Missouri AG: judge’s ruling and release of reform school owners ‘completely improper’

Saying Friday’s release of the jailed Circle of Hope owners was “completely improper,” the Missouri attorney general is asking the judge to again hold the couple in custody until trial.

In a strongly worded motion filed this week, the AG’s office blasted the decision to set a low bond and release Boyd and Stephanie Householder. The couple’s attorney had requested a last-minute hearing insisting they be released because Cedar County Jail officials couldn’t handle their health issues — Boyd reportedly has COVID-19 and Stephanie has a blood clot in her right foot.

“It is the responsibility of the Cedar County Jail Administrator to find another jail facility in situations where they cannot house a criminal defendant due to overcrowding, medical needs, etc.,” the motion said. “To instead simply release criminal defendants who perpetrate on children is completely improper.”

Cedar County Sheriff James McCrary, who oversees the jail, did not respond to an email requesting comment about the Householders’ release.

David R. Munton, presiding judge for the 28th Judicial Circuit, unexpectedly set a $10,000 bond for Boyd and Stephanie Householder late Friday afternoon. The couple then were released from the Cedar County Jail on Friday evening and are out on bond pending trial.

Hastily holding the hearing was a violation of the Victims’ Rights Act spelled out in the state constitution, according to the AG’s office. That law gives victims the right to be informed of and present at all court hearings.

According to a state Supreme Court rule, notice of a hearing must be given at least five days prior unless there is good cause for a shorter time frame. Friday’s hearing was requested on Thursday and held less than 24 hours later, the AG’s motion said.

But the judge agreed with the defense argument that there were “exigent circumstances” and allowed the hearing. It was the fourth bond hearing for Stephanie Householder, 56, and the third for her husband Boyd, 72. Their other requests were all denied.

The couple’s release, the AG’s motion said, caused unnecessary harm to the victims. State officials had to contact former students over the weekend to let them know that the Householders were out of custody and under home confinement.

“Those victims reported being shocked, fearful, and disturbed by the release of the Householders,” the motion said. “These victims were severely and repeatedly traumatized by the defendants. Once they learned the defendants were in custody, they finally started to feel a sense of safety and security. That sense of security has been put in serious jeopardy by the defendants’ release.”

The attorney general’s office said the court has repeatedly found that the Householders are a flight risk and there’s a “clear potential for witness tampering and intimidation.”

“Nothing has changed since those findings were made,” the motion said. “Defendants still are a danger to the victims. … And there is still no combination of conditions that will secure the safety of the witnesses.”

The Householders opened Circle of Hope near Humansville, Missouri, in 2006 after Boyd Householder worked several years at Agape Boarding School in Stockton. That school is currently under investigation by the attorney general for allegations of abuse.

The couple closed Circle of Hope after about two dozen girls were removed during an investigation last summer.

Boyd Householder faces 78 felony charges, including six counts of second-degree statutory rape, nine counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, six counts of sexual contact with a student, 55 counts of abuse or neglect of a child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He also is charged with one count of second-degree child molestation, a misdemeanor.

Stephanie Householder is charged with 21 felonies, including 11 counts of abuse or neglect of a child and 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

The couple’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 9 in Cedar County.

According to the defense motions filed last week, Boyd Householder says he has COVID-19 and his wife claims she is in danger of losing her foot due to a blood clot.

“It is important to note that absolutely no actual evidence was presented to support these concerns,” the AG’s response filed Monday said. “It was alleged that Defendant Boyd Householder has Covid; however, there was no evidence that he is having serious or life threatening symptoms, or any symptoms other than a sore throat.”

The motion also said that Stephanie Householder’s claims “were not only not supported by the medical documents; they were in fact contradicted by the medical documents provided to the Court (hospital discharge paperwork instructed her to elevate her foot).”

During the hearing, the motion said, jail staff “represented that they no longer wanted to house the Householders.” Opinions from the couple — who were transferred two weeks ago from the Vernon County Jail to the Webster County Jail — were also detailed in court records.

“It was argued that Defendant Stephanie Householder does not believe the medical care at the jail is up to her standards,” the AG’s motion said. “It was also argued that Defendant Boyd Householder has refused medications and food. None of these are reasons to release criminal defendants that are facing a combined 100 criminal counts, all of which involve minors.”

Attached to the attorney general’s motion were statements written by two former Circle of Hope students.

“We went through hell and back during that time in our life and it’s time for them to reap what they sow!” wrote one former student. “They are acting out, and we would have been slammed to the ground if we would have done the things they did in jail to find the easy way out.

“They used to tell us every single day that we weren’t going home, and they shouldn’t get to go home either.”