What the article describes sounds terrible.
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The wonderful novelist Miriam Toewes found herself driven to write a whole book about sexual abuse & lack of consequence in the Mennonite community. Women have no place on the community council & so no say about what happens to their abusers. This little Amish girl will be forced to carry through childbirth while still a child herself. She will see, & probably live with, her abusers every day. Whether she’s faced with their smug smirking faces or with hypocritical protests of pious regret, her traumatic memories will be triggered constantly. I hope she grows up to get out of there. And God only knows what will become of her baby.
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Thanks, I didn’t know that. Bad job on the prosecutor’s part then.
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It’s a plea deal and, afaik, it has to be approved by the judge, so I’m sure you’re still correct.
I don’t get all that talk about the Amish not accepting the authority of the court, especially not from the prosecuting attorney. As far as I understand things, they are subject to the law as anyone else, who gives an actual shit they don’t see it that way? I don’t see people make these excuses for, say freemen on the land.
It’s telling that the article is all about they men, and does not mention anything about what will be done to help the girl deal with the trauma, how she will be supported raising the child (if she chooses to), and whether or not she will be offered a way to live somewhere else (again, if she chooses to), because she shouldn’t be forced to live together with four brothers, and probably also her parents, who already failed her by rising four rapists. And I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave that to the Amish community either, because they would most likely not treat her well.
The article linked in the blog post has a bit more detail on the consequences, so I’ll expand on what @d4nj450n already quoted:
Both Aaron C.M. and Petie C.M. Schwartz will be on probation for five years, must complete the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program (MOSOP) by Sept. 8, 2021, must complete 100 hours of community service and each write an apology letter to Seymour’s Amish community within 30 days.
also relevant
Berkstresser said that both Aaron C.M. and Petie C.M. Schwartz will be registered sex offenders for life.
And if the following observation is accurate, it might also explain why they were not sent to prison:
“In this instance, these two boys are very immature relative to their respective ages. Maturity wise, they are much younger than their age.”
Also this:
Berkstresser said that as part of the plea agreement, the two brothers also must write a letter to him that must be completed in 30 days.
“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.”
and this:
“They will go to prison if the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program isn’t completed in a year,” he noted.
“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.
“And that consequence will be prison.”
I don’t know about Scandinavia, but the sentence the two older brothers received is roughly what they could expect here in Germany as first offenders, probably minus the letters, but I think that at least the second letter is a good idea.
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@d4nj450n
That’s more info than the article said. So obviously the writer chose to omit the suspended sentences to create some hostility.
How is that acceptable for raping a 12 year old?
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The Amish don’t have capital punishment?
I’m disappointed actually.
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Its value is in telling us that this judge thinks they’d have to rape a second 12-year-old now, in order to get sent to prison.
Both the prosecutor and the judge should be brought up on charges. This is a total miscarriage of justice. No justice for the sister. The system is very broken. And the men who tried this case seem to be morally bankrupt.
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Not quite.
I would assume there are additional conditions to the probation. I don’t know about the US of A, but in Germany any other offence that would land you in jail for even one day would have you serve the full sentence while you’re on probation.
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You’re right. I knew, but was using poetic licence for effect. With a judge like that it could be true.
Just gonna leave this here for all wondering about this sort of thing occurring elsewhere in Amish communities, ‘punishments’, the overall culture, etc.
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Why bother remaining with your insular ethno-religious group if you don’t have rapine and plunder awaiting?
This is simply disgusting and unfair. My heart to the girl whose life has been ruined by this horrible abuse from her siblings that will remain pretty much unpunished. May she find the strength to overcome this and may life gives them what they truly deserve. Prison could kill anyone else and thats why most try to avoid it by not harming others on such horrible ways.
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