SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Another lawsuit has been filed against operators and staff of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch.
“It’s hard to know what to say, this lawsuit. I would caution you, it’s pretty alarming. It’s pretty upsetting,” David Clohessy said.
Members of SNAP (Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests) gathered outside of the federal courthouse in Springfield, speaking about a civil suit filed this week.
“It was filed yesterday in Kansas City. It will be heard, however, down here in Springfield,” Clohessy said. “Almost every kind of torture and mistreatment and maltreatment of kids that you have ever heard of went on at these facilities, and again, it makes for some pretty, pretty grim reading. I know this teenager, this young woman who’s filing as Jane Doe. I’ve met her. I’ve talked with her. I have to say, I am deeply, deeply grateful to her for her strength and courage and I’m impressed as I can possibly be by her courage and strength and her determination.”
The suit lists Boyd and Stephanie Householder, as well as Jeffrey Ables as defendants pertaining to their roles at Circle of Hope, the Householders as founders and Ables as a former director.