Article

2020-09-27 -Lurid Crime Tales-

Amish brothers avoid jail time for sex with 12-year-old-sister

[NYPOST] Two Amish brothers in Missouri admitted having sex with their 12-year-old sister and getting her pregnant — but managed to avoid jail time because a prosecutor feared they’d "be eaten alive" in prison, according to a report.
perhaps that would be a "learning moment"?
The abuse came to light after a doctor alerted authorities that the girl was pregnant just after she turned 13 — and she said that four of her brothers, two of them also minors, had been having sex with her, according to the Webster County Citizen.

The eldest two — Aaron Schwartz, 22, and 18-year-old brother Petie — admitted to police that they had sex with her at least half a dozen times each at home in Seymour, starting when she was only 12, officials told the paper.

The sister ended up giving birth just two weeks ago — and "one of the brothers is the father of this child," Webster County Prosecutor Ben Berkstresser told the paper.

The brothers were initially both charged with six counts of statutory rape and one count of incest. But those charges were reduced to third-degree child molestation, a Class C felony, the paper said.

They then reached a plea deal last week for 15 years in prison — but suspended to keep them out of jail, the paper said.

The prosecutor insisted it was a "different relationship" than if a "parent in a position of authority sexually abused or exploited their child," and said the convicts were "very immature."

"These two young men would’ve been eaten alive in the state prison system," Berkstresser told the paper in defending his decision.

He also told the paper that the Amish community "had punished all four of the boys" and "made it clear that this punishment was very severe."

"All of them had sexual relations with their sister," the prosecutor said of the four brothers. "There is no question this occurred," he said. It was not immediately clear if any action was taken against the two brothers who are minors, and it was not clear how old they are.

The convicted brothers must complete the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program as well as 100 hours of community service — and write a letter as part of their punishment, the report said.

"Both young men must write a letter to me, explaining how they are going to protect their children from this happening to them," Berkstresser said. "They have 30 days to get this letter to me."

The prosecutor accepted that his decision would likely receive harsh backlash. "Previously, I’ve been very harsh on the Amish when they’ve been charged with crimes of this nature," he insisted to the paper.

He said the brothers "will go to prison" if they do not complete a sex offender treatment program within a year.

"This won’t be easy for either of them to do, but I’ll assure you they will face the consequences if the program isn’t completed," the prosecutor said. "And that consequence will be prison."

Posted by Fred 2020-09-27 00:00|| || Front Page|| [14 views ] Top

#1 Sounds like predation is not exactly rare:...:

As a child, Sadie* was carefully shielded from outside influences, never allowed to watch TV or listen to pop music or get her learner’s permit. Instead, she attended a one-room Amish schoolhouse and rode a horse and buggy to church—a life designed to be humble and disciplined and godly.

KEY FINDINGS
In Amish communities across the US, Amish church leaders have covered-up child sexual abuse, discouraging and intimidating victims from going to the authorities in favor of dealing with abuse internally.

When abuse is exposed, Amish church leaders often “sentence” an abuser up to six weeks of shunning. After the church disciplines the abuser, he makes a confession and everyone, including the victims, are compelled to forgive and forget the “sin” ever happened.

We identified 52 cases of Amish child sexual assault in 7 states over the past two decades, but this is likely the tip of the iceberg.

By age 9, she says, she’d been raped by one of her older brothers. By 12, she’d been abused by her father, Abner*, a chiropractor who penetrated her with his fingers on the same table where he saw patients, telling her he was “flipping her uterus” to ensure her fertility. By 14, she says, three more brothers had raped her and she was being attacked in the hayloft or in her own bed multiple times a week. She would roll over afterward, ashamed and confused. The sisters who shared Sadie’s room (and even her bed) never woke up—or if they did, never said anything, although some later confided that they were being raped too.

Posted by Anomalous Sources 2020-09-27 00:11|| 2020-09-27 00:11|| Front Page Top

#2 Plain folk, eh?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-09-27 03:41|| 2020-09-27 03:41|| Front Page Top

#3 the Amish community "had punished all four of the boys" and "made it clear that this punishment was very severe."

How is this different than allowing Sharia law for muslims?

Posted by Skidmark 2020-09-27 09:28|| 2020-09-27 09:28|| Front Page Top

#4 This kind of thing is a problem for small, insular communities of all sorts. With no escape, people put up with and paper over all sorts of dreadful behaviours.

Posted by trailing wife 2020-09-27 10:34|| 2020-09-27 10:34|| Front Page Top

#5 The inclination when you see nasty stories like this is to demand tougher penalties and less judicial discretion. Which is fine. But keep in mind the alternatives have their downsides as well. Minimum sentences give prosecutors a huge amount of leverage to force plea bargains in weak cases. See Slivergate's book, Three Felonies a Day.

Posted by Iblis 2020-09-27 12:14|| 2020-09-27 12:14|| Front Page Top

#6 A lot of 'she says' in the story. I have doubts outsiders have any chance of sorting out the truth.

Posted by Glenmore 2020-09-27 16:13|| 2020-09-27 16:13|| Front Page Top

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