MO - Six Mohler family members for child sex crimes, Bates City 2009 #2

[pennydawn]

Snipped: A search warrant and affidavit stated: "There were admissions made to the mother of these victims. At the time, complaints by the mother were taken to the head of the church rather than law enforcement. No official investigations was completed at the time."

On a second read, I see that there's a middle man here. The mother followed chain of command. She went to an authority at the church. That authority went to the head of the church. This article doesn't state that the mother went to the head of the church, but that the complaints were taken to the head of the church. Perhaps this mom thought she'd done the right thing. Maybe her error was in trusting that the elders would do the same.

Not to mention, the Mohlers WERE authority figures at the church. *sigh*

 

[Missizzy]

Hoppyfrog--I can only speak for myself. I don't need to know the victims' names or locations. I'm concerned, though, that if the other men had children, they could be victims too. I know how, in large families, cousins often spend the summers together at the family farm or at grandparents'. I have a hard time believing that this abuse was limited to the children of Burrell Jr. Even if the other children in the family were not abused, they are going to be tremendously traumatized. Everything they thought they knew has been turned upside down. Our five who avoided rape (due to age or cognitive level) have suffered greatly thinking they might have been able to prevent it.

Time will tell.

 

[Missizzy]

We've been hearing, over and over, that these men did not work directly with children. I've found a few statements to the contrary--like the one from the mother who said that Burrell Sr. baptized her son. I just came across this. It's in a comment under the article:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/13/national/main5639718.shtml

 

[PAXIMUS]

Anyone got a link for the new charges filed today and also any new PC statements?

TY!

 

[Linda7NJ]

I'm still flabbergasted at all of the attempts to figure out who the victims are. Aren't they entitled to their dignity and privacy?

Absolutely. I think some people ( like me) are just trying to figure out if all the children in this family were victims? some of them? cousins? Did some men molested their brothers children, but not their own? I am just attempting to learn the general concept. Like where where the mothers? How many of them knew?

I don't want or need names, I can't even keep straight the marriages, how many and which man did what!

 

[PAXIMUS]

Have we ever figured out how many children each of the brothers have? Assuming they all have children and I believe they do, it is very strange only Jr's children were allegedly molested.

 

[Nikki_2]

If this is all true then they are indeed some sick individuals who need professional help. Time will tell.

I agree if this is true they need help, not professional, but help as in lock and throw away the key.

These people knew what they were doing was wrong, they didn't brag about it, they did not share this information with the community or the church, so they knew well enough that it was wrong. I also feel that they thought they were a law unto themselves that they could do whatever they wanted with whatever was theirs, : children.

I read in the Fox report that the mother told the church authorities and nothing was done, I presume that she knew noone from the church would tell anyone and do nothing, so how can she not be guilty ( if all this happened) how can a mother know that her children are being harmed and not do anything. I don't believe that she was afraid of the men, otherwise she would not have told the church, in which 'grandpa' was involved in anyway. To me is seems she just turned a blind eye, and in time conditioned herself into denial. What mother would not do the unthinkable if need be to protect her kids?

I didn't understand what it meant in the report where the men would take the kids to a mans house out of town and then rape them in a basement, or they would hear that the ' gypsies were in town ' and quickly grab the kids take them to one of the ' gypsy' vans and rape them, what is that all about? why would they take kids to all these other premises owned by other people to rape them, it does not mention whether in these 2 cases other people were involved. ( sorry if this all reads abit all over the place)

I seriously think that they fully knew what they did was wrong, but they could and did what they wanted to, thinking then that the kids could do nothing because they were just that - helpless and unprotected children.

Also, when the kids ran away to a neighbours house to escape, ( and then returned) did they speak to a neighbour at all or were they just returned home?

This whole case is heart wrenching and sickening. My heart goes out to all the innocent vunerable victims, who did not have a voice, choice or protection when needed most.

