MO - Six Mohler family members for child sex crimes, Bates City 2009 #1

[oceanblueeyes]

Good points but I have a hard time assuming an 11 year old would be able to think in those futuristic terms and would have the intelligence to be considering possible future litigation of the matter and would be preserving evidence for that possibility. But you never know, I have seen some smart kids.

I really think someone in their past history that they may have loved and admired told them if they had problems to just write them down and put them in a bottle and bury it and it would help them feel better. Maybe their grandmother before she passed away.

imo

 

[PAXIMUS]

It is my understanding that in Missouri a cash bond requires 100% payment and it can not go through a bondsman. Once they have lawyers, their lawyers may be able to negotiate for a surety bond and then they can pay the 10% to the bondsman. But at this point, they must come up with the entire amount all by themselves.

http://www.missouribailbondsman.com/bail-bond-information/cash-only-bail

You are probably right, every state is different of course and I dont know anything about MO law. I do know in many states a bondsman can put up a cash bond but most dont because it does indeed require all cash or a money order and most of them dont have a few hundred grand laying around that they can tie up for months at a time. MO may be different and it appears it is.


This is interesting to note from your link:

Missouri Circuit Court judges set cash only bonds for an array of reasons. Most commonly cash only bonds are set for failure to pay a fine or restitution on a prior case or a failure to appear before the court on a scheduled appearance. For these types of cases the court orders a cash-only bond as an attempt to secure a cash fine or ensure the appearance of a defendant it may consider to be a higher than normal flight risk based on their past experiences.

Perhaps Jr's past failures to pay court ordered child support played a factor in the setting of cash bonds and since they are all accused of the same crime the judge had to be fair accross the board and simply gave them all cash bonds.

 

[PAXIMUS]

I really think someone in their past history that they may have loved and admired told them if they had problems to just write them down and put them in a bottle and bury it and it would help them feel better. Maybe their grandmother before she passed away.

imo

That may be true, it is interesting to note that at least some of the abuse took place after grandma passed away. Assuming this is all true that would explain a lot.

I would suggest any bodies they are looking for on the farm are likely babies from home abortions or children born and disposed of to hide evidence of abuse, again assuming any of this is true that would certainly make sense and I dont think that is a detail that the state would release, instead simply saying 'bodies' as opposed to infantcide which would get emotions running REAL HIGH and taint the jury pool in a hurry.

 

[believe09]

5 Charged In Sex Abuse Case Appear In Court
Cash Bonds Set For Defendants
POSTED: 11:16 am CST November 12, 2009
UPDATED: 11:49 am CST November 12, 2009


Judge John Frerking presided over the hearing, and assigned cash bonds to each family member. Mohler, Sr. was assigned a bond of $75,000; Burrell Mohler, Jr.'s bond is $50,000; David A. Mohler's bond is $35,000, Roland Mohler's bond is $30,000; and Jared Mohler's bond is $50,000.

The family appeared without attorneys. Frerking told them that they would have to apply for public defenders.

http://www.kmbc.com/news/21595738/detail.htmlhttp://www.kmbc.com/news/21595738/detail.html

Sorry but this sentence I bolded brought up an image of all the PD's cutting straws or doing rock paper scissors to see who was going to have to work this one....

 

[Mojen]

They are cash bonds yes but a bondsman would likely put the money up for them, they would have to pay the bondsman 10-15% and he KEEPS that as his fee and puts up the rest of the cash himself, requiring them to further give him the house deed in case they dont show up he sells the house to recoup his money. Alot of bondsman wont do cash bonds though because they dont have that kind of money laying around, on a non cash bond, known as a surety bond, you can just give the court a check that they wont cash unless you dont show up, but this one specifically requires CASH or MONEY ORDER no checks.






I understand what you are all saying and I know how offensive this must sound, but let me tell you the truth of the matter:

It doesnt matter if a person is guilty or not, ALL that matters is if the state can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, defined legally as "99.99999999 certain of guilt." If the state cant prove it then the person SHOULD WALK whether they did it or not is irrelevant and unimportant in our legal system.


If I practiced in MO I would take this case for free for two reasons:

First, everyone is entitled to a zealous defense and like I said above it doesnt matter if they did it or not, what matter is whether the state can prove it and if they cannot then rightfully the accused should walk. THE STATE has UNLIMITED RESOURCES at their disposal in which to build a case against the accused, YOU AND I or the accused DO NOT HAVE UNLIMITED resources to defend ourselves our resources no matter how wealthy we may be are at the end of the day LIMITED and FINITE, the state's resources are UNLIMITED so they have a HUGE advantage in any court case, therefore if they cant prove it then you walk, period.

Secondly, it is a high profile case and defense attorneys do not shy away from such national exposure, its good for business.


