The Department of Children and Families asked parents April 24 to remove their sons from the private military academy on Biltmore Street while its investigators look into a child abuse claim. The case appears to stem from an incident last month when police found a runaway student with shackles around his legs.

DCF spokeswoman Ellen Higinbotham said investigators are trying to wrap up as quickly as possible because they realize students still have to take final exams.

Col. Alan Weierman, the school's president, said the lead investigator told him Thursday the probe likely wouldn't take the full 60 days allowed under law.

Weierman said he's been recommending "extremely frustrated" parents join a class-action lawsuit against DCF. He claimed agency officials are setting back the cadets and costing the parents money by taking the drastic measure of asking the boys to stay away from the school during the investigation.

"They chose to be vindictive and not look at the situation the way it stands," he said. "They treated us like we were a second-class citizen as a program."

DCF has investigated child abuse allegations at Victory Forge several times in the past.

In one recent case, Palm City resident Donna Pooler filed a December complaint with DCF over the treatment of her 17-year-old son, D.J.

Pooler said Thursday her son has a scar on his foot because he never received proper medical treatment for an abscess. He developed the injury shortly after arriving at the school in February 2007 because his military boots were too small, his mother said.

Pooler turned to Victory Forge because her son was "totally out of control" and had no male influence in his life after his father died. She agreed to pay more than $28,000 to enroll him.

Pooler's son now shows more concern for other people and has a "nice military bearing," but the experience has left him "zombie-like in his emotions," Pooler said.

She decided to pull her son out of the school while he was home at Christmas.