Does someone know if bestiality involving children is a separate law or does that come under 'rape'. What they did to these kids is unforgivable

 

[zoomom]

Snipped: A search warrant and affidavit stated: "There were admissions made to the mother of these victims. At the time, complaints by the mother were taken to the head of the church rather than law enforcement. No official investigations was completed at the time."

On a second read, I see that there's a middle man here. The mother followed chain of command. She went to an authority at the church. That authority went to the head of the church. This article doesn't state that the mother went to the head of the church, but that the complaints were taken to the head of the church. Perhaps this mom thought she'd done the right thing. Maybe her error was in trusting that the elders would do the same.

Not to mention, the Mohlers WERE authority figures at the church. *sigh*

I wonder if this "chain of command" didn't tip off the men (that wifey was talking)....and that is when the abuse stopped, so they wouldn't get caught by LE?

 

[Salem]

Has everyone checked out the thread for Klaaskids and Clarity Media? They need our support on their proposal to the FCC. Here's the link to the thread: [ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91608"]Urgent:The FCC Won't Help KlaasKids Find the Missing. - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community[/ame]

Please take a look, if you haven't already and if you feel inclined to help, hit the link to the Klaaskid site and send a quick email.

While you all do that - I'll go searching for news articles from today

Salem

 

[Salem]

Here's a short article that talks about the stuff the wife locked up, nothing new: http://www.examiner.com/x-30427-St-...ved-in-Separate-Quarters-of-Their-Shared-Home

This one talks about the victims remembering photos being taken: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icSy8xJFicnYGfHRB1LFS2xAXAewD9C2TCBG1

Salem

Still looking for other updates.

 

[Fairy1]

Have we ever figured out how many children each of the brothers have? Assuming they all have children and I believe they do, it is very strange only Jr's children were allegedly molested.

We don't know if Jr's children were their only victims. I imagine not everyone who has suffered such horrific abuse would be willing to come forward. It takes a lot of courage.

 

[Fairy1]

Snipped: A search warrant and affidavit stated: "There were admissions made to the mother of these victims. At the time, complaints by the mother were taken to the head of the church rather than law enforcement. No official investigations was completed at the time."

On a second read, I see that there's a middle man here. The mother followed chain of command. She went to an authority at the church. That authority went to the head of the church. This article doesn't state that the mother went to the head of the church, but that the complaints were taken to the head of the church. Perhaps this mom thought she'd done the right thing. Maybe her error was in trusting that the elders would do the same.

Not to mention, the Mohlers WERE authority figures at the church. *sigh*

I, personally, find going to a church leader an odd "chain of command" for anyone to follow under the circumstances, but maybe that's just me. The bottom line is, no further action was taken and that should have led her to the next step - LE.

 

[newcomer]

Can someone explain to me where the "gypsies are in town" comes from? I must've missed that reference.

 

[PAXIMUS]

Can someone explain to me where the "gypsies are in town" comes from? I must've missed that reference.

Its in this article:

In another incident, two victims stated they were playing at their grandfather's farm in Lafayette County, Mo., when someone said, "gypsies are in town." The girls were then taken by their father and uncle Roland to a location where several vans and RVs were parked. The girls were then placed inside a brown van where they were again raped by their father and uncle. The rapes stopped when someone pounded on the door and asked if everything was okay.

http://www.fox4kc.com/wdaf-mohler-mother-aware-of-rapes-111909,0,2906638.story

Makes no sense at all that they would go to a place like that and use another person's van to rape the kids unless the gypsy reference means some sort of paedolphile ring?

This whole story is just mind blowing.

 

[Missizzy]

This might be stretching it a bit but I did learn that Americorps ran a children's camp in Lamoni, Iowa in Summer 2009 (as per the comment I linked to earlier). It looks like one of the Mohler children (not an alleged victim) was involved in it. This person stated that the daughter ran the camp and that one of the Mohler brothers participated in some way (without parents' knowledge). The commenter also said that Mohler accompanied the children on an overnight. I hope to heck that Americorps is looking into this. They facilitate some wonderful camps and I know that this would be crushing news to them.

