Six victims in Missouri told authorities that they were sexually abused 15-25 years ago when they were children, and have come forward as adults. They claimed that they were abused by relatives and told stories about sexual performances, mock weddings, rape with various objects and that one of them had to have an abortion at 11 years old, according to CNN.
Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77 and his four sons Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53; David A. Mohler, 52; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48; and Roland Neil Mohler, 47 have all been arrested in connection with suspicion of sexually abusing children. None of the men have entered a plea. Bond is set for $30,000-75,000 for each of the men.
On Friday, police also arrested Darrel Wayne Mohler, 72 the younger brother of Burrell Edward Mohler Sr. who was charged with two counts of rape.
The local Sheriff believes there are more victims that may come forward. Police are still collecting information, and searching their properties. The victims stated that they were told by the men to put their bad memories on paper and place the paper in a jar and bury it, and now the police are searching for the jars.
The entire community in shock and many people have stated that they have known these men most of their lives and find this very difficult to believe.
Three of the six men are lay ministers at the Community of Christ Church: Burrell Mohler Sr., David Mohler, and Jared Mohler. They have since been relieved from of their duties, according to the church. The Community of Christ Church used to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and split from the LDS Church in the 1800s. In 2000, the Community of Christ changed their name to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
LDS Church headquarters are located in Salt Lake City and the church does acknowledge that the Community of Christ Church was part of their church, but that they are recognized as a different faith now.
See video below for more on this story.
Sources: CNN, MSNBC and the LDS Church
Recent articles from this examiner:
Video: Police charge mother of 5 year old Shaniya Davis with human trafficking
Video: Miguel Cotto vs Manny Pacquiao 2009 blow-by-blow results
Utah Utes vs TCU Horned Frogs 2009 final score
Video: Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto fight time preview
Utah vs TCU Saturday, November 14, 2009
Leonid Meteor Showers from November 13-20, 2009
Comments
The Let Go...Let Peace Come In Foundation is a newly formed nonprofit with a mission to help heal and support adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse worldwide. We are actively seeking adult survivors who would be willing to post a childhood photo and caption, their story, or their creative expressions to our website www.letgoletpeacecomein.org. By uniting survivors from across the globe we can help provide a stronger and more powerful voice to those survivors who have not yet found the courage to speak out. Together we can; together we should; together we NEED to stand up and be counted. Please visit our site for more details on how you can send us your submissions.
Thank you for everything you do!
Gretchen Paules
Administrative Director
Let Go...Let Peace Come In Foundation
111 Presidential Blvd., Suite 212
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
"In 2000, the Community of Christ changed their name to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
Not true. Community of Christ is the NEW name. There is no association with the Mormon church other than a shared history that ended with the death of Joseph Smith (his family left the Mormon church to start the Reorganized movement)
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!