Ltr to AG: "No plea for Stephanie!"
BEING SENT TO SHERIFFS & PROSECUTORS IN THESE COUNTIES: JOHNSON, GRUNDY, MORGAN, LAFAYETTE, PETTIS, STONE, JACKSON, SHELBY, TANEY, OREGON, AUDRAIN, DADE, LAFAYETTE, SCOTT, COLE, JASPER, CAPE GIRARDEAU AND GREENE.
July 17, 2024
Dear AG Bailey:
Our message to you is simple: No plea for Stephanie.
We have suffered immeasurably, and many of us continue to suffer severely, because of the heinous crimes at Christian boarding schools committed and concealed by both Boyd and Stephanie Householder.
Over decades, the two of them no doubt sexually, physically and emotionally abused countless other innocent kids.
Now, Boyd will not face justice. But Stephanie MUST face justice.
Boyd has evaded earthly justice. Stephanie, however, has not.
In the strongest possible terms, we beg you to take the criminal case against Stephanie to trial without delay. We beg you to give us the only real opportunity we likely will ever have to face and expose an adult who repeatedly hurt so many girls and boys.
Please be clear: We are about healing and prevention, not vengeance. While the trial will be emotionally very hard for many of us in the short term, in the long run, we are convinced that it will be a powerful deterrent to others who might commit or conceal crimes against children.
And we are convinced that the outcome – no matter what jury decides – will eventually bring us and others some real closure and healing and the satisfaction and validation of having our voices finally heard by the public and the justice system.
To let Stephanie escape justice, as Boyd has, would be to do a grave disservice to innocent and vulnerable kids and struggling and wounded adults in Missouri and elsewhere. It would be squandering the chance to send a strong signal to others who are or might commit or conceal abuses now and in the future.
We hope you have read the 21 criminal counts against Stephanie involving her crimes against at least 12 kids. In case you’re not fully aware, she’s been charged with:
regularly assaulting (children) and causing (them) physical injury”
acting “with criminal negligence (creating) a substantial risk to the life, body and health of a child” and “knowingly causing a child to suffer injury”
creating “a substantial risk to the life, body and health of (several children) by allowing Boyd Householder to have continued contact with (them) after Boyd Householder physically assaulted (them)
Some of the specifics in that document bear mentioning here because they show the level of Stephanie’s depravity and cruelty:
using ''duct tape'' to “bind the wrists” of (a girl) preventing (a her) from using her hands” and “causing pain”
“restraining (a child) in a secluded room with no light or sound for an extended period of time on multiple occasions”
“applied pressure to the backs of (a child’s) knees and legs down causing (the child) to have difficulty breathing” and “feel pain”
"knocking (a child) to the floor, putting her knee into (the child's) back and knees” and causing (the child) pain”
holding down the legs while Boyd “put a knee in (the child’s) back and applied pressure” “causing pain”
holding (a child) down while Boyd “twisted and put pressure on (a child’s) arm “causing pain”
"pinning (a child) to the ground and pushing on the back, shoulders, and legs of (the child) with hands, elbows, knees and other means, causing (the child) to feel pain and bruise”
creating “a substantial risk to the life, body and health of (several children) by allowing Boyd Householder to have continued contact with (them) after Boyd physically assaulted (them)”
“allowing Boyd to have continued contact with (a child) after Boyd physically assaulted (that child)”
According to civil lawsuits, she’s accused of all this and more. The single phrase that perhaps best summarizes the Householders’ heinous behavior is this one: They ran "a concentration camp or torture colony cloaked in the guise of religion."
Clearly, Stephanie's wrongdoing wasn’t a one-off, a misunderstanding, a different type of discipline or well-meaning acts that were intended to ‘help’ a child learn self-control or respect for authority. They were cruel and selfish acts that brought her power, dominance and satisfaction.
We suspect you’ll try to discourage us from seeking a trial for multiple reasons. But please understand: We know it just takes one irrational juror to lead to a disappointing outcome like a hung jury, a mistrial on a technicality or a conviction but a light sentence. We realize that almost anything can happen in a trial and that no trial is a ‘slam dunk.’
But we also know and believe several important considerations.
First, history, psychology and common sense all lead us to firmly believe there are kids right now in Missouri boarding schools who are being abused and assaulted right now. We know these girls and boys need prosecutors like you to do everything possible to expose abusers, win convictions, and achieve sentences that will keep dangerous adults away from children and deter other adults from cover ups in the future.
We also know about ourselves, former boarding school students, who have been severely hurt in these institutions. We need – and deserve - healing, justice, closure, the chance to be heard and to feel like we’ve done everything we possibly can to prevent abuse in the future and help bring healing to others.
We know about parents and the public. They need and deserve to know as much about abusers and how they groom unsuspecting families, conceal their crimes, threaten whistleblowers, intimidate witnesses, gaslight kids and thus get away with devastating countless lives over decades.
So please, AG Bailey, hear our plea: No deal for Stephanie! To reveal the truth, protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded, bring this case to trial as soon as possible.
Amanda Householder of California
David Clohessy of St. Louis (SNAP)
7234 Arsenal, St. Louis MO 63143
314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com
(For a full list of individuals who have signed this letter, check back later.)