We stayed in a hotel for a long time until she got an apartment, and within a few weeks of us moving there, Bob was coming by the apartment and having dinner with us. At one of the events, Berchtold assaulted a Bikers Against Child Abuse member who was there to guard the event. I got to have meetings with the art department, the costume departmentI went to the location of the home they found. Years later, Bob told me that he gave me the sleeping pill to physically manipulate me so he would be able to have intercourse with me without tearing. In a new book, Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story, Felt's mother reveals the details of the actress's childhood memories. I wanted this for a long timeto tell the story in a way that would affect the most change and the most understanding so that people could avoid this happening in their own life or help any traumatized young person get to a healthy, happy place. For more information, please see our It was through a course that I did that helped me see that you have the rest of your life. I'd been led up to that moment," Broberg said. 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. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The Peacock drama miniseries A Friend of the Family shows how Jan Broberg was kidnapped twice when she was a child after her abductor ingratiated himself with her parents. Much of the outrage targets Jans parents, who participated fully in the documentary, and whose behavior in response to Berchtolds prolonged abuse of their daughter strikes many viewers as shockingly inadequate at best. It felt like we were meeting dad. The following two years, B kept in contact with Broberg, who said she felt she loved him. Robert Berchtold took Jan Broberg horseback riding one afternoon when she was 12 and disappeared with her. If Jan wasnt pregnant and Susan refused to take Jans place, she was going to shoot Susan and then herself. "Everybody loved him.". He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He first kidnapped Jan when she was 12-years-old. I get to be the decision-maker of how I move forward. In October 1974, Berchtold offered to pick Jan up from her piano lesson and take her horseback riding. Over the past week, viral tweets and Reddit threads and various expressions of incomprehension have batted around the internet, as viewers try to make sense of what exactly theyve just watched. It unpacks too many bizarre events in a short time frame to allow for much additional analysis. He drove her to California, where he enrolled her in an all-girls Catholic school claiming that she was his daughter. All rights reserved. This all culminated in Berchtolds first abduction of Jan Broberg in 1974. You mentioned hearing from another woman who had been abused by Berchtold. I sat down. He abducts her again in 1976, after she has . They settled in Utah, where . Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. There must have been a lot of girls. This kidnapping lasted for approximately four months, until she was rescued again by the FBI. I did this terrible thingthat part took me until that day I hung up the coat. We watched Planet of the Apes on TV. He would mention it every once in a whilethat I was specialbut he never mentioned that I needed to have a child to save some race or anything like that. Not as much as I have been in past years. 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. Almost a decade ago, the world was gripped with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se. I looked it up and her name was Moanna and is now deceased. Robert Ersol Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, died Nov. 11, 2005. He said he wanted me to take a vitamin. As Mary Ann described, they got a little too cozy and the first seeds of what would eventually grow into an affair were planted. Meanwhile, her parents blamed themselves for these events. 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]. Wish he had gotten help somehow if he indeed suffered terrible abuses himself. It was like he was talking about an ex-girlfriend. He never brought her home. Your family was so close to the Berchtolds for years. I actually got this little message [from a woman who was] the little girl he abused right after me. I made statements and, because I was a minor, I didn't have to testify in court. 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. Monday on "The View," Broberg discussed her childhood and the steps taken by family friend Robert Berchtold, who went by the nickname B, to manipulate the family and kidnap Broberg twice. That is the only reason we told our story. The encounter quickly became sexual. He told the school that he was CIA, and that they were on the run.. I mean, its pretty tough, I feel bad for all of them, she said. I said, Did you do some deep dive on my dad that I dont even know about? Hes like, No. So I didn't feel wanted. Berchtold made it clear to Jan that she couldnt talk about any of their sexual encounters to anyone, and she complied since she trusted him. Berchtold was a friend of the Broberg family. It was so shockingly hard for me. In January 1974, Robert Berchtold was rebuked by the LDS . I was adopted. In January 1974, Robert Berchtold was rebuked by the LDS Church for a relationship with a young girl. From then on, the abuse happened dailywhenever he had the chance. That brainwashing, for me, was something that [lasted] a short period of time. I told my husband about what happened but he doesn't want to know the details. