Family Charged with Child Sex Crimes

5 Men Accused of Sodomy, Rape and Bestiality in List of Felony Charges

(AP)  Authorities on Wednesday were searching a rural property in western Missouri for bodies and buried glass jars containing notes written more than 15 years ago by children who may have documented sexual abuse by five members of their own family.

Lafayette County Sheriff Kerrick Alumbaugh pleaded for the public's help, saying investigators "believe that there are other victims out there, and we believe people in the public can give us more information."

Alumbaugh said authorities believe there may be bodies buried on the property outside Bates City, which is about 30 miles east of Kansas City. He refused to say to whom any of the bodies would have belonged. The property and a nearby home is owned by a man unrelated to the case who is cooperating with authorities.

A small excavator could be seen moving across the property Wednesday. Two ambulances were parked nearby, and crews were searching a creek with metal detectors.

"There has been an indication that there are body or bodies in numerous locations," Alumbaugh said.

The five men were arrested Tuesday and are charged with several felonies, including forcible sodomy, rape with a child younger than 12 and use of a child in a sexual performance. The allegations, which include bestiality and forcing an 11-year-old to have an abortion, date from 1988 to 1995.

All five were being held in the Lafayette County jail on cash bonds ranging from $30,000 to $75,000. It was not immediately clear if they had attorneys.

Three of the five men are lay ministers in the Community of Christ church whose licenses have been suspended, church spokeswoman Linda L. Booth said.

Cpl. Bill Lowe of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said one of the alleged victims, now 26, came forward to investigators in mid-August with the abuse allegations. A probable cause statement released by the Lafayette County prosecutor's office says other relatives of the woman have come forward accusing all five men of abuse, but it's unclear whether all the relatives were claiming to be abused.

Lowe said the woman told investigators that she and the other alleged victims buried glass jars around the property, filled with messages "about what was happening to them" when they were younger.

"Those jars have that information," Lowe said.

The woman told authorities she had "suppressed many of the memories of abuse perpetrated on her" and the other alleged victims, according to the probable cause statement.

Sgt. Collin Stosberg, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said adults told the children that if they wrote down bad memories and put them in a jar, "the bad memories would go away."

"That was what they were told. Write these memories down, put them in a jar and bury it and the memories would go away," Stosberg said. "It was a way for them to cope."

The probable cause statement identifies the relationship between the alleged victims and the suspects. The Associated Press, however, is not revealing that relationship to avoid identifying the alleged victims of sexual assault.

The woman who came forward claimed some of the men sexually abused her and her siblings, forced her to have sex with a dog, forced the siblings into fake marriages with relatives and forced her to watch as her brother was abused.

"She became pregnant and was made to have an abortion at age 11 1/2. She doesn't remember any sexual abuse after that date," the probable cause statement said.

The Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, the Rural Missouri Major Case Squad and the Highway Patrol were investigating, with the help of the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

The suspects were identified as Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence, and his sons, Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53, also of Independence; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia; Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City; and David A. Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa.

Police in Columbia seized a computer and discs from Jared Mohler's home on Tuesday, police spokeswoman Jessie Haden said. Jared Mohler is a database administrator at Carfax, a company that provides vehicle history reports to prospective buyers, a coworker said. He was arrested at work.

Another suspect, David Mohler, has worked for Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, for 27 years and was arrested on its Independence campus.

University President John Sellars said David Mohler periodically traveled to Independence to work on Graceland's phone systems there. He described David Mohler as "a very nice person who got along well with his colleagues."

Sellars said David Mohler and his wife, Michelle, has grown children, but he did not know their ages or where they lived.

Deborah Burris, who has lived across the street from Burrell Mohler Sr. for several years, described the suspect as a friendly, helpful neighbor.

"We didn't even know he had sons. We didn't know anyone but Burrell himself," Burris said.

She said she thought Mohler lived with his wife and a daughter, but she had never seen them. He was occasionally seen walking around the neighborhood but had appeared frail lately, Burris said.

She said Mohler's house has an apartment on the north side, and there had been "quite a bit of activity there at different times."

