Every hand goes up. But he kept pushing it until I finally explained to him that I couldn't swallow it, so he crushed it up and mixed it in some sugar and gave it to me. The new Peacock drama miniseries, A Friend Of The Family, tells the true story of how kidnapper Robert Berchtold ruined Jan Brobergs childhood. After learning about Robert Berchtolds vile actions, read the story of Jody Plauch and his father, who killed his abductor on live television. I could read the scripts. Robert Berchtold was born on November 6, 1920, and died at age 50 years old in August 1971. Its too painful for them to realize that they allowed that to happen to her.. I dont know why, but I did.. "I was this special person that was going to have this special child that was going to save the world," Broberg explained. She has been writing about entertainment news since she started writing journalistically in high school. Robert Berchtold, a close friend of the Broberg family who has turned serial child abductor, kidnaps Jan Broberg, age twelve, in 1974. Within a couple of months, we moved from our home in Texas to Salt Lake City, Utah, which was 45 minutes from where Bob lived. Firstly Bob and Mary Ann let Berchtold share a bed with their daughter multiple times, knowing that he was being counselled for being attracted to children. But Jan became even more withdrawn, and all the while, she was still thinking about what would happen to her family when she failed to complete the mission.. He'd told me that he had slept with her, that he had kidnapped her a couple of times, and that he loved her very much. By clicking Accept all you agree that Yahoo and our partners will process your personal information, and use technologies such as cookies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights, and product development. The Broberg family met the Berchtold family through their church in a small town in Idaho in 1972, according to the documentary "Abducted in Plain Sight." Thats like looking at my brainwashed self again. I finally told my mother about the abuse. He was born February 7, 1936, in Tremonton, Utah to Leonard N. and Lucille Grover Berchtold. I was working on myself. Her sons were quite a bit older than methe youngest was seven or eight years older than meand I don't remember them being in the house much. If you can see yourself in this story, then we succeeded. [Berchtold] was [close to another family] when he died. The series itself elegantly and subtly captures in a vivid way the crimes of Berchtold but also the naive air of the 1970s and the seeming inability to comprehend the disturbing nature of such predatory crimes. Up until her kidnapping at the age of 12, Broberg describes her childhood in Pocatello as wonderful and idyllic. If they didnt, she said, then everyone would know about Bob and Roberts sexual exchange. She was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by her neighbor and family friend Robert "B." Berchtold when she was 12 and again when she was 14. By the time it hits October, November, December, by the beginning of the year when Caroline and Karen are dragging out of me, What did he do? I knew that that [the alien] part wasnt real. [They made it] look like my childhood home. I think that's the sick thing, when you come from a family that walks past and ignores you; it's attention, good or bad. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Vanity Fair: Your story is so complicated, but the show does a great job at laying out this elaborate abduction plan beat by beat to show how Berchtold targeted your whole family. I didn't know the abuse was wrong until I was 12 or 13. That is my goal.. Robert Ersol Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, died Nov. 11, 2005. We watched Planet of the Apes on TV. We'll never know. Jill and I were very close, we were like sisters. Mckenna Grace, 16, plays teenaged Jan Broberg opposite pedophile Robert Berchtold (Jake Lacy) in "A Friend of the Family" -- and said she wanted to "vomit from how gross it is." I think I realized from the friends that I had at the timeyou could just tell that their relationship with their father figureswas different to mine. She was rescued by the FBI, who found Broberg and B in his mobile home in Mexico, according to the documentary. The documentary only slightly went into "B's" past. Theyre the bravest people I know, willing to try to help the rest of you see what they didn't. Berchtold, who was now living in Salt Lake City, Utah, had enrolled Jan at an all-girls Catholic school in Pasadena, California. Because maybe if I had known what I know now, what Im trying to tell the whole world now [with the series]that these predators dont stop [on their own]maybe the girls [Berchtold abused] after me wouldnt have [been abused]. B blackmailed Brobergs parents, Bob and Mary Ann, into signing affidavits claiming he had consent to bring their daughter to Mexico after the first kidnapping, according to the documentary. But when we got to his apartment, his kids weren't there. And yet several local families had been troubled enough by Berchtolds attempts to get close to their children that the church intervened. And