Fifteen years after Maggie Drew was first sent to Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch in southwestern Missouri, she says she still bears psychological scars and physical pain from abuse
This undated photo shows Maggie Drew. Drew, now 29, is among several former students of Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch who have alleged abuse at the Christian boarding school in southwestern Missouri. The husband-and-wife operators of the school have been charged with around 100 crimes combined. Religious boarding schools like Circle of Hope and a nearby facility for boys, Agape, have come under scrutiny amid tales of abuse, prompting a new state law providing greater oversight.
They are among dozens of people who say they were abused at either Circle of Hope or Agape Boarding School — allegations that helped prompt a new Missouri law aimed at reining in religious boarding schools that for decades went without any oversight by the state.The founders of Circle of Hope face around 100 charges, some alleging sexual abuse.
The Associated Press generally does not name victims of sexual abuse, but Larson and Drew both came forward publicly to discuss the allegations. The school closed amid a 2020 investigation; 25 girls were removed. In March 2021, Boyd Householder, 72, was charged with 79 crimes and Stephanie, 56, was charged with 22.
“It was absolute torture,” said Drew, who also accused the Householders of stealing a $25,000 inheritance from her. “What I went through at Agape primed me for abusive relationships with people, it primed for being an ignorant young man not knowing the way the world worked, it destroyed my family relationship,” Harper said.
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Missouri regulates boarding schools after abuse allegationsFifteen years after Maggie Drew was first sent to Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch in southwestern Missouri, she says she still bears psychological scars and physical pain from abuse
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Missouri regulates boarding schools after abuse allegationsFifteen years after Maggie Drew was first sent to Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch in southwestern Missouri, she says she still bears psychological scars and physical pain from abuse.
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Missouri regulates boarding schools after abuse allegationsMaggie Drew’s dad sent her to Circle of Hope Girls’ Ranch in Missouri in 2007, hoping strict Christian teachings would stop his 14-year-old daughter’s teenage rebellion. Instead, Drew said, she found herself in a nightmare, sexually abused by one of the boarding school's founders and left with permanent spinal injuries after a fall from a hay barn for which she received no medical attention.
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