The owners of a religious boarding school in southwest Missouri have been arrested on dozens of abuse charges following an investigation by alumni who spoke on ticket ok.
Byd and Stephanie Householder, owners and managers of the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, were taken into custody on Tuesday after reports from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office of the allegations.
Byad Householder (, 1) faces 79 f offenses and one count of misdemeanors in court records, including child molestation, sedation, sexual contact with a student, and child neglect. Stephanie Householder, 55, faces 22 felony counts of abusing or neglecting a child and endangering the child’s welfare. The alleged incidents occurred between 2017 and 2020.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Smith told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that his office has identified “16 victims” so far and considers this to be “one of the most widespread cases of sexual, physical and mental abuse against young women and men in Missouri.”
“There are no words today that I can use to describe the combination of sadness, horror, disgust and empathy that I feel about the brutal and almost unbelievable reports of abuse and neglect,” Smith said.
Cedar County Sheriff James McCray said the family was being held at the Vernon County Jail. He was due to be arrested on Wednesday afternoon.
An attorney representing householders in a civil lawsuit said they would not represent them in criminal cases. It’s not clear if the homeowners have a lawyer on Wednesday. Stephanie Householder previously told NBC News that she and her husband have denied all the allegations against them.
Byrd Householder opened Circle Hope F Hope as a school in 2006 which he claimed could improve rebellious teenage girls. Earlier, two dozen former residents told NBC News and “Dateline” that Boyd and Stephanie used brutal punishments against girls in the ranch, including withholding food, forcing them to do manual labor and harassing girls for up to an hour.
Smith said witnesses told investigators that the householders stopped the girls with handcuffs and snatches, and filled the dirty socks with dirty socks. One girl said Boyd pushed her down the stairs, and another said she advised him how to kill himself, according to Smile.
Documents charge that Byrd hit two girls’ heads against a wall, kept another in a room without lights or noise, “extra time for several occasions”, poured hot sauce into one girl’s mouth and used duct tape and socks. Did. To prevent a girl from using her hand for “several days”. Stephanie’s allegations stem from allegations that she helped Byrd with dangerous sanctions and continued to communicate with him after attacking the young women, according to charge documents.
Since the boarding school began, concerned parents, staff members and others have reported to the Circle of Hope at least 19 times, according to interviews and records to three sheriff’s departments, state child welfare and education officials, highway patrols and the state attorney general’s office. Received by NBC News.
However, these complaints have not been charged. According to an email from a highway patrol officer investigating Circle Hope F. Hope, Assistant U.S. The attorney refused to prosecute in 2018. And state child welfare and education officials had no right to shut down the ranch, which is sporadic with the need to close a bilateral bill in the Missouri Legislature.
The wave of state action began after women attending Circle Hope F Hope, as the housewife’s daughter, Amanda, and teenagers, began posting videos last spring accusing her of abusing livestock on a ticket. The videos prompted the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office to ask for an investigation, the office confirmed.
Last summer, about two dozen girls still registered in the Circle Hope F Hoppel were removed by state officials as more people came forward with allegations of abuse. The homeowners voluntarily closed the Circle of Hope in August Gust and put the property up for sale.
Smith’s office was involved in a fee investigation in November after Cedar County attorney Ty Gaither requested help.
Amanda Householder said in a ticket posted on Wednesday morning that she never thought her parents would be responsible.
“This is a moment that deserves to be celebrated,” she said in response to news of her parents’ arrest. “I’m sad because he’s my parents, but my parents always told me, ‘You made your bed, now you have to sleep in it.’ Well, my parents made their bed and now they will sleep in it. As hard as it is for me, it’s time. “
Update (March 10, 2021, 12:57 pm and): A previous version of this article misused how much of a Byrd householder is charged with a crime. That’s not 0 (and a misdemeanor count), not 80.
