Boarding school abuse victims news conference – 11:15am, Wed 5/15 in Jeff City MO
Prominent boarding school abuse victim speaks out
She sued her parents; They now face 100+ felony charges
Now, she blasts AG for “insulting letter & endangering kids”
Group to Bailey: "Hold zoom meeting with suffering survivors"
In last minute plea, they call on lawmakers to strengthen child safety laws
WHAT
At a sidewalk news conference, a nationally-known survivor, activist and whistleblower will discuss
startling new revelations that a Missouri sheriff dealt with at least 15 run-away teens – including two just last Saturday – from a Christian boarding school over the past three years, and
the upcoming criminal trial of her parents on 100+ felony abuse charges stemming from their years-long severe mistreatment of kids at their boarding school, and
her just-resolved unusual civil lawsuit against her mom and dad.
Holding signs and childhood photos, she and other abuse survivors will also reveal a “terse and insulting” letter they recently received from Missouri’s attorney general, and hand-deliver a harshly critical letter to him urging him to
“stop making excuses and start taking action against these controversial, private, largely unregulated ‘faith-based’ boarding schools, and
hold a Zoom call soon with dozens of victims to "hear their pain and hopefully become more motivated to protect youngsters in these settings.”
In the waning days of the legislative sessions, they will also beg lawmakers to enact measures to
impose stricter regulations on these ‘private, secretive and troubling so-called ‘reform schools’ and
reform Missouri’s ‘archaic and arbitrary’ laws that protect child predators and their supervisors.
WHEN
Wednesday, May 15 at 11:15 a.m.
WHERE
On the sidewalk outside the Missouri Attorney General's office, 207 W. High Street (between Broadway and Washington) in Jefferson City
WHO
A nationally-known survivor and activist who helped persuade prosecutors to file charges against her parents for abusing kids at their reform school and a St. Louis child sex abuse victim who for 30 years headed SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)
WHY
1)) KY3 TV in Springfield reports that on Saturday, two teenagers ran away from a Christian boarding school near Willow Springs. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says that since 2021, it was reportedly called to the facility 31 times. Fifteen of those involved run-aways, which the abuse victims group calls ‘alarming.’
2)) In 2021, Householder sued her folks Boyd and Stephanie Householder – for beating her for their sexual gratification and forcing her to impose harsh punishments on other students at a remote, for-profit, largely “under the radar’’ and now-shuttered facility, Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in Humansville. Amanda was also instrumental, in part by using her 233,000 TikTok followers, in getting prosecutors to file 100+ felony charges against her parents. (Their trial is set for this fall).
In recent years, criminal charges, civil lawsuits, and media reports have exposed severe abuse of kids in at least four similar facilities in Missouri (Agape School in Stockton, ABM Ministries a.k.a. Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont, Kanakuk Kamp near Branson, and Circle of Hope).
Householder, now of California, strongly suspects that kids are being hurt now at some of the two dozen similar institutions across the state, many of which have quietly opened in or moved to remote parts of Missouri because there’s virtually no state oversight of or restrictions on them.
3)) Victims are again asking Bailey to publicly and emphatically warn parents about these 'schools,' write county prosecutors across the state urging them to investigate these 'schools,' and launch an investigation himself. Bailey claims he cannot do a probe himself, but he continues to ignore the group's pleas to take other 'tangible steps to safeguard these most vulnerable youngsters.'
CONTACT
David Clohessy 314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com
Amanda Householder 661 409 7873