Wisconsin Amish plead not guilty in sex case
May 13, 2004 AMISH0513 http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4773591.html In a southwestern Wisconsin courtroom packed with more than two dozen Amish citizens and a half-dozen Amish church leaders, three Amish men pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the sexual assault of a female relative. All had previously confessed to the various felonies.
Johnny E. Byler, 25, and his brother Eli Byler, 24, are charged with five counts apiece of the sexual assault of a child, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Their stepfather, William Kempf, 77, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of battery against the same relative.
The not-guilty pleas in Vernon County court came several weeks after all of the men asked local Amish leaders for forgiveness.
Eli Byler told the Star Tribune that he first assaulted the relative when he was 12 and she was 8. The woman, who left the Amish community, alleges that she was assaulted more than 200 times by family members.
The defendants are next scheduled to appear in court May 24.
The Amish community had hoped to handle the matter by banishing Johnny Byler from the church for six weeks and forbidding Eli Byler to associate with church members until he improves his character. Kempf asked church leaders for forgiveness.
But the Amish are not exempt from the law, Vernon County District Attorney Tim Gaskell said from Viroqua, Wis.