MO - Johnny & Fannie Schwartz Face Charges of Child Sexual Abuse, Seymour, 2009

Kathee

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Gross! I believe this type of thing is quite common in the Amish communities. So tragic.
 
I think all mothers who fail to protect their children in this way should go straight to jail, without passing go or collecting $200 dollars!

I agree. They are conspirators of the felony of rape and should be charged and sentenced just as if they were the rapist.
 
Gross! I believe this type of thing is quite common in the Amish communities. So tragic.

It would be interesting to see statistics regarding how common it is amongst the Amish vs. non-Amish households.
 
I know there seems to be a lot of curiosity surrounding the Amish -- trust me, I see all the tourists clogging the streets where I live! And if a horrendous rumor were started (i.e. they "share" their daughters with uncles and elders of the church, etc.) the Amish would never refute it, even if it were false. That's not their way. They would say nothing.

Aside from the fact that they don't use electricity, in many respects, they're pretty much like you and me. They cry when they're sad; they get depressed; they work hard; they like to have fun; family is important to them; they pay property taxes; they help out their neighbors; they discipline their children; they fall in love; they get married; they die. I was in the hospital with my son once, and there was an Amish family whose child had just died. Never in my life have I heard such heartbreaking sobbing and keening as I did then. When you cut them, they bleed, just like us. They rely tremendously on their faith, and tend to turn the other cheek when harrassed or hurt by the actions of others.

Yes, I'm sure there are instances of spousal abuse, child abuse; abusing alcohol (especially among those under 25); and, as we've seen recently, even murder, as well as a host of other ills that plague society nowadays.

I would agree that the rate of abuse is similar to the rest of us, possibly even a tad lower.

I know some will argue that they have higher rates of mental illness, mental retardation, physical birth defects, due to "intermarrying". And that may well be the case, (to be honest, I'm not really sure); but that's a whole different thread topic.
 
I know there seems to be a lot of curiosity surrounding the Amish -- trust me, I see all the tourists clogging the streets where I live! And if a horrendous rumor were started (i.e. they "share" their daughters with uncles and elders of the church, etc.) the Amish would never refute it, even if it were false. That's not their way. They would say nothing.

Aside from the fact that they don't use electricity, in many respects, they're pretty much like you and me. They cry when they're sad; they get depressed; they work hard; they like to have fun; family is important to them; they pay property taxes; they help out their neighbors; they discipline their children; they fall in love; they get married; they die. I was in the hospital with my son once, and there was an Amish family whose child had just died. Never in my life have I heard such heartbreaking sobbing and keening as I did then. When you cut them, they bleed, just like us. They rely tremendously on their faith, and tend to turn the other cheek when harrassed or hurt by the actions of others.

Yes, I'm sure there are instances of spousal abuse, child abuse; abusing alcohol (especially among those under 25); and, as we've seen recently, even murder, as well as a host of other ills that plague society nowadays.

I would agree that the rate of abuse is similar to the rest of us, possibly even a tad lower.

I know some will argue that they have higher rates of mental illness, mental retardation, physical birth defects, due to "intermarrying". And that may well be the case, (to be honest, I'm not really sure); but that's a whole different thread topic.
Thank you for saying this ohio girl! I was just about to say the same thing! I grew up in the heart of Amish Ohio and totally agree with you.
 
I know there seems to be a lot of curiosity surrounding the Amish -- trust me, I see all the tourists clogging the streets where I live! And if a horrendous rumor were started (i.e. they "share" their daughters with uncles and elders of the church, etc.) the Amish would never refute it, even if it were false. That's not their way. They would say nothing.

Aside from the fact that they don't use electricity, in many respects, they're pretty much like you and me. They cry when they're sad; they get depressed; they work hard; they like to have fun; family is important to them; they pay property taxes; they help out their neighbors; they discipline their children; they fall in love; they get married; they die. I was in the hospital with my son once, and there was an Amish family whose child had just died. Never in my life have I heard such heartbreaking sobbing and keening as I did then. When you cut them, they bleed, just like us. They rely tremendously on their faith, and tend to turn the other cheek when harrassed or hurt by the actions of others.

Yes, I'm sure there are instances of spousal abuse, child abuse; abusing alcohol (especially among those under 25); and, as we've seen recently, even murder, as well as a host of other ills that plague society nowadays.

I would agree that the rate of abuse is similar to the rest of us, possibly even a tad lower.

I know some will argue that they have higher rates of mental illness, mental retardation, physical birth defects, due to "intermarrying". And that may well be the case, (to be honest, I'm not really sure); but that's a whole different thread topic.


Thank you so much for your insightful post.


The sheriff of Webster County was meeting with church elders in the Amish community today to help them understand that they can "hotline" calls of abuse.

