The Amish Communities are widely known for their simple living ways, their traditional farming methods, the use of horses and buggies as means of transportation, high-quality woodworking or furniture production, their Dutch recipes, and their dedication to their religion and family. While the Amish may seem to be private individuals, many may also have noticed since 2020 that the privacy of the Amish Community has since become disrupted, due to many individuals escaping their communities. These individuals have often suffered multiple forms of abuse from their loved ones, causing them to be ostracized due to leaving their families.
In June 2020 a call came to the Child Abuse Hotline from a local Missouri Doctor. The Doctor had stated that they had recently seen a patient who at the time was twelve years of age, she had disclosed that she was a victim of sexual abuse by her two juvenile brothers, as well as her two adult siblings Aaron Schwartz (22 years) and Petie Schwartz (18 years). The patient had also had a positive pregnancy test, leaving one of the biological siblings and perpetrators as the soon-to-be child’s donor. The victim had the child in September 2020.
Webster County Prosecutor Ben Berkstresser stated in a press release “One of the brothers is the father of this child. In this case, there were four brothers, two of them were minors, while the other two legally were adults. All of them had sexual relations with their sister. There is no question this occurred.” Probable Cause Affidavit Statements show that the two older siblings Aaron and Petie admitted to having intercourse with the victim approximately 6 times within the year prior and they were fully aware of how old she was at the time these incidents had occurred (Holman, 2020).
Neither Juvenile Perpetrators were not charged as they were legally not adults.
Aaron & Petie Schwartz were both found guilty of six counts of statutory rape and one count of incest. They were given a plea agreement followed by five years of probation, both individuals were to write letters to the Amish Community in Seymour apologizing for their doings within 30 days, complete a Sex Offender Treatment Program by September 8th, 2021, pay $250 to the Law Enforcement Restitution Fund and a No Contact Order with the victim. Both Aaron and Petie Schwartz accepted the plea agreement under the abovementioned conditions and their 15-year prison sentence would be suspended according to Prosecutor Berkstresser “These two young men will be eaten alive in the state prison system. This will not be easy for either of them to do, I will assure you that they will face the consequences if the program isn’t completed, this consequence will be a prison.” Berkstresser also stated that “The Seymour Amish Community had punished all four boys and made it clear that this punishment was very severe.”
According to documentation filed with the courts, both siblings wrote similar letters to the Amish Community in Seymour Missouri stating “I confess to having had several sexual intercourses with a (female relative) under 14 years of age. I do regret and am sorry for having done any such sins.”
September 2020, Prosecutor Berkstresser filed motions to revoke the plea agreements that the Schwartz siblings accepted, as they had both violated the terms and conditions that Judge Michael Hendrickson had put into place. Prosecutor Berstressor stated that “Both Aaron and Petie Schwartz violated their five-year probation by having contact with the victim after the crime, after signing the sex offender supervision agreement that prohibited contact with the victim” (Holman, 2020).
According to the Probation Officers Aaron and Petie Schwartz, these charges were suspended after both admitted to moving back into their previous dwelling where the victim had continued to reside. Both stated that they were unaware that they could not return to their residence although they each signed the plea agreement stating it was a term of their probation (True Crime Daily, 2020).
On October 22nd, 2020 Judge Hendrickson revoked Aaron and Petie Schwartz’s probation and plea agreements and set a hearing for 3 PM. Approximately 24 minutes later Prosecutor Berkstresser presented evidence showing that neither Schwartz sibling had begun their Sexual Offender Training courses, that the letters written to their communities were nearly identical besides their signatures, and that both Defendants admitted that they moved back into their prior dwelling where the victim continued to reside with the infant child, as well as acknowledging how old the victim was during the time(s) the incidents had occurred over two years. Both Schwartz siblings were found guilty of child molestation involving a 13-year-old relative and will serve 15 years in the Department of Corrections, this included each of the two counts they were initially sentenced to in September 2020 before being granted the plea agreement and probation.
References:
Holman, G. J. (2020, September 25). Prosecutor seeks to revoke probation for
Seymour Amish men in Child molestation case. Springfield News Leader.
Retrieved from https://www.news-
leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2020/09/24/webster-county-prosecutor-
seeks-revoke-probation-amish-brothers-convicted-molesting-
relative/3524713001/
True Crime Daily Staff. (2020, September 28). Amish brothers get probation for
molesting 12-year-old relative who just gave birth. True Crime Daily. Retrieved
from https://truecrimedaily.com/2020/09/28/amish-brothers-get-probation-for-
molesting-12-year-old-relative-who-just-gave-birth/
True Crime Daily Staff (2020, October 23). Amish brothers get 15 years for
molesting sister after judge
revokes probation. True Crime Daily. Retrieved from
https://truecrimedaily.com/2020/10/23/amish-
brothers-get-15-years-for-molesting-sister-after-judge-revokes-probation/