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Two Amish brothers, 22 and 18, who avoided jail time in Missouri, for raping and impregnating their 13-year-old sister are back in court, ‘after violating their probation by contacting the victim’

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Aaron Schwartz, 22, and 18-year-old Petie Schwartz have been accused of violating the terms of their probation, which could send them to prison for 15 years

The two Amish brothers avoided jail time last month, for raping and impregnating their 13-year-old sister after their 15-year sentences were suspended last month as part of the plea agreement

The plea deal reduced the charges of statutory rape and incest to felony child molestation before sentencing

The brothers who pled guilty to two counts of third-degree child molestation with a child under the age of 14, are back in court ‘after violating their probation by contacting the victim’

The pair and two of their younger brothers, both minors at the time, had had sexual relations with their 13-year-old younger sister last year

The victim, who told doctors in June that she was having sexual relations with her brothers, had a baby in August, and one brother is the father

The brothers received a 10-year sentence on the first count and five years for the second count, in September

Plea deal called for a suspension of their sentences if they served probation for five years and attended 100 hours of community service

They were mandated not to contact the victim, prosecutor now says brothers violated their agreement by making contact with their sister at her residence

Aaron Schwartz, 22, and his brother, Petie, could be looking at 15 years in prison if a judge decides to revoke their probation for contacting their victim. The pair and their two minor brothers all had sex and impregnated their 13-year-old sister in 2019

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 incest. 
Under their conditions of their probation, the two young mens were barred from making any contact with the victim, but according to the prosecutor’s motion filed last week, that is exactly what they did.
At Wednesday’s probation hearing, their defense attorney Will Worsham said that ‘there has been no actual contact [between his clients], and the victim,’ reported Springfield News-Leader.
After meeting with their probation officer and being informed of a possible ‘technical violation,’ his clients moved to another part of the property where they were present to ensure no contact with the victim, Worsham said, adding that the probation officerā€™s report on the alleged violation indicated that his clients do not live with the victim.

Co-defendant 18-yer-old Petie Schwartz, [photo], similarly is also facing 15 years in prison if his probation is revoked along with his brother’s

Webster County Judge Michael Hendrickson declined the defense request to dismiss the motion to revoke the brothers’ probation and scheduled a new hearing for October 22, instead.
Hendrickson is expected to decide whether or not to re-impose the suspended sentences and send the defendants to state prison. 
Berkstresser, the county prosecutor, revealed last month that the 13-year-old victim delivered a baby in late August. One of the Schwartz brothers is the father of the child.  
The incestuous relations in the Amish family came to light in June when the pregnant teen told doctors that she had been having sexual relations with her four brothers.
The two eldest, Aaron and Petie Schwartz were initially charged with six felony counts of statutory rape and one felony count of incest after admitting to having sex with their sister a half-dozen times. 
By early September, the men were offered a plea deal for two charges of third-degree child molestation.  
The brothers each received a 10-year sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections on the first count and five years for the second count. 
Under the conditions of the agreement, the sentences were suspended and each defendant was put on probation for five years and spared jail time.
They ware mandated  to complete the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program by September 8, 2021. 
Furthermore, the brothers must perform 100 hours of community service and write an apology letter to Seymour’s Amish community within 30 days.  
Finally they were required to pay $250 to the Law Enforcement Restitution Fund, which provides funding to improve the operation of the sheriff’s department and the prosecutor’s office.
After their 15-year sentences were suspended last month as part of the plea agreement in which charges initially filed in June cited the brothers for statutory rape and incest, then were lowered to felony child molestation in September before sentencing.
The plea deal has sparked outrage among members of the community as many observers question whether the watered down sentencing was commensurate with the gravity of the crime.

“We demand justice, with full investigation, and your resignation” – The ‘mild sentence’ sparked outrage and calls for Webster County Prosecutor Berkstresser’s resignation. On Wednesday protesters are seen confronting a vehicle conveying the brothers following a probation hearing at the County Courthouse in Marshfield, MO 

 
The county prosecutor Berkstresser defending his actions in September acknowledged that 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. 
‘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,’ he said. ‘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.
He added; ‘These two young men would’ve been eaten alive in the state prison system.’
Both brothers will be registered sex offenders for life.
The outcome of the case sparked outrage in the community and calls for Berkstresser’s resignation.      
About a dozen demonstrators, mostly them women, lined up outside the Webster County Courthouse before, during and after the hearing. They shouted chants and carried neon-colored protest signs with slogans including “The Amish are not above our laws!” and “Wear her shoes!”
“We demand justice, with full investigation, and your resignation,” protesters chanted, in an apparent reference to their outrage over the prosecutor’s handling of the brothers’ cases.

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