Amish Man Charged with Child Molesting Girls

Unfortunately  cases of immorality and child molestation are far more common within many Amish communities than most people realize. Even as a former Amish I am surprised at the frequency of reports of similar cases. While the Amish have a reputation to be honest, godly, hard working people, they are not immune to the sin nature that lies within every human being. 

I have a special interest in this particular case because Johnny Schwartz is my first cousin. I was shocked when I heard about the charges against him. I am including some links below that I have been watching.

Amish Man from Webster County, MO charged with molesting little girls

Four Amish church leaders charged in connection with recent sex scandal 

Four Amish bishops charged with failing to report sexual abuse 

The Midwestern Amish Defined

While many of the Amish communities in the Midwest are somewhat more conservative and have somewhat different practices, one cannot totally put every midwestern community in the same basket based solely on their geograghic location. For example, the community near Arthur or Arcola, Ill is very similar to many of the larger Eastern communities. The community near Cashton, Wi. was started primarily by a group of people from a large community in Ohio. Therefore it is fairly similar to the Ohio communities.

It is therefore necessary to speak in generalities. Generally the midwestern communities are much smaller than the large Eastern communities, such as Lancaster County, Pa., Holmes County, Oh., Dover, Del., and Shipshewanna/La Grange, In. There are also many small communities in many of the eastern states; New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennesee, Michigan, Etc.

The Amish I will focus on are communities that my wife and I, or our relatives grew up in, such as; Snyder County, Pa., Orange County, IN., Bowling Green, MO., Clark, MO., La Plata, MO., Augusta, Wi., Granger, Mn., etc.