{"id":18289,"date":"2021-03-11T15:20:34","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T20:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=18289"},"modified":"2021-03-11T15:20:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T20:20:34","slug":"circle-of-hope-boarding-school-couple-charged-after-tiktok-abuse-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/03\/11\/circle-of-hope-boarding-school-couple-charged-after-tiktok-abuse-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"Circle of Hope: Boarding school couple charged after TikTok abuse allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The owners of a shuttered religious boarding school in Missouri, USA, are facing dozens of criminal charges after abuse allegations were made on TikTok.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Boyd and Stephanie Householder face more than 100 charges, including dozens relating to child neglect and abuse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Attorney General Eric Schmitt said the pair had perpetrated “horrific, sexual, physical, and mental abuse”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Their daughter, Amanda, has been vocal about exposing alleged abuse at the Circle of Hope Girls’ Ranch they ran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

She set up in a TikTok page in 2020 which gave a platform to people voicing allegations about the institution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

After the videos gained prominence, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Department opened an investigation and about two dozen girls were removed by state authorities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The couple then shut the boarding school, which they started in 2006, and placed the property up for sale, according to local reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Both pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearance on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

What are the couple accused of?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Boyd Householder, 71, faces 79 felony charges and one misdemeanour charge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The charges include accusations of repeated statutory sodomy, statutory rape and sexual contact with a student under the age of 17. He also faces 56 charges of abuse or neglect of a child and one count of child molestation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n