The owners of a religious boarding school in southwest Missouri were arrested on dozens of abuse charges, following an investigation initiated by alumni who spoke on TikTok.
Boyd and Stephanie Householder, the owners and operators of the Circle of Hope Girls’ Ranch, were arrested on Tuesday after the Missouri Attorney General’s office filed a litany of charges.
Court records show that Boyd Householder, 71, faces 79 criminal charges and a misdemeanor, including charges of child sexual abuse, sodomy, sexual contact with a student and neglect of a child. Stephanie Householder, 55, faces 22 criminal charges for child abuse or neglect and for jeopardizing a child’s well-being. The alleged incidents occurred from 2017 to 2020.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt planned to hold a press conference on Wednesday to provide more details.
The heads of households were being held in Vernon County Prison, said Cedar County Sheriff James McCrary. They were scheduled to be charged Wednesday afternoon.
A lawyer who represented Householders in civil suits said he would not represent them in criminal cases. It was not clear on Wednesday morning whether the heads of households had a defense attorney. Stephanie Householder previously told NBC News that she and her husband deny all charges against them.
Boyd Householder opened Circle of Hope in 2006 as a school that he claimed could reform rebellious teenagers. Two dozen former residents previously told NBC News and “Dateline” that Boyd and Stephanie used cruel punishments against girls at the ranch, including withholding food, forcing them to do manual labor and restrain girls right away for up to one week. hour.
Since the opening, concerned parents, officials and others have reported the Circle of Hope at least 19 times to three sheriff’s departments, state child welfare and education officials, highway patrol and state attorney general, according to interviews and records obtained by NBC News.
However, these complaints did not result in accusations. A U.S. assistant prosecutor refused to sue in 2018, according to an email from a highway patrolman who investigated Circle of Hope. And state child welfare and education officials lacked the authority to close the ranch, a loophole that a bipartisan bill pending in the Missouri Legislature plans to close.
The wave of state action began after the daughter of the breadwinners, Amanda, and women who participated in Circle of Hope when teenagers started posting videos on TikTok last spring, alleging abuse on the ranch. The videos prompted the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office to investigate, the office confirmed.
Last summer, about two dozen girls still enrolled in the Circle of Hope were removed by state officials while more people filed allegations of abuse. Householders voluntarily closed the Circle of Hope in August and offered the property for sale.
Schmitt’s office joined the investigation in November after Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither asked for help.
Amanda Householder said in a TikTok posted on Wednesday morning that she never thought her parents would be held responsible.
“This is a moment that deserves to be celebrated,” she said, reacting to news of her parents’ arrest. “I am sad because they are my parents, but something my parents always say to me is, ‘You made your bed, now you have to lie on it’. Well, my parents made their bed and now they are going to have to lie on it. As difficult as it may be for me, it was about time. “
CORRECTION (March 10, 2021, 12:57 pm Eastern time): An earlier version of this article erroneously stated how many criminal charges the Boyd Householder faces. It’s 79 (and a misdemeanor count), not 80.
