Child sex case expands

2009-11-14 18:29

Lexington - The case against a family accused of child sex abuse has expanded with the arrest of a sixth relative - a 72-year-old Florida man who had called the allegations against his kin "repulsive and appalling".

Darrel Wayne Mohler has been charged with raping two children in Missouri more than 20 years ago. His arrest Friday came a day after he told The Associated Press that the alleged child abuse by his relatives was "unspeakable".

Mohler was charged in Lafayette County, Missouri, with two counts of forcible rape in 1986. Officials said he was arrested and in custody at a jail Ocala, Florida, near his hometown of Silver Springs.

Five other members of the Mohler family were charged earlier in the week with several felonies, including forcible sodomy, rape with a child younger than 12 and use of a child in a sexual performance.

"I can't think of words that would put this in perspective. I find it repulsive if it's true," Mohler said Thursday of his family members' charges.

Mohler said he was a disabled veteran suffering from various ailments, including lung disease. He did not return phone calls to his home on Friday before his arrest.

The other men charged are Darrel Mohler's brother, Burrell Edward Mohler snr, 77, of Independence and his four adult sons, Burrell Edward Mohler jnr, 53, of Independence; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia; Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City; and David A Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa.

Waterbed warning

The probable cause statement against Darrel W Mohler accuses him of raping two children between the ages of 5 and 9 at an abandoned home. The statement alleges that after Mohler left the children, Burrell Mohler snr came to the room and warned them to "be careful because waterbeds were known to pop and they might drown in their sleep".

Darrel W Mohler said on Thursday that he never had been close to Burrell Mohler snr.

The original complaint in the case includes allegations of bestiality, forcing children into fake marriages with relatives and making an 11-year-old have an abortion. The Associated Press is not revealing details that could identify victims of sexual abuse.

The men have not entered pleas and did not have lawyers listed with the court clerk's office.

The five men originally charged have been held on cash bonds ranging from $30 000 to $75000. Their next court hearing is Tuesday.

Lafayette County Sheriff Kerrick Alumbaugh also said on Friday that a search on a 22ha property formerly owned by family members was completed and that he expected additional charges against the suspects.

Alumbaugh had said earlier that investigators were focusing on the property outside Bates City, about 50km east of Kansas City, because there was "an indication that there are body or bodies in numerous locations". He did not elaborate.

Investigators also said they were searching for glass jars buried on the property and containing notes, written by children, about the alleged abuse. Adults allegedly told children to write down bad memories and bury them there and "the memories would go away," said sergeant Collin Stosberg, spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Neither Alumbaugh nor Stosberg would not comment about any evidence that may have been found in the search.

- AP