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| This combination of undated photos released by the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Office shows, from left to right on the top row; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia, Mo., David A. Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa, Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence, Mo., and from left to right on the second row; Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53, of Independence, Mo., Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City, Mo. and Darrel Wayne Mohler of Silver Springs, Fla. |
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) -- Authorities investigating six family members accused in a series of sexual assaults involving young relatives dating back to the 1980s seized booklets and magazines depicting incest from the family's home.
The search warrant issued last week after the arrest of Burrell E. Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence, said investigators seized several items from Mohler's home, including four computer towers, several pornographic magazines and books, several DVDs, and cameras.
Mohler, his four adult sons and his brother, Darrel W. Mohler, 72, of Silver Springs, Fla., have been charged with raping and molesting several young relatives over roughly a decade. Accusations include impregnating at least two young girls and forcing one to have an abortion when she was 11.
Col. Ben Kenney of the Jackson County, Mo., sheriff's department said Wednesday that several booklets found at the home were about incest.
"The thing that was unusual was the title and the references," he said. "They were very explicit. ... It was all on sex with family members."
He said the computers that were seized were sent to an FBI lab in Kansas City for review.
The Jackson County warrant was issued Nov. 11, the day after Mohler and his sons were arrested.
Sandra Mohler, the wife of Burrell Mohler Sr., told detectives she found some of the material "that made reference to incest activity among family members" in a false ceiling of the basement, the warrant said. She locked the material in a file cabinet about two months ago, according to the warrant.
She said when she discovered the pornographic material she made an arrangement with her husband for him to "to move to the basement area of the residence," according to the document.
No one answered the door Wednesday at the address identified in the search warrant. Calls to the home also were not answered.
Mohler Sr. and his sons - Burrell 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 - face several felony counts of rape and use of a child in a sexual performance.
Most of the men did not have lawyers Wednesday, according to the Lafayette County clerk's office. Jared Mohler's lawyer, Tim Larimore, did not return calls seeking comment.
Some family members, however, have questioned the plausibility of the charges against the men.