I want to make myself clear that if these people molested children they should pay for it and be sent to gen pop at the maximum security prison for the rest of their lives and not protected in solitary confinement. HOWEVER, what matters MOST TO ME and everyone else involved in the legal business is that the STATE PROVE their guilt and if they cannot, then they should walk. Thats how it is and if you dont like it I really dont know what tell you, its the best system in the world, not perfect but there is no better.

I do not AGREE that people like this should get off on silly legal technicalities and I know many do indeed walk because of that, but a defense attorney HAS to poke as many holes as possible in the states case, to create reasonable doubt and to prevent the innocent from being wrongfully imprisoned. There is a difference between questioning the states case and their evidence and looking for frivolous legal loopholes to get a defendent off.

I understand what you are saying, Paximus. We have defended many a child molester in our firm. (To be honest, I am a little nervous one of the Mohler's would come to my boss for representation.)

Not the most savory characters, but everyone deserves a fair trial.

 

[Texas Mist]

I agree Texas - but when reading the SOL reg that was posted earlier, it seemed to state that there was NO SOL for forced rape of a child, so I am a little confused. I'll go back and read it again.
It could be that this young woman has the strongest case and the other charges have just not been added yet because LE is looking for physical evidence. Maybe when something is found, then we will see the other charges?

Also, very interesting to note are the allegations by Mr. Young which will go a long way, I think, in showing that it is more than the children of one disgruntled ex-wife.

Prayers for his son and for these 5 children.

Salem

O/T - I'm having a very strong sense of De Ja Vue here - have we seen a case like this before?

BBM

I could have misread or misunderstood Salem -- I am trying to multitask here @ work. And too, I wondered why there would be a SOL on child rape.

 

[dnrslucky1]

When I was young in the 60s, a lot of young girls would bury things in jars. Like what we wanted to be when we grew up, secret notes to a boyfriend and or something special to us. The plan was to retrieve it was we grew up, just to see what came true and what did not.
I never did follow thru and to this day I wish I had.

 

[PAXIMUS]

556.037 R.S.Mo. (2007)

556.037. Time limitations for prosecutions for sexual offenses involving a person under eighteen

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 556.036, prosecutions for unlawful sexual offenses involving a reason eighteen years of age or under must be commenced within twenty years after the victim reaches the age of eighteen unless the prosecutions are for forcible rape, attempted forcible rape, forcible sodomy, kidnapping, or attempted forcible sodomy in which case such prosecutions may be commenced at any time.

Yes thats correct there is no SOL for forced rape, sodomy etc.

 

[mysticrose]

Photo gallery of searches and the Mohlers trip to court :

http://www.kansascity.com/934/gallery/1566117.html

 

[mysticrose]

Ok a little OT here...but are those PINK hancuffs they are wearing....lol

http://www.kansascity.com/934/gallery/1566117.html

 

[CHICANA]

It is my understanding that in Missouri a cash bond requires 100% payment and it can not go through a bondsman. Once they have lawyers, their lawyers may be able to negotiate for a surety bond and then they can pay the 10% to the bondsman. But at this point, they must come up with the entire amount all by themselves.

http://www.missouribailbondsman.com/bail-bond-information/cash-only-bail

My ex has been in jail in Missouri for 2 months on a cash bond of $7500. He can't use a bondsman.

 

[dnrslucky1]

LOL, Look pink to me!

 

[mysticrose]

I find it interesting that no family showed up for support of these men anybody else ?
Excuse me one person did .

 

[IWannaKnow]

Also OT - I feel soooo bad for the people that live in that house now. How great to know that might have gone on in your home and to have media and LE all over your property.

 

[dnrslucky1]

I find it interesting that no family showed up for support of these men anybody else ?
Excuse me one person did .

I find it very interesting and telling, that family did not show up.

 

[mysticrose]

I sure hope they are in different cells so they can't talk to each other....

 

[mysticrose]

Are pink handcuffs a psychological thing for the prisoner ? I dont know really just odd they are pink.
Perhaps they have color coded cuffs for certain offenses ?

 

[Missizzy]

I cannot tell you all how much deja vu I'm having here. This is exactly the response the community and the state had to our case back in 1998. It's almost as if it's scripted. I was shocked and hurt as I thought my children would be met with compassion. I was so naive (never abused as a child, myself) and had no sense of the dynamics at play. I didn't understand the rationalization that human being are drawn to use when looking at the alleged sexual abuse of a child. The very first knee jerk reaction is to not believe it--that's the easiest and least messy. When we are forced to believe, the number of those hurt grows exponentially.

I look back now and almost find some of the rumors and statements made about our case comical. This is the way I'm seeing the discussion of the ex-wife with a vendetta (sorry, JMO). There was conjecture that one of our older children had abused the younger ones and convinced them to place blame on a friend, that we wanted the neighbor's house as our family was so big (yes--that we'd expand from our 7 bedrooms and take over their four!!), that we were hoping to be able to sue (not yet), that we were seeking higher subsidies for our children (being that they would have more documented special needs (oh, yeah right). My favorite one was that we were angry that the neighbors had purchased a wood chipper (the noise) and thus encouraged the children to destroy their family through accusations. Where are the Coen Brothers when you need them? This is the alternate reality that high profile sex abuse trials create.

