JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
DavidClohessy.com [St. Louis MO]
September 11, 2024
By David Clohessy
For immediate release: Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024
Trial against ‘Missouri’s most notorious female predator’ is off
Over victims’ protests, she’s apparently reached a plea deal with prosecutors
In July, attorney general’s office met with victims and promised them ‘no deal’
“Once again, we’re being betrayed by those who claim to care,” one young victim says
In July, a top aide to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey reportedly promised abuse victims that an October trial against their perpetrator would happen and that no plea deal would be offered to her.
Now apparently, Bailey’s office has done an about face.
Victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse at largely unregulated Christian boarding schools in Missouri are “outraged” that a criminal trial against the state’s most notorious Christian boarding school abuser has been cancelled because of Bailey’s move.
For years, Stephanie Householder and her recently deceased husband worked at two Christian boarding schools for ‘troubled kids’ in southern Missouri. – Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in Humansville and Agape Boarding School in Stockton, both now shuttered. Next month, she was to go on trial in Stockton on 22 charges of child abuse and neglect. (Before he died in June, her spouse Boyd was charged with 79 similar counts.)
But the Missouri attorney general’s office is “betraying” victims by “cutting a deal” with Householder, victims say, a move that even Householder’s daughter strongly opposes.
“From the beginning, I’ve repeatedly said my mom needs to be put on trial. She should face tough questions – under oath and in public – about all of the deep harm she’s inflicted on so many kids,” said Amanda Householder of California. “Almost every other survivor I’ve heard from feels the same way. I’m outraged that AG Bailey first ignored us and now is quietly rebuffing us. He’s deliberately rubbing salt into our already-deep wounds by siding with a serial predator and not with us, her victims.”
“If this happens, it will make many survivors feel even more depressed, helpless, angry and cynical about our so-called justice system,” Amanda Householder said.
Attorney general staffers Melissa Ann Pierce and Jennifer Michelle Coffin and Cedar County prosecutor Ty Gaither (417.276.6700 Ext. 235) gave notice of the plea deal in a 9/9 court filing.) The judge is David R. Munton.
Case.net: 21CD-CR00096-01 – Case Header (mo.gov)
CIRCUIT JUDGES DOCKET ENTRY.PDF (mo.gov)
Judge David R. Munton set a 10/17 hearing on the plea and indicated that the trial date has been “stricken.”
As a 19 year old, Adria Keim of Columbia worked at Circle of Hope for two years and saw how Stephanie and her husband repeatedly abused kids.
“In July, a group of us met with Jay Atkins (jay.atkins@ago.mo.gov, 573 751 7890, 573 301 6981), the second-in-command at the AGs office. Without the slightest hesitation, he promised us that Stephanie’s trial was going to happen,” she said. “Back then, Missouri officials betrayed us when they ignored our pleas for help. Now, AG Bailey is betraying us again.”
“Those of us who were so severely hurt by the Householders have been crystal clear: We want – and deserve – to have our day in court, and not have their heinous crimes kept hidden forever,” said Maggie Drew of Oklahoma, who attended Circle of Hope Girls Ranch for over four years
“A trial will shine a spotlight on the whole irresponsible system of unregulated boarding schools claiming to educate ‘troubled’ kids while in fact abusing those kids. It will deter future crimes and cover ups by others who operate these facilities. And it will help bring healing to so many who have been hurt so badly. Bailey should be helping us, not a serial predator,” Drew emphasized.
Drew, Ellis and Amanda Householder have filed and settled lawsuits against both Householders and the Ranch. Dozens of other similar suits are pending.
“It’s utterly heartbreaking to see these brave but deeply wounded young women get yanked around and deceived by powerful men who are supposed to be helping them,” said David Clohessy of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “These courageous survivors have done all that society asks crime victims to do – quickly report to local authorities and fully cooperate with prosecutors.re teenagers. Yet they’re still not being treated with dignity and respect. They’re still being denied justice.”
Last week two new civil lawsuits involving boarding school abuses in Missouri were filed in Kansas City federal court. In one, 23 year old Joshua Bradney of Indiana charges that southern Missouri law enforcement officials not only ignored and concealed child abuse at Agape boarding school, but at least one officer committed abuse there.
In the other, a teenaged girl charges she was repeatedly subjected to “torture” and “physical, sexualized and mental abuse” – as a 13 year old in 2019 and 2020 – at Circle of Hope. Now 18, she’s the youngest victim to sue the facility. (She’s identified only as a Jane Doe.)
https://www.davidclohessy.com/blog/lawsuit-against-circle-of-hope-girls-ranch-and-boarding-schools
Among the offenses alleged in her suit: trafficking, involuntary servitude, brainwashing children, defrauding parents, child sexual abuse, and negligently hiring staff, negligently supervising staff and kids and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.
Some of the abuses were sadistic and bizarre, the suit says, such as withholding food as punishment and force-feeding kids until they threw up and then forcing them to eat their vomit.
Staffers shoved the girl’s face into manure, put Wasabi paste in her mouth and forced her to watch as other girls were “punched in the face, choked, beaten and whipped.”
https://www.davidclohessy.com/blog/lawsuit-against-circle-of-hope-girls-ranch-and-boarding-schools
Bradney seeks to hold the former and current Cedar County sheriffs and their staff “accountable for their negligent, reckless or conscious disregard for the safety of children” at Agape.
Over several days (including on Valentine’s Day 2015), the department staff “directly supervised” the children at Agape, his suit says. During those times, children were abused, they reported the crimes to the sheriff’s staff but they “took no action” and instead “aided and abetted the abuse.”
Before 2017, the department was headed by Dean Leon Dwerlkotte. Starting in 2017, it was – and still is – headed by James “JimBob” McCrary. The two men and their subordinates “were also told of the abuses” at Agape but “took no actions regarding the inherent conflict of interest that existed” since their employees were among the accused abusers.” (Dwerlkotte died in 2019.)
Current Deputy Sheriff Robert Graves (who is also an Agape staff member) also knew of the physical and sexual abuse of boys,” the suit says.
McCrary refused to investigate or report abuse allegations and when kids ran away, he simply returned to the facility, according to the suit. He also failed to train his staff to handle abuse reports.