(MO)
NewsNation [Chicago IL]
May 4, 2026
By Safia Samee Ali
Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
A Missouri Amish retreat leader is facing multiple charges including sexual abuse, forced labor, kidnapping and giving unauthorized medical advice that allegedly led to a baby’s death.
Officials say Sam Shetler, 42, led the Mercy and Truth-Amish and Mennonite Retreat in Cooper County, Missouri, and allegedly carried out several crimes against residents.
Authorities initially charged Shetler in March with two counts of trafficking and one count of sodomy, with bond set at $100,000. Weeks later, his bond was revoked, and additional charges were filed, including four counts of kidnapping, one count of sexual abuse, one count of involuntary manslaughter and an additional count of trafficking.
The charges follow a multi-year investigation into the retreat, which Shetler promoted as a place for members of the Amish and Mennonite communities in need of counseling or therapy.
But the retreat was “under the control of one individual who took advantage of his position in the Amish Community to control, manipulate, coerce, and force vulnerable people for his own profit in different forms,” the Cooper County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
Shetler has pleaded not guilty.
Amish leader accused of ‘cult-like’ abuse
Authorities say complaints tied to the retreat date back to 2022, with multiple reports alleging “cult-like” abusive, sexual and neglectful behavior, according to a probable cause statement obtained by ABC 17 News.
Some early complaints were difficult to investigate due to “cultural differences” and barriers, the document stated.
In one case, Shetler allegedly presented himself as a holistic doctor and advised parents of a sick six-month-old to use lavender oil as treatment. The baby later died of pneumonia after contracting multiple viruses, according to reports, reported KATV.
Investigators also detailed a pattern of abuse used to maintain what they described as a “climate of fear,” including confinement, forced isolation and physical punishment. Residents were allegedly forced to take up to 100 pills that were either sleeping pills or others that were “homemade” by Shetler and consisted of vitamins and minerals. Authorities said residents saw Shetler “wrestle down” a female resident who was refusing to take her pills and sat on her chest, forced the pills into her mouth and held her mouth shut until she swallowed them.
He is also accused of pulling a tooth from a young boy and forcing another to sleep in a cold attic for weeks during winter as punishment.
Others allegedly witnessed a man with disabilities be kicked in the genitals, abused, locked in the “safe room” for weeks, and “tied” with his hands behind his back with pepper being put into his eyes as punishment.
Authorities say the investigation also uncovered a forced labor scheme in which young men and boys were made to work long hours on Shetler’s farms and businesses without pay, sometimes being leased out to others, with earnings going to him.
Sexual abuse allegations include claims Shetler manipulated young girls into believing they were “demon possessed” and subjected them to inappropriate touching, telling them that it was part of their treatment.
Shelter’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 13.