The buzz on the street was that even though the rapist was known as "odd", he came from such a "good family" and he was training to be an Eagle Scout. Did anyone notice that two of the Mohler brothers have been described as "odd".
And where was the Mom (me) and the Dad? We were right here, enjoying twenty minutes of peace as our rowdy bunch frolicked on their play structure and dipped in and out of their fort (gone now!!) with their neighbor friend. Talk about guilt!!

As to the off-the-wall allegations--the uninitiated SHOULD be shocked. I was shocked. I'm pretty numb now. How could a young teen think of all those things (excuse me, how could a 6 year old make it up?). A dog? Pencils and a power drill--you've got to be kidding, right? You should have heard the various descriptions of what is now known to have been a Polaroid camera. Our kids just didn't have the words. None of them knew what an erection was and described that in the most juvenile and heart-wrenching ways.

I think I've stated on here that a sex crimes specialist had to explain that what we were hearing was not unusual. I should add that our children disclosed just the basic facts to me and my husband but they were taken immediately to a Children's Advocacy Center where they were interviewed, video-taped, and physically examined. My husband and I were not present. We were allowed to stand by their sides during the physical exams but were warned to show no emotion. I cannot tell you how many times in eleven months I was warned to show no emotion. I learned of the disclosures through the police reports which were generated after each interview. It was mind blowing.

To be very honest, some of the allegations were never brought up in court. They were considered to be so shocking (like the dog and a chicken and bunny incident) that a jury might not believe anything. We ended up with a nine day bench trial and the judge most definitely didn't believe everything. The young man was convicted of "only" 12 of the 27 charges.

My guess is that these allegations of aberrant abuse is just the tip of the iceberg. LE actually tries to dissuade the discussion or disclosure of anything that even smacks of the ritual trials of the 80s. My guess is that these people carry secrets that are too awful to speak.

Just some observations and JMO.

 

[southcitymom]

There is no question that you are correct but in my profession we have to worry less about the ten guilty people and more about that one person who may be wrongly accused and convicted. This is why I suggested that we should all feel just as repulsed by those who falsely accuse people as we are of those who actually committ these monstrous acts.

I know it offends a lot of people but my only concern is that innocent people not have their freedom taken from them, if that means that some guilty people will get away with their crimes because of my focus on the rights of the accused, then so be it, thats the system we have and thats what I have to work with.

If it came down to allowing a guilty person to walk in order to prevent an innocent person from being wrongfully imprisoned I would absolutely let them walk every time. When we stop caring about the rights of the accused we cease to be America and have become Nazi Germany 1933.

Outstanding post. Of course, I am biased by my own perceptions. Had I gone to law school, I would have been a criminal defense attorney.

Frankly, I consider it God's work to defend and care for those who are imprisoned because they are surely viewed and treated as pariahs and non-humans by much of society.

Our system cannot and does not work without lawyers willing to zealously represent and protect those among us accused of the most heinous crimes.

 

[PAXIMUS]

Outstanding post. Of course, I am biased by my own perceptions. Had I gone to law school, I would have been a criminal defense attorney.

Frankly, I consider it God's work to defend and care for those who are imprisoned because they are surely viewed and treated as pariahs and non-humans by much of society.

Our system cannot and does not work without lawyers willing to zealously represent and protect those among us accused of the most heinous crimes.

Agreed, I always said that if I make enough money to pay my house off and put a little back for when I get old, I would spend the second half of my career doing dealth penalty appeal cases pro bono.

I think that people who advocate for children and work to protect them from the monsters who do them harm are noble but we all have to choose our own fight to pick and do everything we can to win that fight and my fight has always been to protect the rights of those accused by the state. I know that sometimes means fighting for the rights of bad people who do bad things but that is what you HAVE TO DO to ENSURE that good people who do good things are not wrongfully accused convicted and imprisoned. Let me tell you folks, there are a LOT of people in prison right now, taken away from their families and children, their freedom stolen, for crimes they had NOTHING TO DO WITH, and THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE imo, absolutely UNACCEPTABLE.

This is one reason why I had no problem with OJ walking I mean sure he was likely guilty but the state mishandled the evidence and screwed up on many levels and OJ walking probably made OUR SYSTEM STRONGER and better because it forced us to look more closely at how these matters are handled and in turn it forced us to demand that the state do better. If it takes OJ walking to force the state and those accusing others of crimes to TAKE A CLOSER LOOK at their shortcomings, it is worth it, its a tragic tradeoff but it is what it is.