would use to taunt the students, writing: “Sounds like he’s playing the VICTIM card. Narvin won’t complete the program unless he takes accountability for what he’s done. Stop playing the victim and work the program.”

In a separate thread, one commented on Narvin’s claim that Nathan’s mental health issues were sparked by an incident in which he “walked onto Hillfield Air Force Base illegally in Layton, Utah.” The Redditor wrote: “I can’t find anything about Nathan causing any problems on an Air Force base. Narvin is lying yet again, this time about his son.”

“Is the man really as ignorant and illiterate as his letter portrays or do you think he had someone even less educated write it? Just curious,” asked another, to which a third added, “He is this stupid.”

The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping is available to stream on Netflix now – you can read our breakdown of the ending here, and check out all of the new true crime and documentaries heading to streaming this month.