By Jeff Martin
The Examiner
November 19, 2009
http://www.examiner.net/news/x1792904485/Mohler-sex-abuse-case-widens-with-more-charges
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| Burrell Mohler Sr. |
Lafayette County, MO — Lafayette County prosecutors filed 18 new charges in the growing Mohler case Thursday afternoon, raising the total to 49 against a family accused of carrying out sexual assaults spanning almost two decades.
According to probable cause statements, another witness told police Wednesday of incidents that began when she was 5 years old and continued until she was 12. Acts that she was forced to perform include mock weddings, bestiality, and sex with the men.
The new charges were filed against three of the family members allegedly involved.
Burrell E. Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence, has been charged with rape and sodomy, as well as the use of a child in a sexual performance, which prosecutors say stem from activities from 1984 to 1989.
His four sons, Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia, Mo.; David A. Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa; and Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53, of Independence, also have been charged.
A brother of Burrell Mohler Sr., Darrel Mohler, also is charged. He is expected to be expedited from Florida where he currently lives.
The victim told investigators that Mohler Sr., had taken her and her sister to a pasture and, with Mohler Jr., their father, and their uncle, Jared, ordered them to have sex with a horse.
In 1988, the victim said, she and her sisters decided to run away. After writing about the crimes and placing the notes in jars and burying them, they made it to a neighbor’s house before returning home. Mohler Jr., their father, reportedly punished them by making them watch him sodomize their brother.
Documents show that several victims have given statements, and additional charges could be filed in other jurisdictions, including Jackson County.
Police said Tuesday that when they arrested Mohler Sr. at his Independence home, they found pornography depicting incest. He had lived there for about 15 years with his wife and a woman who was given a separate room.
According to his wife, Mohler moved to the basement after she found his sexually explicit magazines and videos. Also included were numerous sex toys and videos showing girls under age 17.
Investigators also have indicated that some of the assaults were used for pornography. Police have recovered 65 videotapes from Jared Mohler’s home in Columbia, Mo. According to police, cameras and computers were taken from his Columbia home.
Victims said they told their mother about the abuse, but she took the complaints to the family church. She is now reportedly cooperating with investigators.
During a court appearance Tuesday, four of the five men said they were working to find attorneys, while Jared Leroy Mohler said he had hired a lawyer.
In addition, a 29-year-old woman told police and investigators she and three other children were bound at the wrists and blindfolded while three men raped them. That was outlined in a search warrant issued this week.
Three of the alleged abuse victims also said they observed “several murders” on the Mohler property and were forced to help kill and bury a man, who was reportedly abducted from his house in Independence in April 1988.
Another unidentified woman said she was held in the basement of the Bates City property and was abused by all five defendants and gave birth twice while being held. She told investigators that Mohler Sr. and his son buried the baby in the basement.
Contact: jeff.martin@examiner.net
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