The "Hiding A Horrifying Secret In Plain Sight: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  For years I have been writing stories about Lancaster County's Amish and the lives they live.  Today's story may be hard to understand, since the content that you are about to read  is something that even I never knew or suspected.  It is the story of Amish rape, incest and sexual abuse in the Plain community.  All started when I read a story written by Sarah McClure who did a yearlong investigation on the widespread sexual abuse in Amish communities.  Her story began with a phone call from a formerly Amish woman and by the time Sarah was finished with her investigation she had identified 52 official Amish cases of child sexual assault in seven states, including the largest community of Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  She first found out about the extent of the problem when she talked with a reporter for Lancaster's newspaper, which at the time was known as the Intelligencer Journal.  She titled her report "Silenced by Shame" which talked about church leaders silencing the voices of abused women and children.  But, it is not only limited to the Amish in Lancaster County, but the Mennonites as well.  Most view both communities as having a wholesome work ethic, humility, gentleness and orderliness, but the abuse that is suffered by primarily the women and children is hard to understand.  Both communities wield an uncompromising belief in the sanctity of marriage, man's authority over women, forgiveness and resolution of conflict with the law.  And, these beliefs are based on Biblical passages, or so they say.  Amish children, both boys and girls, are afraid to talk about what their fathers, hired men, cousins, teachers, brothers, family friends and sometimes even their mothers do to them.  Most, if not all, cases of sex abuse are swept under the rug where they join the many other cases from children and women whose emotional woulds still bleed.  Many that suffer from an assault never say a word because they may be ashamed or embarrassed.  Some try to tell someone, but are ignored or hushed or even punished.  A very few are actually believed which eventually led to Sarah delving into the lives of both the Amish and Mennonites.  I printed out a short summary of the work which Sarah has done and found over the past few years.  It covered 39 pages before my printer spit out the last of the horrible stories.  One of the main problems is those that have suffered have no where to turn.  Church leaders in most cases are farmers who work part-time on a Sunday or Holy Day as the leader, then head back to their farm later the same day.  Many are selected by "drawing straws" to see who it will be.  It may be the same farmer who is violating his wife and children each and every night.  They are not trained to help those in need.  Those such people are known as "Homemade Counselors" and are not equipped or trained to deal with abuse and battering.  Most "Homemade Counselors" are men and will just reaffirm that the woman or child is at fault.  As you see, it makes matters worse.  There have been some changes recently where a "Homemade Counselor" may bring a resistant or habitual sexual offender to the Mental Health/Mental Retardation of Lancaster County facility to talk with a trained professional.  A nearby facility, Philhaven Behavioral Healcare Services is establishing a 24-hour mental health facility that would combine professional services with conservative church input.  There is also a place known as Wellspring Garden Ministries, near White Horse, PA that offers women a safe place.  One support group for Mennonite women with troubled marriages meets monthly where they can share their stories, eat together, pray, laugh and study topics such as forgiveness and finances.  But, when the day is over, they hurry back to the same old stuff at home.  Some of the stories told in those 39 pages of reading material are horrifying.  And, just about every perpetrator is a male who is assaulting their children or his wife or the child of another person.  Lancaster County has an Amish population of about 39,000 members and is the largest Amish settlement in the world.  Lancaster County's District Attorney has started a task force to connect law enforcement, special services and local Amish leaders which has made a big difference.  And, more and more sexual assault victims are willing to talk about their lives with others outside their Amish or Mennonite communities.  But, trouble still remains in both communities.  One Mennonite woman went to a marriage and family therapist for help with her marriage.  She took out a protection from abuse order against her husband.  Shortly after, another man, whom she barely knew, followed her around a local grocery store telling her she needed to submit to her husband and not ruin the marriage.  At church a former friend avoided her.  Nasty notes appeared at her door and silent phone calls woke her at night.  Her phone line was cut, her mailbox smashed and people shook their fists at her when they passed by her home.  She dared to buck the system!  What she did was break the code of silence which in some cases is punishable by excommunication or shunning.  Shunned members in the Amish and Mennonite faith are not allowed to eat at the same table as their family and may not take communion.  Then, to get back in the church they must confess their transgression in front of the church.  Those of us who are not Amish or Mennonite don't realize what happens inside the homes of those we look at as being so different.  A few days ago, David Stoltzfus Smucker, a 75 year old Amish man, was sentenced to 38 to 76 years in prison at the Lancaster County Courthouse.  He was brought into the the courthouse in a wheelchair.  The courtroom was filled to capacity with his wife of 50 years and family and community members.  He had plead no contest to sexual assault of four young girls.  The four victims have been removed from their homes and placed in separate households throughout the county.  The girls can no longer go to  school or church since they have disclosed they have "acted out sexually."  The trauma suffered by these girls may be invisible to all, but it will never go away.   The families of the victims wanted Mr. Smucker to show remorse, but he showed none.  The only thing he said in the courtroom was "No" when asked by the judge if he wanted to talk with the families.  The judge said that in his 14 years of being on the bench, this is the first time an Amishman didn't admit guilt or ask for forgiveness.  Evidently, some have grown to think that sexual assault of women and children is part of their heritage. He originally was charged with two dozen felonies, but it was reduced to four.  The four girls were between the ages of 4 and 9 years old when they were assaulted.  Three of the girls told the police he told them to keep the incidents a secret.  After his sentencing all he did was look back at the courtroom crowd as his wheelchair was wheeled away.  My story today tells very little of what I had read in the 39 pages of "Silenced By Shame".  If I had chosen to expand on the events published in "Silenced By Shame", it would have taken threefold the amount of space as this story.  Will it ever end?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.