Two Amish brothers who admitted to having sex with and impregnating their 12-year-old sister have avoided prison time due to the prosecutor’s fear they would be “eaten alive” if incarcerated.
“In the end, this wasn’t a case of a parent and child, where a parent in a position of authority sexually abused or exploited their child,” Webster County, Missouri, Prosecutor Ben Berkstresser told the Webster County Citizen. “This was a situation where four siblings engaged in acts with their sister. I offered a 15-year prison sentence based on this … It was a different relationship. And I made the decision not to send them to the DOC, to suspend the sentences. These two young men would’ve been eaten alive in the state prison system.”
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Aaron Schwartz, 22, and his brother Petie, 18, admitted to police that they, along with two other brothers who are minors, had sexual intercourse with their sister at least a dozen times, beginning when she was 12 years old, and Berkstresser says that “one of the brothers is the father” of the child born a few weeks ago.
“All of them had sexual relations with their sister,” Berkstresser said. “There is no question this occurred.”
The brothers were originally charged with six counts of statutory rape and one count of incest, but those charges were lowered to third-degree child molestation before a plea deal was reached for a 15-year prison sentence.
That sentence was then suspended by the prosecutor’s office, and the brothers will instead be required to complete the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program, along with 100 hours of community service and submit a handwritten letter explaining how they will protect children going forward.
“Previously, I’ve been very harsh on the Amish when they’ve been charged with crimes of this nature,” Berkstresser said, adding that the boys will “go to prison” if they don’t adhere to the required steps.
“This won’t be easy for either of them to do, but I’ll assure you, they will face the consequences if the program isn’t completed,” Berkstresser said. “And that consequence will be prison.”
Berkstresser’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
