Hearing Set In Amish Raid

By MARK LAW
BERGHOLZ — A hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. today in Jefferson County juvenile court regarding a child-custody dispute in an Amish community that was raided by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and the county’s special response unit Friday.

Sheriff Fred Abdalla said he and a sheriff’s department juvenile detective went to the Amish community off county Road 53 on Friday to serve custody papers from juvenile court on Wilma Troyer. The sheriff said the custody papers ordered two children of Wilma and Aden Troyer be given to Aden Troyer.

Abdalla said there have been allegations of sex crimes within the community and deputies have been threatened by members of the Amish community in the past as part of the continuing allegations. The sheriff said threats were made that deputies would be shot if they interfered.

Wilma Troyer was teaching at the one-room schoolhouse when Abdalla arrived Friday. The sheriff said she ushered the children into the school and began to shout and scream that the sheriff’s department was going to hurt the children, Abdalla said.

Abdalla said only two members of the SWAT team got out of the special response vehicle at the schoolhouse.

The sheriff said Wilma Troyer refused to accept the custody order and threw it on the ground. She then ran to her farm, Abdalla said.

The sheriff’s department and members of the special response team surrounded the farmhouse, with the sheriff saying he threatened to arrest anyone that interfered with him taking the children with the court order.

Abdalla said a family member presented the two children to the sheriff; they were turned over to Aden Troyer.

The sheriff said he was concerned about prior threats made about shooting deputies when he decided to bring in the special response team.

“I’m not going in there with sticks in my hand. What we did was proper,” he said.

Abdalla said he has received dozens of letters from around the country concerning the allegations within the Bergholz Amish community.

Steubenville attorney Bryan Felmet, who represents the community, issued a news release disputing what happened at the Amish community Friday. The release states witnesses claim the SWAT team was armed with automatic machine guns and a battering ram and surrounded the schoolhouse upon arrival.

Wilma Troyer is the daughter of Samuel Mullet, the bishop of the Amish community. The release states the members of the community moved to Bergholz about 12 years ago due to religious and disciplinary differences within the Amish community.

Felmet’s release also states the Amish community “has been on edge since the invasion of their farm by law enforcement officials.”

“Adults as well as children are afraid to go to school, to work in the fields and especially to leave Wilma alone,” Felmet said.

“It is unreal that you can do things like this and get away with it in a free country,” Mullet said, according to the release. “We can’t figure out who they think they are. If we need to restrain ourselves, the head sheriff should (know) moreso.”