The charges also include “ ‘slamming victims’ heads or bodies against walls, slapping or hitting victims with his hands or belt or other instruments, shoving a victim’s face into horse manure, pouring hot sauce down a victim’s throat, and other instances of physical abuse.”
NBC Dateline Features the Story in February
As reported on NBC Dateline in the February episode “Broken Circles,” the Householders opened Circle of Hope in 2006. Since it opened there have been at least 19 complaints by parents, students, and staff. The reports were filed to three sheriff’s departments, the highway patrol, education officials, state child welfare, and the State Attorney General.
The complaints did not seem to have an effect. Public records show an assistant U.S. attorney declined to prosecute in 2018. Additionally, the state child welfare and education did not have the authority to shut down the school. They claimed inability to intercede due to a “loophole” in Missouri law.
The real investigation started when the Householders’ daughter, Amanda, and women who attended Circle of Hope, as teenagers, started to talk about the abuse on social media in the Spring of 2020. The TikTok videos led the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office to begin an investigation into the accusations.
Circle of Hope Closed in 2020
Last summer, Circle of Hope had an enrollment of twenty-four teenage girls. Subsequently, state officials removed them.