Don't know if that will do anything to help prevent future situations in the community or not as I don't believe that many of the families have phones.
 
Thank you for saying this ohio girl! I was just about to say the same thing! I grew up in the heart of Amish Ohio and totally agree with you.

Another thumbs up from me. I used to live outside of Lancaster, PA where Amish horse-n-buggies are a common sight. They really are just "regular" people with an uncommon lifestyle.
 
I am glad to see the wife being accountable regardless of culture. If a mother knows that her husband is hurting her child and does nothing, it is the same as doing it herself. I understand that there might be some psychological hurdles to comprehending that the man you love/ married/ had a baby with is a deviant monster, but by ignoring / denying its occurrence, you are hurting the child twice. Have there ever been interviews with women who are guilty of this to explain their thinking? I'd be curious if it is like a battered woman type syndrome or something, I just can't understand that kind of behavior?
 
Thank you so much for your insightful post.


The sheriff of Webster County was meeting with church elders in the Amish community today to help them understand that they can "hotline" calls of abuse.

Don't know if that will do anything to help prevent future situations in the community or not as I don't believe that many of the families have phones.
bbm

in the amish community I grew up in (I am not amish lol..but literally grew up right in the middle of the community), they always had some sort of access to phones... even if it were their driver's phone. Also a lot of business people that I know are allowed to have a cell phone for their business use, etc.

IIRC, it was the driver of this family that actually reported the abuse..

However, where I think the disconnect could be is in them trusting the hotline... The Amish that I know would go to their elders before anything else and take care of things from the inside.
 
bbm

even if it were their driver's phone.
IIRC, it was the driver of this family that actually reported the abuse..

Can you explain the "driver" situation? I noticed in the PC that that is who called cops. Does the driver take multiple people in a van or car for errands or to Dr. appts?

I agree with you that things will still probably continue to be handled as they have been in the past.
 
I am glad to see the wife being accountable regardless of culture. If a mother knows that her husband is hurting her child and does nothing, it is the same as doing it herself. I understand that there might be some psychological hurdles to comprehending that the man you love/ married/ had a baby with is a deviant monster, but by ignoring / denying its occurrence, you are hurting the child twice. Have there ever been interviews with women who are guilty of this to explain their thinking? I'd be curious if it is like a battered woman type syndrome or something, I just can't understand that kind of behavior?

I think these women are very subservient. The men ARE the kings of their castles.
 
Can you explain the "driver" situation? I noticed in the PC that that is who called cops. Does the driver take multiple people in a van or car for errands or to Dr. appts?

I agree with you that things will still probably continue to be handled as they have been in the past.

Hi Kathee~ Yes, there are people who work driving the Amish.. usually in big econoline vans to run errands, etc. It is kind of like a taxi service if you will. There is a WONDERFUL book called "driving the Amish" Amazon.com: Driving the Amish (9780836190632): Jim Butterfield: Books that really describes this interesting job to a t.
 
I have to add my two cents on the phone issue....it's not uncommon now for many, many Amish to have cell phones. While they are not supposed to use them to chit chat with friends, they are allowed to have them (in this part of Ohio, anyway) if they have a business, and they're using them for "business purposes". Those business can be anything from being a nanny, housekeeper, roofer, carpenter, etc. I mentioned before on another thread regarding the Amish that I was really surprised about a year ago when I was in my local Alltel store, and there were so many Amish in there getting phones (usually younger Amish). The salesman said, "yeah, and they don't even bat an eye when I tell them that they have to pay a $400 deposit right up front, they just pull out the money."
(Not bashing them in any way here -- just telling it the way it happened).

In addition, there are many "phone sheds" (like one of those school bus little houses people put at the end of their drive for their kids to wait for the bus) on country roads out here. They are used by groups of families to make calls for taxi's, dr's appts, etc., and many of them have answering machines, because, as you might imagine, it would be hard for them to hear it ring!
 
The wife of an Amish man charged last week with several sex offenses involving two of his children is facing charges herself for not protecting her kids.

Fannie Schwartz (a.), 47, Seymour, is facing two counts of endangering the welfare of a child because prosecutors say she knew her husband, Johnny Schwartz, was sexually assaulting her daughters and did nothing to stop him.

http://crimesceneinvestigations.blogspot.com/2009/10/amish-couple-facing-charges-related-to.html

This makes me sick to my stomach. Ugh.
I hope they both get put away forever.
 
Fannie Schwartz is running a puppy mill while as far as I can see John is still locked up.

Five elders were accused of child endangerment because they tried to "fix the problem" themselves. Yep, that'll work.

It is my hope these now grown women were permitted to get counseling, and have joyous productive lives.
 

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