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	Mother Said She Told Church of Abuse against Mohler Children By Michael Glover The Examiner November 28, 2009 http://www.examiner.net/news/x1945270871/Mother-said-she-told-church-of-abuse-against-Mohler-children Church deacon, allegedly did not report sex crimes Independence, MO — The mother of victims from the Mohler family sex crimes told her church leader rather than police about alleged incestuous rapes that happened in the 1980s and 1990s, according to court documents. A search warrant and affidavit claimed that the mother of the victims was made aware of the alleged offenses, but that she did not notify authorities at the time. “At the time, complaints by the mother were taken to the head of the church rather than law enforcement,” the documents said. “No official investigation was completed at the time.” Six family members, Burrell Mohler Sr., David Mohler, Jared Mohler, Roland Mohler, Burrell Mohler Jr. and Darrel Mohler, are accused of rape, sodomy and bestiality of child relatives decades ago on a family farm in Bates City, Mo. Burrell Mohler Sr., David Mohler, and Jared Mohler were lay ministers in Community Christ Church until they were suspended shortly after the allegations were made. The church in written statements has denied they received any reports of sexual abuse of children given to any Community of Christ leaders. Burrell Edward Mohler Jr. and his wife joined the Mormon Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in 1982, and their membership with Community of Christ was withdrawn, according to the Community of Christ. Mohler Jr. signed papers indicating his family wanted to withdraw from the Community of Christ Church and join the Mormon congregation. Paul Tonga, a former Mormon bishop in Independence, said during the time period of the alleged abuse, the wife of Burrell Mohler Jr. told him several times the father was abusing his children, according to a report on FOX 4 news. Repeated messages to Tonga were not returned on Friday. Tonga questioned Burrell Jr. and his children but didn’t discover anything, saying “he (Burrell Jr.) denied the accusation,” according to the report. The bishop’s investigation ended there and he did not explain why he never contacted the police. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement they have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to child molestation and abusers. When there is suspected abuse, the church first contacts authorities and then the local bishop for support and guidance. In this case, had Tonga conferred with church leaders about past child abuse allegations against Burrell Jr., the leaders would have told him to contact authorities, according to the church’s written statement. Mohler Jr., according to the church, was excommunicated in 2007 for personal conduct non-related to child sexual abuse. Contact: michael.glover@examiner.net
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