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Missouri AG releases charges against Circle of Hope Girls Ranch operators

Couple faces a combined 102 charges
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt
Posted at 1:50 PM, Mar 10, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-10 14:50:13-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General, Eric Schmitt announced a combined 102 charges against the operators of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School on Wednesday.

Boyd and Stephanie Househoulder, who operated the boarding school in Humansville from 2006 until 2020, were taken into custody on Tuesday evening.

According to reporting by KY3, Boyd House Holder faces 79 felony charges and one misdemeanor.

The charges include 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.

Stephanie Householder faces 22 felony charges. Those include 2 counts of abuse or neglect of a child, and 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

A report by NBC Dateline revealed 15 people reported abuse at the ranch “to at least six local, state and federal agencies in Missouri.”

In a lawsuit filed last October in the Cedar County Court, a woman alleged that she was “sexually abused, assaulted, molested, and raped by the son of Boyd and Stephanie Householder.”

In February, Missouri lawmakers introduced bills that “proposed state oversight for private faith-based boarding schools and treatment facilities” for children," according to KY3.

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