WICHITA (AP) – Court documents show a Kansas military school accused of fostering a culture of abuse has been repeatedly sued by parents.

St. John’s Military School is due in federal court Tuesday. The Salina school is seeking a gag order prohibiting people involved in the case from publicly talking about the current litigation or past lawsuits that ended in settlements.

But evidence in the public record hint at long-running abuses. Nine other abuse-related lawsuits have been filed since 2006.

One lawsuit included photos of a student who had been branded on his arm with a hot, star-shaped medal. A school official acknowledged in a deposition that at least 10 other students were similarly branded.

A cadet testified how higher ranking students would swat young cadets on their bare bottoms with ceremonial sabers.