Sixth Member of Family Charged in Missouri Child Rape Case

LEXINGTON, Mo. – A sixth member of a family facing multiple child sex abuse charges in western Missouri was charged Friday with raping two children in 1986.

Darrel Wayne Mohler, 72, of Silver Springs, Florida, was charged with two counts of forcible rape. Court documents say Mohler was charged in Lafayette County, Kansas, but authorities said he was not in custody Friday.

"I don't believe he's on the run and I urge him to turn himself in so I can talk to him," Lafayette County Sheriff Kerrick Alumbaugh said at a news conference. It wasn't immediately clear whether Mohler had an attorney.

Five other members of the Mohler family were charged earlier this week with several felonies, including forcible sodomy, rape with a child younger than 12 and use of a child in a sexual performance.

When asked to comment on the case Thursday before he was charged, Darrel Wayne Mohler told The Associated Press from his home in Florida that he found the reports of child abuse "unspeakable."

"I can't think of words that would put this in perspective. I find it repulsive if it's true," he said Thursday.

The other men charged are Darrel Mohler's brother, Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence and his four adult sons, Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53, of Independence; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia; Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City; and David A. Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa.

The original complaint — including allegations of bestiality, forcing children into fake marriages with relatives and making an 11-year-old have an abortion — date from 1988 to 1995.

The men have not entered pleas and did not have lawyers listed with the court clerk's office. The five other Mohler men have been held on cash bonds ranging from $30,000 to $75,000. Their next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17.

Darrel Wayne Mohler said Thursday that he never had been close to his older brother and been "appalled by the allegations." He said he has a 16-year-old granddaughter "and that'd be like me messing with her, and the thought is repulsive. I'm glad I don't have that gene, God darn."

Alumbaugh also said Friday that a search on the property formerly owned by family members had been completed and that he expected additional charges against the suspects.

"We've run through a lot of leads," he said at the news conference, adding that he could not comment about any evidence found on the 55-acre (22-hectare) property.

The probable cause statement against Darrel W. Mohler accuses him of raping two girls between the ages of 5 and 9 at an abandoned house in Bates City.

The Associated Press is not revealing details that could identify the alleged victims of sexual abuse.

On Thursday, police also arrested a man they identified then as a possible suspect, but did not charge him. He has since been released.