JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
News Tribune [Jefferson City MO]
July 18, 2024
By Finnegan Belleau
Boyd Householder died in June, before the beginning of his trial on 78 felony charges involving allegations of statutory rape, physical abuse and child neglect. On Wednesday, activists gathered in Jefferson City to ask that his wife, Stephanie Householder, not receive a plea deal.
“Stephanie Householder is perhaps the most notorious and prolific female perpetrator in Missouri,” said David Clohessy, Missouri volunteer director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
Stephanie Householder faces 22 felony charges related to abuse and neglect that allegedly happened at Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, the Christian reform school in Humansville, Missouri, that was operated by her and her husband.
Young adults involved with the school spoke at Wednesday’s news conference while activists held up signs outside the Attorney General’s Office of Missouri. One sign read “No plea for Stephanie.”
Maggie Drew was a student at the boarding school from 2007-13. At the news conference, Drew said she would go to Stephanie Householder with severe injuries, including broken bones, due to abuse from Boyd Householder.
“She ignored me, and told me that I was ‘a liar,’ and ‘He would never,'” Drew said.
Eleven years after leaving from Circle of Hope, Drew is now 31.
“I was grown when I left,” Drew said. “And I never thought I would leave. … I never thought I’d make it.”
Another speaker was Adria Kein, who worked at the school from 2009-11. Kein said although the alleged victims were robbed of “some kind of justice,” appropriately prosecuting Stephanie Householder would provide some relief.
“I think that holding Stephanie accountable is the way to do that,” Kein said. “She was very much involved and very much a big part of everything that went on there.”
During her time at the boarding school, Kein said the Householders forced her to engage in abuse directed at the students.
“I witnessed the abuse,” Kein said. “I was required to participate in the punishments. I was put in charge and given responsibilities that a 19-year-old should not have.”
Kein added she wants to see investigations into former board members for the ranch.
“My pastor was very involved; he was on the board, and he was aware of things,” Kein said. “And when I finally came forward in 2020 and gave him 20 pages of what my experience was there, he refused to do anything about it, and told me not to talk to police.”
Following speeches, SNAP members and the alleged victims attempted to hand-deliver a letter to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Instead, they spoke with Jay Atkins, first assistant attorney general.
In the letter, SNAP lists the various accusations against Stephanie Householder and asks Bailey to “take the criminal case against Stephanie to trial without delay.”
“We’re here today because we’re doing what Attorney General Bailey refuses to do,” Clohessy said. “We’ve asked him to investigate. He won’t. We’ve asked him to meet with the victims. He won’t. We’ve asked him to prod local sheriffs and prosecutors. He won’t.”
Clohessy said he is worried about Bailey offering a plea deal to Stephanie Householder. She already received one in 2023, when the Missouri Attorney General’s Office offered a deal to her on the condition that she testify against her husband. Householder rejected it.
Originally scheduled for November 2023, the trial was postponed to October 2024. In June, Boyd Householder died at 75 after going into cardiac arrest.
Despite Stephanie Householder facing fewer charges than her husband, it’s important to remember that she also faces multiple charges, Clohessy said.
“We believe that just barely scratches the surface of the harm that she’s done,” Clohessy said.
Along with its message for Bailey, SNAP sent similar letters to 18 Missouri sheriffs urging them to investigate unregulated Christian boarding schools in their counties. Volunteers packaged the letters at a table after the speeches.
“What we don’t want is this continued passive approach that leaves more kids at risk,” Clohessy said.
Householder’s trial is in October. Both for this case and others, Clohessy said he wants more victims to speak on their experiences.
“We would just beg anybody who saw, suspected or suffered abuse — whether physical, sexual, emotional — to please come forward to someone you trust,” Clohessy said. “Because as horrific as these crimes are, you can get better. But not by staying silent and carrying this burden alone.”
The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.
