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  " Shrouded in Secrecy" Part Two
A Former Amish Couple Talks with Dave Elias about Their Encounter with the Religious Group

WTRF
November 19, 2008

http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=47252

[with video]

Jefferson County — They're told how to dress. How to wear their hair and even what color the walls inside their homes should be. They also taught to forgive acts of rape and murder inside their own community. But as you're about to see, there are some things they simply won't forgive.

"We did the unforgivable sin, we left the culture," said David and Fran Yoder. They claim they were kicked out, all because his sawmill used a propane engine, something the Amish won't tolerate.

"Once I was gone I was not allowed to step foot on my father's property. They wouldn't speak of me. They considered me dead. The entire Amish community turned their backs. I was not allowed to attend my parent's funerals and neither were my children," said David Yoder.

Yoder, both on his website "AmishDeception.com," and in his book talks about growing up in an abusive family where child abuse.

"It was common. There was a time when I got a spanking everyday. I never knew why? There was trouble in the church and it was taken out on me."

But real trouble for the church came when his wife Fran, the Amish Bishop's daughter dropped her own bomb shell on the community.

Fran Yoder said, "I was raped by my brother-in-law when I was just 17, but as a woman I kept quiet for a while."

Amish law forbids reporting such acts to authorities. They prefer to handle it themselves to avoid situations like Jacob Weaver of Belmont County who is in prison for raping his child. Chris Mullet also serving prison time for raping his relatives.

In both cases the Amish community asked they not spend any time in jail, because they were sorry.

"I think there is a lot more that goes on behind closed doors that we don't' know about,"said Fran Yoder.

Even more startling is the claim made by David Yoder that his own niece may have been murdered.

"My sister confessed to killing Amanda. The Bishop said this can never leave this room. It has to remain this way for the betterment of the community."

A similar claim circulated in Jefferson County after an Amish child was found dead under uncertain circumstances.

Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said, "They requested the coroner not do an autopsy."

Could it be the Amish community, just like in Fran's rape case wanted to avoid another scandal?

"My father didn't want to believe it, said Fran Yorder. "He didn't want to punish him at first."

Police tell me it's this very mind set that makes these cases so hard to investigate because so many of the crimes are simply shrouded in secrecy.

While investigating this story, I've learned a lot about the Amish way of life. Some of it very simple and perhaps innocent, but like anything else much of it dark and even very complicated.

To read more about the Amish you can pick up this book, written by David Yoder, "Amish Deception." It's available at your local library. Another big question many of you have. Do the Amish pay taxes? Yes they do. However, since most are self employed, they don't pay social security tax since they don't believe in collecting it when they get old. Neither do they use medicare or medicade. They simply believe in taking care of their own.

 
 

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