616: Stephanie Householder

Stephanie Householder and her husband, Boyd, operated the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, ostensibly a “Christian boarding school” for unruly girls in Missouri. Missouri is infamous for poorly regulated Christian boarding schools that continue to operate despite authorities knowing that abuse and neglect are rampant.

When the Householder children backed up complaints of former students, authorities stepped in. Boyd was indicted for 79 felonies. Stephanie Householder was indicted with 22 felonies including child abuse, neglect, and endangerment. This is for incidents over the three years from 2017 to 2020, though Circle of Hope operated much longer.

• Kansas City Star: Former Missouri boarding school owners get trial date in 2023
• The Daily Beast: How I Got My Own Parents Charged With Abusing Teen Girls
• Kansas City Star: ‘I was born into this.’ Daughter of Missouri reform school owners sues parents over abuse