Amish in crisis as father faces trial for 'decade of sex abuse'



Accusations: Chester Mast is accused of sexually assaulting six girls

A married Amish man has been accused of sexually assaulting six girls, one his cousin, in a case that has plunged his insular community into crisis.

Over ten years, Chester Mast is said to have abused victims aged from five to 15.

The father-of-two, whose wife is pregnant, has denied allegations including incest, rape and sodomy and will stand trial later this year.

The case has thrown the spotlight on the U.S. Amish community after it was revealed that elders spent six years moving the 26-year-old around in an attempt to cure him, during which time he apparently continued his abuse.

Relatives had long suspected the apprentice carpenter, but called in police only when the scandal threatened to tear apart their community.

Asking for outside intervention is rare among the deeply religious congregation, which prefers to resolve disputes internally.

Mast's community is made up of 70 families and has been in Pike County, Missouri, since the 1940s.

They speak a Germanic dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch, travel by horse and cart and survive by farming.

The town is 'Old Order', which is the most conservative type of Amish settlement.

Traditional: The Amish community in Pike County is one of the most conservative outposts of the order

Electricity is banned and residents have no access to cars, telephones, televisions or the internet, which they fear would destroy their simple way of life.

The Amish are a 250,000-strong sect, mainly descended from Swiss religious Mennonite groups who began migrating to the U.S. in the 18th century to avoid religious persecution and compulsory military service.

Mast is said to have committed his first attack when he was sent north to Wisconsin to become an apprentice carpenter with his uncle in 2004.

He allegedly raped a 13-year-old relative claiming it would cure her stomach ache.

He was sent away from the community, but later returned. Last year, he was excommunicated again after fresh claims about his sexual conduct. Again he returned.

Further concerns prompted him to be sent away for the third time earlier this year. Only then did the community turn to the Sheriff's Department.

Amish farmers attend a 'mud sale' - an auction of farming machinery, livestock, quilts and household goods in Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Pike County Amish Association is located in a remote area of Missouri

During his excommunications Mast is said to have continued his abuse, including targeting girls who were not Amish.

'We seen this coming for years,' said Noah Schwartz, one of Mast's uncles.

'The church worked desperately to get behind him, but it was a lost cause. I don't think we realised the seriousness of the crimes.'

The decision to turn Mast over to the police has split the community, however, with some still believing he should be dealt with internally.



According to other elders, Mast has admitted his crimes to them during a ritual reconciliation with the church. But when he appeared in a conventional court, he pleaded not guilty.

For some, this means he is no longer an Amish, not because he stands accused of being a paedophile but because he has lied.

'Chester is lying, and that's worse than the sex crimes, because no sin is so bad that you can't recognise it and take total responsibility,' said Mr Schwartz, 60.

'We tried to work with it ourselves,' admitted Joseph Wagler, the bishop for a neighbouring church.

'We punished him, and he owned up to it. If he's going to act like this and not admit it in court, he's still going to have to answer to God.'