Circle of Hope Girls Ranch faces new federal lawsuit by youngest victim to take action

Another victim of the now-defunct Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School in Humansville filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court's Western District of Missouri, accusing the entity and its owners and founders, Stephanie and Boyd Householder, of multiple instances of abuse. At 18, the young woman has become the youngest to take action against Circle of Hope in a string of several other federal lawsuits.

Identified only as Jane Doe DA, the girl was 13 when she was subjected to alleged physical, mental and sexual abuse in 2019 and 2020 at the Christian-based entity. Doe is represented by attorney Rebecca Randles of Kansas City, who has represented other victims in previous lawsuits.

Stephanie Householder is scheduled to go to court for a jury trial Oct. 28 in Cedar County through Nov. 15. She faces 21 felony counts of child abuse and neglect and the endangerment of children. Boyd Householder was also set to go on trial facing additional felony counts, but he died last month.

To bring attention to the lawsuit and encourage more survivors to come forward ahead of the jury trial, three advocates and abuse survivors gathered outside of the federal courthouse in Springfield on Wednesday. David Clohessy, Missouri volunteer director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said he knew the teenager who filed the suit and described the allegations in the lawsuit as "sadistic" and "pretty alarming."

"What happens to victims when they're sexually violated and emotionally abused and physically abused as children, our choices and our power are taken away from us. We feel helpless," he said. "It's very hard to rebuild your life from this hurt, if you feel helpless. That's why I'm so grateful that this teenager realizes that she is no longer helpless. She can use the time-tested, admittedly flawed, but still wonderful American justice system to expose and prevent wrongdoing."

While Clohessy noted that many survivors were frustrated by Boyd Householder's death before the trial, he said there is also a sense of relief that no other children will be harmed.

What does the lawsuit allege?

According to the complaint filed in court Wednesday, the Householders are accused of forcing DA into labor, engaging in sex trafficking and involuntary servitude, failing to supervise staff and defrauding DA and her parents of "substantial sums of money."

DA arrived at Circle of Hope from a children's home in Mississippi. The lawsuit recounts a hierarchical T-shirt system between the students that establishes who can punish and "restrain" other students. According to the court documents, students were allegedly restrained by other students sitting on them and sometimes had zip ties placed around their wrists and ankles.

During the first 30 days, DA was not allowed to speak to her adoptive or biological parents, not allowed to participate in schooling and the girls were not allowed to speak to each other. Students could be disciplined for doing so, or for being disrespectful — which could include not saying "yes, sir," the complaint says.

The lawsuit alleges the following as discipline practices:

• Beatings;
• Withholding of food or being force-fed to the point of throwing up and then being forced to eat their vomit;
• Hours of scripture reading;
• Being required to squat and walk like a duck quacking;
• Extra chores;
• Extra physical workouts;
• Loss of personal workouts;
• Being placed "on the wall," which meant students had to stand facing the wall, read the Bible and ask permission to relieve themselves, shower or otherwise leave the wall. According to the lawsuit, students were required to be on the wall for as long as 30 days sometimes and were allowed to move only at bedtime.

The Householders are accused of using the students as un-paid workers for bucking hay, clearing trees, dragging brush, caring for livestock, weeding gardens and scrubbing floors with toothbrushes. In addition, the complaint alleges the girls were required to do excessive workouts and pushups lasting for hours.

"Water breaks were often not allowed in the summer, and in the winter the girls were given only light clothing to wear," the document read.

In addition to the alleged physical abuse, the lawsuit also includes descriptions of mental abuse where girls were consistently told that "they were shameful, nobody loved them, and nobody would ever care for them." Students were also denied menstrual products, being told they were lying about being on their period.

DA's personal experiences at the ranch listed in the lawsuit included Boyd Householder shoving her face into animal manure while pulling weeds, restraining her in mulch and shoving a dirty sock in her mouth before "water boarding" her with a water hose, beating her with a leather strap and a wooden instrument and allowing one of the Householders' dogs to bite her in the face. On other occasions, the lawsuit alleges Boyd Householder would frequent the showers when girls were bathing, that he "hunted" DA around the property on a quad runner, instructed other girls to knock out one of the girls and, alongside Stephanie Householder, put wasabi paste on DA's mouth as punishment. DA and other girls also suffered sexual abuse, the lawsuit stated.

"She lived in fear for the entire time she was at Circle of Hope and suffers anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological issues to this day," the lawsuit reads.

The Circle of Hope residents were intimidated from reporting the abuse and their private communications like letters and phone calls were monitored, according to the documents.

Local mental health counselor Robin Craycroft joined Clohessy at the courthouse Wednesday. Both as a mental health professional and a survivor of sexual abuse, she said that believing victims is paramount in helping them heal and to recognize they are not alone or at fault. DA being the youngest victim to take this action, Craycroft said, is powerful.

"I've worked with these people for sometimes years, to get them to understand that they're worthy, they're worthy of love, they're worthy of care, they're worthy of being a human in this world and to be valuable," she said.

More: New lawsuit alleges Agape Boarding School violated former student's Constitutional rights

A local preacher's involvement

The lawsuit also names Jeff Ables as a defendant alongside the Householders. Ables preaches at Berean Baptist Church in Springfield and was the former Circle of Hope board director.

He is accused of failing to report abuse occurring at the ranch after Householders' daughter Amanda Householder, who sued her parents for the abuse occurring at the boarding school, directly reported it to him in 2008. The lawsuit alleges that Ables "hid children" at his church from Department of Family Services and Children's Division in an attempt to prevent authorities from investigating complaints further.

While Ables had been named in previous lawsuits concerning Circle of Hope, Clohessy said this is the first where he is accused of actually preventing investigations into abuse. The group outside of the courthouse called on Ables to resign or be terminated from his current Berean Baptist Church position and hoped for criminal investigations to take place regarding this involvement.

According to the court documents, Ables received reports of the Householders' history of predation at previous schools they had worked at. He also is accused of telling the Householders about Amanda Householder's allegations and therefore subjecting her to further punishments.

The News-Leader reached out to Ables via the Berean Baptist Church but did not hear back before deadline.

The fraud claims included in the lawsuit stem from Circle of Hope and other defendants hiding the abuse and continuing to promote the ranch despite knowing the harm being done there. The lawsuit also claims that none of the schooling credits earned by DA at the boarding school were accredited, meaning they did not count toward a high school diploma in any state. According to a 2019 Form 990 — a tax-exempt form required to be filed by nonprofits — the school brought in more than $300,000 in tuition.

More: Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Boarding School faces two new civil lawsuits over severe abuse allegations

A jury trial has been requested in the case by the plaintiff. She seeks $75 million in damages.

Circle of Hope has been at the center of such lawsuits and abuse claims in recent years alongside those of similar entities like Agape Boarding School , where the Householders had previously worked according to the lawsuit, and Kanakuk Kamps .

Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Circle of Hope Girls Ranch faces new federal lawsuit by youngest victim to take action