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	Breaking News: Four Amish Church Leaders Charged in Connection with Recent Sex Scandal Misdemeanor Charges Stem from Alleged Knowledge of Johnny A. Schwartz's Reported Sexual Contact with Minors By Alyssa Spradlin South County Mail November 3, 2009 http://www.southcountymail.com/articles/2009/11/03/news/doc4af06ec2b6d26303198960.txt Four bishops in Webster County's Amish church were charged this morning with misdemeanors related to recent charges filed against one of their parishioners. Jacob P. Schwartz, 79, of Marshfield, and Christian F. Schwartz, 41, Emmanuel M.S. Eicher, 44, and Peter M. Eicher, 59, all of Seymour, face one count each of failing to report sexual crimes against a child under 17 years of age. All of the charges stem from the church leaders' role in dealing with Johnny A. Schwartz, 36, of Seymour, who was charged last month with two counts of first degree child molestation, two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy – deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 14 years old and two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy. His wife, Fannie J. Schwartz, 47, was charged a week later with two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, for not reporting her husband. The Webster County Prosecuting Attorney's office provided media outlets with nine pages of state statutes supporting authorities' decision to charge the church leaders for failing to report. In probable cause statements filed by Webster County Sheriff's Office Det. Rick Hamilton, and deputies James Cervi and John Everett, all four men were acknowledged leaders of the Amish church Johnny A. Schwartz and Fannie J. Schwartz were members of. The couple told authorities that the leaders of their church were aware of Johnny A. Schwartz's sexual relations with minors, and that he had been shunned twice by the church. Christian J.F. Schwartz told Hamilton that it was against the Amish rules to report child sexual abuse to law enforcement, according to a probable cause statement. Arraignment has been set for Nov. 16 at 9 a.m. for all four defendants
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