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Editor’s Note: This article is based on allegations contained in federal lawsuits filed against Show-Me Christian Youth Home, along with reporting by Steph Quinn for the Missouri Independent.
Image credit: Show-Me Christian Youth Home logo, via the organization’s website.
Three former residents of a Missouri Christian youth facility have filed federal lawsuits alleging they were sexually abused, subjected to forced labor and punished after reporting mistreatment.
The lawsuits target Show-Me Christian Youth Home, a residential program based in La Monte, Missouri.
The former residents say they were placed in the same household between 2007 and 2012 and were subjected to harsh discipline that allegedly included exhausting manual labor, food restrictions, isolation and physical punishment.
They also allege their “house father” sexually abused or humiliated them and that the organization failed to protect them after they spoke up.
Lawsuits Allege Sexual Abuse, Humiliation and Punishment
According to the lawsuits, residents were expected to perform heavy physical work such as repairing fencing, feeding cattle and hauling timber.
The plaintiffs say that refusing or failing to complete assigned work could result in additional labor, loss of food or other punishment.
But the allegations go far beyond chores or strict discipline.
One former resident alleges her house father touched her sexually, bit her and watched her shower.
Another lawsuit describes what it calls sexualized inspections after bathing, including scrutiny of residents’ intimate areas.
The plaintiffs also allege they were beaten while naked and subjected to surveillance while showering.
The former residents say they tried to report what was happening to staff members, therapists or case managers, but instead of being protected, they were allegedly called liars or subjected to increased discipline.
Former Resident Says She Felt No One Would Believe Her
One plaintiff, Brianna Fultz, entered Show-Me in 2007 when she was 12.
Her lawsuit alleges she was required to carry large pieces of timber, repair fencing and perform other strenuous work.
She also says she altered her behavior to avoid being alone with the house father she says abused her.
According to Fultz, she wore shorts underneath dresses and skirts and avoided walking upstairs ahead of adults because she feared being vulnerable.
That feeling needing to protect herself while believing adults might not believe her is a recurring theme in many lawsuits involving residential youth facilities.
Her complaint alleges that after she disclosed physical and sexual abuse to people connected with the program, officials failed to take meaningful action to protect her and her punishment intensified.
House Father Later Pleaded Guilty in Separate Sexual Abuse Case
The man identified in the lawsuits as the plaintiffs’ former house father was later criminally prosecuted in an unrelated case.
According to Missouri court records cited in the reporting, he pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree sexual abuse involving an incident that occurred in 2014, after the three plaintiffs had already left Show-Me.
That later conviction does not establish the truth of the allegations made in the current civil lawsuits.
But the plaintiffs point to their own experiences at the facility as evidence that safeguards failed while they were children living there.
Show-Me Denies Liability
Show-Me Christian Youth Home has denied the allegations.
In court filings, the organization argues that it should not be held responsible for alleged misconduct committed by employees acting outside the scope of their employment.
The organization has also raised a First Amendment defense, arguing that portions of the lawsuits could improperly involve the court in religious doctrine, policy or administration.
Those arguments will now be tested as the federal cases move forward.
An attorney for another former resident has also said she intends to file a separate lawsuit once necessary medical records are obtained.
Learn More About Institutional Sexual Abuse Lawsuits
Sexual abuse lawsuits can extend beyond the individual accused of abuse to schools, churches, residential programs and other institutions that survivors say failed to protect them.
Learn more about institutional liability, common allegations and legal options in our Institutional Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Guide.
Director Previously Supported Foster Placements at Unlicensed Christian Facilities
The lawsuits arrive amid a broader debate over oversight of religious residential programs in Missouri.
Show-Me director Chad Puckett also serves as president of the Missouri Association of Christian Child Care Agencies.
For several years, Puckett supported legislation that would have allowed certain unlicensed religious residential facilities to accept children placed through Missouri’s foster care system.
Missouri exempts some faith-based organizations from ordinary residential licensing requirements, although state policy currently requires children in state custody to be placed with licensed and contracted providers.
The proposed legislation stalled after lawmakers questioned whether private religious associations could adequately oversee their own member facilities.
Those concerns were shaped in part by previous abuse allegations involving unlicensed Christian boarding schools in Missouri.
Agape Boarding School Cases Loom Over Missouri Debate
Among the facilities repeatedly raised during Missouri’s oversight debate is Agape Boarding School.
Agape closed in 2023 after years of allegations from former students, state scrutiny and mounting lawsuits.
Missouri officials also substantiated findings of child neglect and physical abuse against Agape’s longtime director.
The controversy surrounding Agape and other residential programs eventually prompted Missouri lawmakers in 2021 to impose some new requirements on previously unlicensed facilities, including background checks and limited reporting to the state.
Lawsuits Put Oversight Back Under Scrutiny
The Show-Me cases are notable not only because of the alleged abuse, but because of what the plaintiffs say happened when they tried to report it.
Residential programs exercise enormous control over children’s daily lives. Staff may control where residents sleep, what they eat, whether they can communicate with family members and what consequences follow when they challenge authority.
That makes reliable outside oversight particularly important. These lawsuits represent another effort to force allegations that were once confined inside residential facilities into public view.
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