Two Amish brothers who admitted to having sex with their 13-year-old sister have avoided jail time after prosecutors raised concerns that they would ‘be eaten alive’ if they were behind bars.
Aaron Schwartz, 22, and 18-year-old Petie Schwartz of Seymour, Missouri, USA pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree child molestation with a child under the age of 14.
The victim is currently pregnant.
The pair and two of their younger brothers, both minors at the time, had had sexual relations with their younger sister last year. The young girl was 12 and 13 years old at the time of the sexual acts, the Webster County Citizen reports.
The brothers had received a 10-year sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) on the first count and five years for the second count.
But their plea deal – made in agreement with Webster County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Berkstresser – allowed the suspension of the sentences. The deal would allow the pair to be on probation for five years and avoid jail time if they also complete the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program (MOSOP) by September 8, 2021.
The brothers must also complete 100 hours of community service and write a letter an apology letter to Seymour’s Amish community within 30 days.
They must also pay $250 to the Law Enforcement Restitution Fund (LERF), per the plea agreement, which provides funding to improve the operation of the sheriff’s department and the prosecutor’s office.
Berkstresser said that he was aware that the brothers’ punishment would seem lax given their initial charge of six felony counts of statutory rape and one felony count of incest.
‘It needs to be noted that in this case, there were four brothers, two of them minors, while the other two legally are adults,’ Berkstresser said.
‘All of them had sexual relations with their sister. There is no question this occurred.’
The prosecutor added that the brothers, along with members of the Amish community, rejected legal counsel but Berkstresser’s office helped assign them counsel.
Source: Daily Mail
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