"I had thought maybe someone was moving in or out of there," Burris said.

Booth, the church spokeswoman, said none of the Mohlers served in leadership roles in the congregations they attended "nor did they serve as volunteer youth workers, teach children or youth church school, or work with children or youth."

"The church takes seriously the allegations that have been made and suspended the priesthood licenses of three lay ministers: Burrell Mohler Sr., David Mohler and Jared Mohler," the church said in a statement.

Booth said one of the men, whom she refused to identify, had been registered to work with children but that license has been terminated.

The Community of Christ, headquartered in Independence, split from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1860 and was known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints until 2001. It has about 250,000 members worldwide.

[ccdsswrkr09]

They have already been tried and convicted in the public eye. It doesn't matter if they are or aren't guilty. After this they will never be able to get a job, or live around people anywhere. People don't understand how devistating it can be to accuse someone of sexual abuse. I hear of people doing it all the time just because they're pissed off at someone (especially when its their spouce or ex lover) and want to get back at them, or want custody of the kids! People falsly acuse people all the time. I say there needs to be better ways of weeding out the truth from the lies.

[skeetchamp]

give them the death penalty.

[culturechang]

It was just this week that CBS posted articles on this website claiming that rape was not taken seriously and the police dont care. Rape kits are not analyzed.

Following that, was a bunch of hysterical comments by bloggers about how rape is "easy to get away with". What a load of hysterical crap and this proves it.

I live in Kansas City. This is a very suspicious case. MO officials have 5 men in custody with only the word of two women. Not a shred of physical evidence exists. And, for some reason, these woman waited 15 years to notify police.

I would say that this is about as favorable to women as it can get. We have 5 men in jail with no evidence.

I am sick and tired of the media propogating outright lies and hysterical, unsubtantiated claims when the handling of cases like this proves otherwise.

[skeetchamp]

southerners and Mormons -- they're all sick child rapists

[nowhiningallowed]

No amount of punishment, even death, would ever be sufficient for evil criminals that commit these types of crimes against the innocent.

[askagain]

The only thing we have to go on are accusations. These accusations may be true or false. Remember the Duke LaCrosse players. Some of the accused players weren't even at the supposed rape scene. Lets give the police a little time to find evidence. There is plenty of time to spew our venom if the accusations are true.

[culturechang]

Finally a rational head. There is not evidence at this time. How did these kids to to school without anyone noticing this going on for years? Doctors did not notice.

[formrusmcsgt]

Three of the five men are lay ministers in the Community of Christ...
----
Lawdy, Lawdy, Lawdy!

[legacyABQ2]

No evidence has been presented yet. Jeez people cool it with the bloodlust! It may be an exaggeration, and even if it turns out to be true, they'll get long prison sentences in Missouri.

Life without poss of parole, IF they're guilty beyond any doubt.

[diamruby]

Once more we have religious nuts preying on innocent children. We need a better system for children to report abuse without fear of going back into these homes if some one decides there is not enough evidence. I have lived in two seperate towns in the same state where a father & son had raped & abused all his children, grandchildren & all the children on the street they lived on. The father, his wife & son were still living there & there was nothing we could do about it except make sure our children were watched all the time. These people were not put in prison because they were old. These people along with the wife etc, anyone having knowledge of the crimes should be put to death, they are all sick in the head & have no hope of recovery. They have damaged all these children & alot of them will go on to do the same thing to their children & others. We have far too many churches protecting these people & alot of them probably approve & participate in the crime (LDS polyogomy). Why do we want to keep these people alive in prison where they cost us tons of money, are able to run all their criminal business from their cell? We have too many lawyers, judges etc that are making billions off of these criminals, setting them free to prey again on the innocent. Death is the only way to stop them.

[longtree-2009]

nothing will happen to them, nothing happens to violent sex offenders. they serve prison time, are released and must register as sex offenders. some appear in the news again for re-offending. there is no justice anymore, everyone forgets the victims while opposing the death penalty, or imprisonment for life without parole for all violent criminals.