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Amish Brothers Who Dodged Jail Time After Sexually Assaulting 13-Year-Old Sister Have Allegedly Already Violated Probation
The decision to give Aaron C.M. Schwartz, 22, and Petie C.M. Schwartz, 18, probation after they admitted to sexually assaulting their underage sister sparked outrage. Now a prosecutor wants that probation revoked.
Two Amish brothers who sparked outrage after reaching a deal that kept them out of jail despite admitting to sexually assaulting their underage sister have allegedly already violated orders to stay away from her, according to court records.
Webster County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Berkstresser has asked a judge to revoke the probation of Aaron C.M. Schwartz, 22, and Petie C.M. Schwartz, 18, alleging they've violated restrictions put in place as part of their five-year probation requiring them to stay away from the 13-year-old, who recently gave birth, according to the Springfield News Leader.
Authorities allege in court records obtained by the paper that both men violated their probation “by having contact with the victim of the crime, after signing the sex offender supervision agreement that prohibited contact with the victim.”
Earlier this month, both men pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree child molestation with a child under the age of 14 and received a 15-year suspended sentence that would have allowed them to avoid jail time.
As part of the agreement reached with Berkstresser's office, the brothers were ordered to serve five years of probation, complete 100 hours of community service and complete the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program, according to the Webster County Citizen.
They were also required to write an apology letter to the Amish community within Seymour—but both letters were strikingly similar.
“I confess to having had several sexual intercourses with a (female relative) under 14 years of age,” both handwritten letters read, according to the Springfield News Leader. “I do regret and am sorry for having done any such sins.”
Authorities began an investigation into the brothers after receiving a report from a doctor’s state hotline. A doctor told a Missouri Children’s Division official that the brothers had sex with a 13-year-old female relative.
The young girl had been just 12 when the attacks started. Two of the Schwartz's younger brothers, who are both minors, also admitted to having sex with their sister.
The young girl gave birth to a baby just weeks ago.
After they were arrested, Aaron Schwartz and Petie Schwartz both admitted to repeatedly sexually assaulting their sibling.
When investigators asked whether Aaron would do it again, he allegedly told investigators, “Not to a little one like that,” according to a probable cause statement obtained by Oxygen.com.
Berkstresser told the Springfield News Leader on Friday that the brothers could appear at a hearing on the probation issue as early as October.
Oxygen.com reached out to Berkstresser but did not immediately receive a response.
Last week, Berkstresser had told the Webster County Citizen that if the brothers did not complete the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program by next September they could “face consequences ... and that consequence will be prison.”
He said he had offered the 15-year suspended sentence because it “was a situation where four siblings engaged in acts with their sister” rather than a situation where a parent or person in authority had sexually abused the child.
“These two young men would've been eaten alive in the state prison system,” he told the Webster County Citizen earlier this month.
Both men will be registered sex offenders for life.