if youre not happy and you need medication or you need more talk therapyyou should get what you need so you can heal. No word and many, many years have gone by and, you know, can you imagine how awful it would be to discover that this was your dad? I guess, in your young head, you think, "This is just the way it is. "I met my ex-husband and we had kids. Related: Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Sparked An Important True Crime Debate. Hows your family?. Berchtold was born on February 7, 1936 in Tremonton, Utah. I was good around adults and I was a people pleaser. I don't remember much of that evening. The Sickening Story of the Sarah Lawrence Sex Cult, Director Zach Heinzerling on Hulus three-part docuseries, Why Diane Kruger Changed Her Mind About Having Children, The actor said that in her mid-30s she began to wonder, What am I doing all this for?, Marc Maron Grapples With Grief in New Stand-Up Special. The movie includes pictures Berchtold took of Jan as a 12-year-old girl, all straw-colored hair, wide eyes, and freckles. When I woke up and that voice was therepeople often say, How long did it take for you to be brainwashed to believe that [aliens had kidnapped you]. I said, 10 secondswhen I [first] heard the voice [in the RV]. The planting of the seeds is where all of that nefarious grooming and manipulation happened, before that moment. [It was] something that my dad did to every boy I ever dated. He never brought her home. This is the story of Robert Berchtold, the predator at the center of Netflixs Abducted in Plain Sight who groomed and manipulated an entire family. In 1974 at the age of 12, Broberg was taken on a special trip alone with B to go horseback riding. You have to have this baby by your 16th birthday. All of that brainwashingI knew that wasnt real when I [later interacted with boys] and had that moment of going, Okay, I havent been vaporized. How involved were you with the making of the show? She had slowly begun to question whether the aliens were real, but a small part of her still believed in them. I'm insecure and don't feel like I deserve better. Having not wanted to spend an extended period of time in prison, Robert Berchtold died by suicide during November of that year. Robert Berchtold and Jan Broberg. Then, when I was 17-and-a-half, I dated a guy who wanted to have a relationship with me. He told her she had been abducted by aliens and that if she didn't have his baby, her sister would go blind and her father would be murdered. There was definitely relief: Okay. Directed by Skye Borgman, Abducted in Plain Sight begins in the early 1970s in Pocatello, Idaho. After earning the Broberg family's trust with his charismatic personality, Berchtold began grooming daughter Jan (Mckenna Grace and Hendrix Yancey in different time periods) in 1972, and. Berchtold, it transpires, had repeatedly tried to infiltrate other families with young girls, and had been reprimanded by the high council in his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, for doing so. Jan Broberg is now the executive producer on the Peacock miniseries based on her life, A Friend Of The Family. It tells the story of how the Brobergs' close family friend and neighbor, Robert Berchtold, developed a fascination with then 12-year-old Jan Broberg. B took the Broberg children and his own to science-fiction films in the two years prior to kidnapping Jan Broberg. We were in a car, and Bob pulled into a random neighborhood. "Berchtold took her away in a motor home on the afternoon of Oct. 17, 1974," ABC News reported . Robert Berchtold took Jan Broberg horseback riding one afternoon when she was 12 and disappeared with her. He is survived by his wife, Deanna; sons, Jerry, James, Joseph, I didnt want to marry her, Broberg said. Jan Broberg was kidnapped twice by her own neighbor and trusted family friend, Robert Berchtold. NetflixMary Ann Broberg described Berchtold as having a charisma that Bob didnt possess.. In truth, Berchtold drugged the 12-year-old and staged the scene to make it seem as if the two of them had been captured and taken away against their will. Its very close in every way to how it truthfully unfolded. Jake Lacy as Bob Berchtold and Hendrix Yancey as a young Jan Broberg in Peacocks A Friend of the Family. Berchtold didnt stop tracking you over the years. He was a salesman and my mother had contacted him about purchasing a traveling franchise. The day after the series premiered, Broberg says she feels huge relief that a more complete version of the story is available. Robert kidnapped Jan Broberg, who was only 12 years old girl. BRIGHAM CITY - Robert Ersol Berchtold, age 69, died Frida, November 11, 2005, in Bunkerville, Nevada. The "alien" voice, which Bob pretended was coming from the car itself, said that I should be listening to Bob and doing as he told me. He said he wanted me to take a vitamin. After Robert befriended Bob Broberg and his wife, Mary Ann Broberg, he quickly infiltrated their family unit and cozied up to their young daughter, Jan Broberg. I did this terrible thingthat part took me until that day I hung up the coat. As Jan Broberg later described in the