Missouri AG details ‘horrific’ abuse in charges against girls reform school owners
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Calling the abuse at a southwest Missouri reform school “extensive and horrific,” Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Wednesday a long list of charges against its owners.
Boyd and Stephanie Householder, who owned Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in Cedar County until it closed in September, have been charged with 102 crimes — all felonies but one — that include statutory rape, sodomy and physical abuse.
“The charging documents allege extensive and horrific sexual, physical and mental abuse perpetrated by the Householders,” said Schmitt, who held a news conference at noon Wednesday at the Capitol in Jefferson City.
“With 16 victims so far, we believe this to be one of the most widespread cases of sexual, physical and mental abuse patterns against young girls and women in Missouri history.”
Probable cause statements regarding the charges have been sealed. Details of the alleged abuse were “not for the faint of heart,” Schmitt said.
Boyd Householder, 71, was charged in Cedar County with 79 felonies, including six counts of second-degree statutory rape; seven counts of second-degree statutory sodomy; six counts of sexual contact with a student; one count of second-degree child molestation; 56 counts of abuse or neglect of a child; and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. One count of second-degree child molestation is a misdemeanor.
Stephanie Householder, 55, was charged with 22 felonies, including 12 counts of abuse or neglect of a child and 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She’s accused of using duct tape to bind the wrists of a student.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the couple was still in custody and scheduled to be arraigned later in the day.
“There are no words that I can say here today to describe the mix of great sadness, horror, disgust and sympathy that I feel about these reports of cruel and almost unbelievable abuse and neglect,” Schmitt said. “We intend to do everything within the power of this office to get justice for the 16 victims we’ve identified so far, and their families, and pursue truth and justice vigorously through our courts.”
In an earlier interview with The Star, the Householders denied that they ever abused a student.
The Cedar County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation of Circle of Hope last year. After reviewing the case, Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither requested the attorney general’s help in mid-November, saying his county did not have the resources to handle the case on its own. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson directed the attorney general’s office to assist with the investigation and possible prosecution.
Twenty-two of the charges against Boyd Householder allege repeated statutory sodomy, statutory rape and sexual contact with a student. The charges detail multiple incidents of oral and sexual intercourse with a victim under the age of 17 and several instances in which Boyd Householder allegedly placed his finger in the victim’s vagina.
The charges detail former students’ allegations of physical abuse by the Householders. The incidents included being restrained by Boyd Householder, who would push his knee into the backs of several girls and apply pressure to certain areas of their bodies, handcuff or restrain their hands and feet, and force them to remain in the “push-up position” for long periods.