Stories about the Amish as victims – or perpetrators – of crime.
Sam Mullet, leader of the Bergholz, Ohio group infamous for hair and beard-cutting attacks on Amish, made news again recently when he asked for early release due to alleged mistakes made by his attorney. Mullet lost his attempt for release Wednesday: An attorney for 72-year-old Samuel Mullet Sr. argues that Mullet’s previous lawyer made mistakes. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster disagreed Wednesday, concluding that those…
Samuel Girod was sentenced last summer to 6 years in prison for various charges relating to the manufacture and sale of herbal products, including a salve which the Kentucky Amish farmer claimed could be used to treat cancer, among other ailments. Girod was convicted for charges including “conspiring to impede the FDA; failing to register his facility with the agency; threatening a witness to try to…
Sam Mullet was sentenced in 2013 to 15 years in prison for orchestrating beard and hair-cutting attacks on Amish. Mullet later saw his sentence reduced to a little under 11 years. If you missed the story at the time, Mullet was the bishop of a breakaway Amish group which began following decidedly un-Amish practices, detailed in the book Renegade Amish. These included attacks by Mullet’s followers on…
Amish salve-maker Samuel Girod received his sentence Friday: LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – A federal judge sentenced a Bath County Amish farmer to six years in prison on Friday morning. A federal jury handed down guilty verdicts against Samuel Girod in March for misbranding products. After serving six years, Girod will have three years of supervised release. He must also refrain from producing and manufacturing products…
An Amish bishop in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania is in the news for failing to report sexual abuse of two children in his church by another church member. From Lancaster Online: An Amish bishop in Dauphin County is facing charges after being accused of failing to report two cases of alleged sexual abuse of children. Christ M. Stoltzfus, 69, is charged with two misdemeanor counts of…
Samuel Girod’s federal trial began this week. The Kentucky Amish farmer made and sold several homemade products, some of which suggested bold curative properties, in a business running for over 20 years. These include a “black salve” called “To-Mor-Gone” (with a sales pamphlet claiming it to be “very good at removing tumors”), and a “Chickweed Salve” which had the words “Cures Cancer” on the container. This WKYT article summarizes…
There’s a good chance you’ve heard the story of a former Amish family who “gifted” one of their underage daughters to a man who provided them financial aid (if not, the details can be found here among many other places). Over the past several days this bizarre story has gone worldwide (I’ve seen it in Russian, Chinese, and Australian media). Part of the reason is the…
An Amish family in Lagrange County, Indiana is hoping for answers after their horse was killed in a drive-by shooting incident last week. From WSBT.com: It was a regular morning for the Miller family as they were heading outside to do their chores– that is until one of the children noticed something unusual. “I was putting on my socks and all of a sudden I…
News came last week of another financial scandal involving Amish investors as victims. According to the federal lawsuit, Earl D. Miller began recruiting investors in 2008 to join a number of investment vehicles, despite having no experience in fund management. The Goshen, Indiana resident is accused of “misrepresentations that Miller raised at least $3.9 million from at least 70 investors, but repeatedly lied to prospective investors.” According…
Over the past week, gunshots were fired at two Amish homes in the community in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. There was also a third reported incident involving a school in the settlement. There’s not a lot of information in this article, but there are a few more details, including on a fragment of bullet found in between panes of glass in one home. Eau Claire…