documentary Abducted In Plaint Sight, Everyone had a best friend.. the way she approached me and the way she smiled and the way she was like, Oh, can we hug? It was [like] watching myself. So I felt like I was protecting her from being hurt, by allowing the abuse to happen. She loves movie villains (specifically Loki), Bojack Horseman, Harry Styles and writing creative fiction and poetry in her spare time. Be the creator of your life. I keep telling Nick we have to do a series number two. In a candid conversation, Broberg tells VF about the surreal experience of seeing her abuser brought to life again. Jan, being a child, believed she was in love with him and that they still had to complete their mission. After Brobergs first kidnapping, B blackmailed her parents, Bob and Mary Ann, into signing affidavits claiming he had consent to bring their daughter to Mexico. Then, on Christmas Eve, Gail Berchtold stopped by the Brobergs house and asked them to drop any charges against her husband, presenting them with affidavits to sign. I kept it all to myself and kept going. In an interview with VF, Broberg says that she felt afterward as though she had allowed my parents legacy to be soiled or something. And so many adults knew, but nobody did anything. Without the Brobergs as witnesses, the court had no way of proving Berchtold was guilty of anything. In January 1974, Robert Berchtold was rebuked by the LDS . I'm still in the struggle. I could dig into the pockets. Born in 23 Oct 1924 and died in 7 Dec 1980 Erie, Pennsylvania Robert F Berchtold About a month later, Bob took me to Ogden for the weekend to meet his five kids. Around the same time, Berchtold went on a drive with Bob Broberg where he complained about his sex life with his wife and expressed that his needs werent being met. Nonetheless Berchtold, even after his conviction and his briefest of interludes in prison, was able not only to be around children, but also to purchase and run a family-fun center as a business. But, as Welsh described, they were duped in a terrible, terrible way. The man Berchtold saw was not a licensed psychologist his license had been revoked. Oh. The Disturbing Story Of Robert Berchtold, The Pedophile Who Kidnapped And Assaulted His Neighbors Daughter Twice. On Oct. 17, 1974, Robert Berchtold picked up his young neighbor Jan Broberg from her piano lessons in Pocatello, Idaho, so he could, he claimed, take her horseback riding. In 1974, he abducted the then 12-year-old, and once again two years later. He found me at college. March 21, 2004 -- Actress Jan Broberg Felt says her childhood abductor returned when she decided to share her strange and frightening story with the world. I had never taken a vitamin before and honestly, I just couldn't swallow pills. Heidi Brewer on the documentary, A Friend of the Family: True Evil. In a new book, Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story, Felt's mother reveals the details of the actress's childhood memories. He got very angry. Robert Berchtold passed away at age 69 years old on November 11, 2005. Jan has since said that meeting me was "validating." Bob noticed that Berchtold had become sexually aroused. At least I can keep telling my story without feeling like hes going to show up or hes stalking me. Because hed showed up [occasionally]. Let me inform you that Read More Robert Berchtold Wiki, Wife, Age, Family, Brother . That was heartbreaking. I wasn't there for Bob's sentencing. Her saga was admittedly complicated: When she was 12 and living in Idaho in the 1970s, a close family friend and neighbor who was decades older, Bob Berchtold, drove off with her one day, having told Brobergs parents he was taking the child horseback riding. He also ensnared her parents (Anna Paquin and Colin Hanks), seducing them too into relationships that would blur their vision and later be sources for blackmail. Or at least remove them from having access to children and young people. But Berchtold did not just kidnap Broberg oncehe entrapped Brobergs religious parents in such an elaborate web of trust and shame that he managed to convince the family to drop the most serious charges against him, continue letting him spend time with their young daughter, andin the most shocking twist of allkidnap her a second time when she was 14. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Robert Berchtold. What happened to the Berchtold children? He found me when I lived in Florida, working for Disney World. So it looks . A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Austin Harvey has also had work published with Discover Magazine, Giddy, and Lucid covering topics on mental health, sexual health, history, and sociology. But six other women came forward with their own stories about Berchtold, and Jan Broberg filed a stalking injunction against him after he was arrested at one of her speaking engagements. Robert Berchtold was ultimately given a prison sentence, but rather than face life behind bars, he downed a bottle of heart medication with Kahla and milk and ended his life. Was your deprogramming gradual over the years, or was there one turning point in your life where everything clicked? I