Also, I found it ironic that Lamoni, Iowa is considered to be one of America's Best Communities for Young People.

http://www.americaspromise.org/Our-...est-Communities/Past-Winners/Lamoni-Iowa.aspx

One Mohler family is involved in the SAFE Coalition:

"Embracing the Five Promises philosophy whole-heartedly, the theme of the town’s 4th of July Parade was “Lamoni’s Promise” with a brigade of red wagons each displaying information on the promises, pulled by children, youth, parents, and adults."

"The Lamoni SAFE Coalition provides an organizational structure to connect youth serving organizations and agencies and link each with the Five Promises. Sites of promise within the community are being established as each business, club, or organization identifies the way they pull their weight by offering one or more of the five promises."

The Five Promises are:

Caring Adults
Safe Places
Healthy Start
Effective Education
Opportunities to Help Others

 

[CHICANA]

We don't know if Jr's children were their only victims. I imagine not everyone who has suffered such horrific abuse would be willing to come forward. It takes a lot of courage.

I'm not sure, but based on his history, I think BM Jr was the worst of the 4 brothers. The others might have felt some remorse which is why they didn't live close to the old homestead like BM Sr and his namesake.

BTW, did they have mandatory reporting laws back then ? If so, wouldn't the elder have been legally obligated to report the abuse ?

 

[Missizzy]

Chicana--I think that the mandatory reporting laws actually stemmed out of cases like this where schools and churches failed to report abuse which was brought to their attention. They used to try very hard to keep complaints "in house". I guess we've learned that that tactic didn't work.

 

[Texas Mist]

soooo - what's this (below) mean? IMO, it sounds like the Comm. of Christ church is saying "nope, wasn't our elders that heard about the abuse, no way" but that's just my initial reaction to reading this.

Trying to figure out if they changed their house of worship/congregation or changed denominations.

<snip>

Earlier stories about this case indicated the Mohler family had extensive ties with the Community of Christ. However, the mother &#8212; J******** M., at the time the wife of Burrell Mohler Jr. &#8212; left in 1982 with him to join another church, a church official told The Kansas City Star on Thursday.

Also, the article headline is "Latest charges against the Mohlers may be the last in Lafayette County" -- does this mean there's no more charges expected -- or there may be charges from another county or state? What I've read previously indicated the major case squad has moved on & left this case in the hands of Lafayette County sheriff's office....please correct me if I'm remembering this wrong.

more here

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/1581798.html


Is it just me, or is this case confusing?

 

[Nikki_2]

Its in this article:




http://www.fox4kc.com/wdaf-mohler-mother-aware-of-rapes-111909,0,2906638.story

Makes no sense at all that they would go to a place like that and use another person's van to rape the kids unless the gypsy reference means some sort of paedolphile ring?

This whole story is just mind blowing.

Exactly, I could not make sense of the alleged gypsy reference, but you made a really good point, it could have meant some time of pdp ring.

I cannot understand why the grandfather and son would take these kids elsewhere only to rape them?

I guess that alot more information is needed to make sense of their actions.

 

[Missizzy]

Not sure if this is relevant, Texas Mist. From an earlier post of mine:

Here's a clip from a comment on this page:

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/fo...E66V12OI55I28V

"i was shocked to realize that i went to church as a young girl with all of the Mohlers. Mr Mohler Sr was our Pastor at the RLDS Churgh in Platte Woods."

Platte Woods does have a Community of Christ (RLDS) Church and is located 42 miles from Bates City, the location of the Mohler's prior home, where the investigation is occurring.

http://www.cofchrist.org/directory/states/missouri.asp

To clarify, Platte Woods is an incorporated section of Independence, MO and there are 25 Community of Christ congregations in and around Independence--all within a short distance of Platte Woods. I have no idea to which congregation this woman is referring.