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6th member of Mo. family charged with sex abuse


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, Fla., was charged with two counts of forcible rape. Court documents say Mohler was charged in Lafayette County, Kan., 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.


Darrel Wayne Mohler spoke to The Associated Press from his home in Florida on Thursday before he was charged and before he was known to be a suspect in the case. He called 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.

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."

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

The alleged abuse — including 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 bails ranging from $30,000 to $75,000. Their next court hearing is set for Tuesday.

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

He said he could not comment about any evidence found on the 55-acre 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.

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