Mohler Family Arrested + Alleged Victims Were Relatives - Police arrested a sixth member of a Missouri family under investigation for allegations of child sexual abuse, police said.
Darrel Mohler has been charged with two counts of
rape, Lafayette County Sheriff Kerrick Alumbaugh said at a news
conference. Missouri police did not have Mohler in custody earlier. On
the request of Missouri officials, Marion County authorities went to
Mohler's home in Silver Springs, Florida, and caught him just before he
pulled into the driveway, according to a news release from the Marion
County Sheriff's Office. He was subsequently arrested.
Mohler
told police he "was aware of what was going on in Missouri," and that he
had not been there since the 1980s, according to the sheriff's office.
Five
members of the Mohler family of Lafayette County, Missouri, were
arrested earlier this week after six alleged victims, who are relatives
of the five suspects, made accusations of sexual abuse. A sixth person,
described as an "associate" of the family, was arrested Thursday but
released Friday, police said.
The six alleged victims -- all now
adults -- came to law enforcement authorities with stories of sexual
performances, mock weddings, rape with various objects and a forced
abortion during their childhoods, according to court documents obtained
by CNN affiliate KSHB in Kansas City. CNN does not identify alleged
sexual assault victims.
Police did not have enough to charge
Darrel Mohler earlier, but after examining the victims' statements,
obtained enough information to charge him, Alumbaugh said. He added that
he does not think Darrel is on the run.
Darrel Mohler, 72, is
the younger brother of Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77, according to KSHB.
On Tuesday, authorities arrested Mohler Sr. and his sons Burrell Edward
Mohler Jr., 53; David A. Mohler, 52; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48; and Roland
Neil Mohler, 47.
More charges against the family members are
expected next week, the sheriff said. Current charges for some of the
arrested include rape, deviate sexual assault and use [of] child in
sexual performance, according to Missouri State Courts online case
management system.
Alumbaugh said that Larry Kidd, 55, of Kansas
City, Missouri -- an "associate" of the Mohler family -- was picked up
by police following a tip, cooperated with police and has been released.
The
alleged abuse took place from the mid-1980s until 1995 and possibly
beyond, the sheriff said earlier. The documents provide graphic details
of the alleged abuse provided by one of the alleged victims. All of the
charges stem from those documents, Alumbaugh said.
Mohler Sr.,
David Mohler and Jared Mohler are all lay ministers in the Community of
Christ, the Independence, Missouri-based organization said in a
statement.
Lay ministers are volunteers who do not receive
compensation, said the organization, and none of the three served in
leadership roles or worked with children.
Mohler Sr. went through
the group's registered youth worker program, but "his youth worker
registration has been terminated and we understand he had no contact
with children or youth in church programs," the statement said.
Some
lay ministers might help take care of the church, while others might
speak at services, said the organization's spokeswoman, Linda Booth.
The
Community of Christ is an offshoot of the modern-day Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. It split off from the Mormon church in the
1800s, and in 2000 changed its name to Community of Christ from the
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Investigators
earlier this week searched several properties for evidence, but there
were no plans to continue the searches, Alumbaugh said Friday. He
declined to comment on any evidence found.
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