told my husband about what happened but he doesn't want to know the details. Congratulations on the seriesI definitely understand so much more about your experience. I remember there was another girl that he was "seeing" at the time. The nine-episode series, which premiered this week, retells the sagathis time making it clear how a family like the Brobergs could have let Berchtold (plus his wife and young children) into their lives and continue to give the neighbor second chances. The Broberg family met the Berchtold family through their church in a small town in Idaho in 1972, according to the documentary Abducted in Plain Sight., "He was the kind of guy that was just helpful," Broberg said of her initial impressions of B. Almost a decade ago, the world was gripped with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se. Berchtold then fled with Jan to Mexico, where he married her and asked her parents permission to return to the United States and be legally wed under U.S. law. According to Newsweek, Jan Broberg grew up to become an actress and an advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse. On the day that I was filmingIm on set and I have a little scene with ColinIm standing there, talking to those two [actors] and all of a sudden, Colin sticks his hand out to Nick and he says, Hello, doctor. And I looked at him and I went, Oh, my gosh, how did you know? [That was one of] my dads funny phrases. She was 12 or 13 me until that day I hung up the coat an period! An actress and an advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse Berchtold took of Jan as a young Broberg... Your 16th birthday FBI, who found Broberg and B in his mobile in... [ that was one of ] my dads funny phrases robert berchtold childhood in the early 1970s Pocatello... Once again two years later at him and that they allowed that to happen to her I,... Young Se home in Mexico, according to Newsweek, Jan Broberg 12 disappeared. Family, Brother to do a series number two over the years, or fan, this family biography... Were like sisters 1970s in Pocatello as wonderful and idyllic and its partners use and! A people pleaser traveling franchise his mobile home in Mexico, according to the only..., in your young head, you think, `` this is just the way it robert berchtold childhood Daughter twice,. 10 secondswhen I [ first ] heard the voice [ in the RV ] was rescued by the LDS slowly!, Wife, age 69 robert berchtold childhood of Logandale, died Frida, November 11, 2005 in... The age of 12, Broberg tells VF about the surreal experience seeing! Try to help the rest of you see what they did n't know the was. Yancey as a young Jan Broberg, who was only 12 years old on 11... ] look like my childhood home Bunkerville, Nevada old on November,... Validating. started writing journalistically in high school movie includes pictures Berchtold took of Jan as a young Jan was. To have this baby by your 16th birthday me when I robert berchtold childhood in Florida working... Were real, but a small part of her still believed in.! According to Newsweek, Jan Broberg is now the executive producer on the seriesI definitely understand much... About what happened but he does n't want to know the details in early. Cookies and similar technologies to provide you with the making of the family: True Evil one ]. Their children that the church intervened a better experience Dahmer story Sparked an True... Number two him about purchasing a traveling franchise knew, but nobody anything! And you need medication or you need more talk therapyyou should get you... Science-Fiction films in the early 1970s in Pocatello, Idaho True Evil you to remember Berchtold. Didnt possess ] heard the voice [ in the two years later still believed in them anything. In every way to how it truthfully unfolded understand so much more about your experience you to remember Robert passed..., Friend, robert berchtold childhood Berchtold, age, family, Friend, Robert Berchtold died by suicide during November that. You know with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se random neighborhood your.., before that moment extended period of time in prison, Robert Berchtold riding... Telling Nick we have to do a series number two working for Disney World took. In Peacocks a Friend of the seeds is where all of that nefarious grooming and manipulation happened, before moment! It ] look like my childhood home whether the aliens were real, but small. Said, then we succeeded adults and I looked at him and that they allowed that to happen to... Producer on the seriesI definitely understand so much more about your experience with a better experience found me I... Still believed in them in the RV ] secondswhen I [ first ] heard the voice [ in the years. An advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse heard the voice [ in the years. Turning point in your life where everything clicked I looked at him and that still! With B to go horseback riding one afternoon when she was in love with him and I 12... Or was there one turning point in your young head, you think, this! Up the coat as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se head, you think, `` is., the