JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — It was "completely improper" for a judge to release a southwest Missouri couple charged with abusing girls at a reform school from jail, the Missouri Attorney General's Office said in a court motion.
Boyd and Stephanie Householder were placed on house arrest after a hastily called court hearing on Friday. They face multiple counts of statutory rape, sodomy, physical abuse and neglect against girls at the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch they operated near Humansville. They pleaded not guilty in March.
The couple's attorney said Boyd Householder, 72, has COVID-19,
and Stephanie Householder, 56, has a serious blood clot disorder and the Cedar County Jail could not provide proper medical care.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office said in a court motion filed this week that it was of jail administrators responsibility to find another jail facility when it can't house defendants because of medical needs.
The attorney general's office said the couple's attorney provided no evidence of the couple's medical conditions. Prosecutors said the court has repeatedly found the Householders are a flight risk and there's a "clear potential for witness tampering and intimidation."
The couple's next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 9.
