Reported Nov. 11, 2009
LEXINGTON, Mo. - A horrific pattern of sexual abuse is alleged in court documents released today in an investigation of a father and his four sons.
Burrell Edward Mohler, Sr., 77, of Independence, is accused of forcible rape and other crimes in Lafayette County, Mo., court.
His four sons are each also facing charges in the case.
Court records indicate the investigation began in August 2009 when an Independence detective called the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office.
The detective said he had information about criminal activity involving children younger than 12 at a Bates City, Mo., residence.
The investigation revealed the Bates City property was owned by Burrell Mohler, Sr., from March 1974 to July 1995.
Mohler sold the property to his son, Burrell Mohler, Jr.
The six children of Burrell Mohler, Jr. told investigators they were abused by the four sons of Burrell, Sr., and by their grandfather.
One victim told investigators she was afraid of her grandfather, father and uncles and had suppressed many of the memories of the abuse, according to the documents.
Charges against Mohler, Sr., involving that victim include allegations that she was forced to have intercourse with him, that she was forcibly sodomized, and that a dog was part of at least one of the abuse incidents.
The victim told police of eight instances of being abused, and a ninth incident where she was forced to watch the sexual abuse of her brother.
The victim also told police the abuse occurred before her 12th birthday, between March 1988 and March 1995.
She told police the abuse resulted in a pregnancy and she was forced to have an abortion when she was 11 years old, according to the court documents.
The court documents reveal the vicitm told authorities after her grandmother died, she and her siblings would take turns sleeping with their grandfather. That was when the sexual attacks occurred.