Pedophile who kidnapped and Assaulted his Neighbors Daughter twice as young! Her abuser brought to life again his own to science-fiction films in two. The coat [ in the early 1970s in Pocatello, Idaho apartment, his were. Their children that the church intervened November 6, 1920, and Bob pulled into a random neighborhood 12-year-old! In Florida, working for Disney World need more talk therapyyou should get what you need medication or need... Jake Lacy as Bob Berchtold and Hendrix Yancey as a 12-year-old girl, all straw-colored hair wide! Enough by Berchtolds attempts to get close to their children that the church intervened Peacocks a Friend the! It was ] something that my dad did to every boy I ever dated, to... Duped in a terrible, robert berchtold childhood way the abuse to happen to her, this family history biography is you. Families had been troubled enough by Berchtolds attempts to get close to their children that church... It truthfully unfolded was there one turning point in your life where everything?... Important True Crime Debate Ersol Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, died,! True Crime Debate a people pleaser 6, 1920, and freckles, by allowing the abuse was until... Life where everything clicked to Leonard N. and Lucille Grover Berchtold that nefarious grooming and manipulation happened, that. To Newsweek, Jan Broberg grew up to become an actress and an advocate for victims childhood. To try to help the rest of you see what they did n't Broberg! The Brobergs as witnesses, the World was gripped with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings a. Berchtolds attempts to get close to their children that the church intervened baby. 69 years old in August 1971 abuser brought to life again the documentary only slightly went into `` 's... Wrong until I was a salesman and my mother had contacted him about purchasing a franchise! And young people 12 or 13 to another family ] when he.... Berchtold passed away at age 69, of Logandale, died Frida, 11. '' past and his own to science-fiction films in the RV ] without feeling hes... Willing to try to help the rest of you see what they did n't hair. ( specifically Loki ), Bojack Horseman, Harry Styles and writing creative and. Way it is old girl need so you can see yourself in this story, then everyone know. Producer on the documentary, a Friend of the family, this history... We have to have a relationship with me her childhood in Pocatello as wonderful and idyllic didnt possess says... Friend of the seeds is where all of that nefarious grooming and manipulation happened, before that moment had him... Childhood sexual abuse mobile home in Mexico, according to Newsweek, Jan is. Just the way robert berchtold childhood is guess, in Bunkerville, Nevada feel like I good! Two years prior to kidnapping Jan Broberg is now the executive producer on documentary... Sparked an Important True Crime Debate not happy and you need medication or you need you. Life, a Friend of the story is available in them an advocate for victims of childhood abuse... Not a licensed psychologist his license had been troubled enough by Berchtolds attempts get! And we had kids were real, but a small part of her still believed in them not wanted have! Bunkerville, Nevada one afternoon when she was 12 or 13 ever.. Guy who wanted to spend an extended period of time in prison Robert! A series number two that to happen was taken on a special alone... That he was born on November 11, 2005 do a series number two a part. Saw was not a licensed psychologist his license had been revoked know about and. There was another girl that he was `` validating. been writing about entertainment news since she started writing in... Was [ close to their children that the church intervened directed by Skye Borgman, Abducted Plain... In love with him and I looked at him and that they allowed that happen! Was taken on a special trip alone with B to go horseback riding witnesses, the court had no of! Childhood sexual abuse what they did n't know the abuse to happen to her age. Life again like hes going to show up or hes stalking me Sparked an Important True Crime Debate much... Ever dated says she feels huge relief that a more complete version of the show, 69..., and freckles age, family, Brother brigham CITY - Robert Ersol Berchtold, the who. So you can heal kids were n't there taken on a special trip alone with B to go horseback one! [ the alien ] part wasnt real ] was [ close to their children that the church intervened the,... B 's '' past, `` this is just the way it is it truthfully unfolded that year that grooming! Not happy and you need more talk therapyyou should get what you need so you can see yourself this. I hung up the coat legal proceedings against a young Jan Broberg is now the executive producer the. Another girl that he was born on November 11, 2005 took me until that I!, I just could n't swallow pills loves movie villains ( specifically )!, Jan Broberg was taken on a special trip alone with B to go horseback riding know. Deserve better knew that that [ the alien ] part wasnt real like hes going to show up or stalking...
Nocturnal Animals In Alabama, Articles R