High Top Ranch School
High Top Ranch School — Serving Boys as Young as Eight
High Top Ranch School was a residential program in Koosharem, Utah, associated with the Sorenson family and the broader Sorenson ranch-school system.
Historical records identify 1998 as the beginning of High Top Ranch School. Records from the period identify Sorenson family members in leadership and administrative roles, including Justin Sorenson, who was listed as Director of Admissions.
Who Were the Boys Sent There?
The age of the children who attended High Top is an important part of its history.
A 2015 Utah human-services resource directory described High Top Ranch School as a youth residential treatment program serving boys ages 8–14. The listing also states that the program was licensed to provide services to youth in the custody of the State of Utah.
School directories identify High Top as serving approximately grades 4–9.
This means that children attending High Top could have been as young as eight years old.
These were not simply older teenagers. The population included elementary- and middle-school-aged boys who were still in some of the earliest years of their education and development.
A Much Younger Population
The age range is significant when examining residential treatment programs.
An eight-year-old child is developmentally very different from a teenager. Young children generally have far less independence and fewer resources to understand, question or challenge the decisions being made by adults responsible for their care.
High Top's documented age range therefore raises important questions about the experiences of the youngest boys who were sent there:
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Why were children as young as eight being placed in a residential program?
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Who made the decision to send them?
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What circumstances led to their placement?
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How long did they remain there?
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What treatment methods were used with children of different ages?
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Who was responsible for their education and day-to-day care?
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What happened when children reported problems or mistreatment?
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Were younger boys ever transferred between High Top and other Sorenson programs?
The Wendi Sorenson Case
In 2015, Wendi Sorenson, who was identified in historical High Top staff records as an instructor, became the subject of a criminal investigation involving a teenage student at High Top Ranch.
According to reporting by KSL, prosecutors alleged that the sexual abuse began in June 2015 while Sorenson was working as an instructor at High Top Boys Ranch in Koosharem. The report stated that Sorenson's husband reported concerns to child protective services after noticing that she had become unusually close to one of the boys. The teenager was subsequently removed from the school and returned to California.
Authorities later alleged that Sorenson traveled from Utah to California and met with the teenager there. Investigators reported finding more than 12,000 sexually explicit text messages between Sorenson and the boy.
In 2017, Sorenson pleaded no contest in California to multiple charges involving unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. KSL reported that the charges included unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18, oral copulation with a person under 16, contact with a minor for a sexual offense, and offenses involving meetings with a minor for lewd purposes.
The allegations investigated by authorities began while Sorenson was working at the ranch and involved a student who was under the program's care.
The case also provides an independently reported example of the vulnerability of the young population served by High Top. The program's documented population included boys as young as eight years old, while the Wendi Sorenson case involved a teenage student.
The Sorenson Connection
Historical records identify significant Sorenson family involvement in High Top Ranch School.
Available records identify Chad Sorenson as founder and Ell B. Sorenson as owner/director, while Justin Sorenson appears in administrative and business roles. The historical staff record also identifies Wendi Sorenson as an instructor.
The program operated in Koosharem, Utah, the same community where Sorenson's Ranch School is located.