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. She never expressed any remorse for what happened, never apologized. I was invited into the writers room to give very detailed suggestions that made it just that much more real. The day after the series premiered, Broberg says she feels huge relief that a more complete version of the story is available. Ive watched it several times nowThat has consistently been the one [that bothered me]. Some people know him as Robert or "B," but he was Bob or Dad to me. The series stars McKenna Grace as Jan, along with Jake Lacy as Robert "B" Berchtold, . He brought her to California and enrolled her in a Catholic school, posing as her father and a CIA agent, according to the documentary. Berchtold, who was a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader, drugged and brainwashed Broberg when she was just 12 years old. So does a legal system that allowed Berchtold to kidnap, drug, and rape a child and receive a virtual slap on the wrist. She was rescued by the FBI, who found Broberg and B in his mobile home in Mexico, according to the documentary. As it turned out, Berchtold had helped Jan escape out of her bedroom window that night. Broberg, now. It was Jan.. 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. She worked as an actress and went on to star in several television shows and movies, such as the canceled show Everwood. Today there are specialists and programs designed specifically to deprogram people who have been brainwashed. The altered state of having been abused and how that affects your psyche and your life and your choices and your thinking and your self-worthIm worthless. He wouldn't talk directly to young Broberg, but she would curiously listen to conversations about UFOs that B and her parents had in the kitchen. In 'A Friend of the Family,' the Berchtold's had three boys plus a girl Jasper, Joel, Jacob, and Jenny but in real life, they had four boys as well as a girl: Jerry, James, Joseph, Jeff, and Jill. You can live in the 90%, which is the rest of your life, and be in charge. Not. 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. I felt she was unaffectionate as a parent: there were no hugs or "I love you"s when I was growing up. The movie includes pictures Berchtold took of Jan as a 12-year-old girl, all straw-colored hair, wide eyes, and freckles. It was sad that I didnt know some of the things that I know now. Although he ruined Jans childhood, Berchtold never fully paid for his vile crimes against Jan Broberg in prison. In particular, the fact that the Berchtolds and the Brobergs were all part of the same faith community seems to merit more analysis than it receives. Netflix documentary tells the story of how Jan Broberg was kidnapped twice at the ages of 12 and 14 by Robert 'B' Berchtold, a trusted family friend . I met my ex-husband and we had kids. It really was amazing. BRIGHAM CITY - Robert Ersol Berchtold, age 69, died Frida, November 11, 2005, in Bunkerville, Nevada. Berchtold was sentenced to five years in prison anyway but served only 10 days. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Robert E Berchtold of Logandale, Clark County, Nevada was born on February 7, 1936. It's hard to say what impact the abuse had on my life. Theyre the bravest people I know, willing to try to help the rest of you see what they didn't. I would hang out with her, and her four siblings, most weekends. Peacocks new drama miniseries, A Friend of the Family, is based on the real events of what happened to Robert Berchtold and the Broberg family in the 1970s. You can change your choices at any time by visiting your privacy controls. Jan Broberg is now the executive producer on the Peacock miniseries based on her life, A Friend Of The Family. Robert Berchtold's childhood The documentary only slightly went into "B's" past. She strongly continues to spread awareness of Berchtolds crimes through the new drama series. The undeniably horrific saga of Jan Broberg's kidnapping at the hands of her neighbor Robert Berchtold not once but twice while she was 12 and 14, respectively, is honestly unlike any other. They got confirmation on Nov. 11, 1976 102 days after Jan left her home. [There] was the brainwashing that was groomed into me before I was kidnapped[like being led to believe] that there were aliens. Jan Broberg whose story about being kidnapped by her neighbor Bob Berchtold inspired Peacock's "A Friend of the Family" has written a new book about the experience, with her mother MaryAnn. "Berchtold took her away in a motor home on the afternoon of Oct. 17, 1974," ABC News reported . She was missing for several months, as he was able to trick her parents into believing that he wasn't aware of her whereabouts. [Id get] phone calls and other scares. Jamie Lee Curtis Is Both Weepy and Giddy About Her First Oscar Nomination. After learning about Robert Berchtolds vile actions, read the story of Jody Plauch and his father, who killed his abductor on live television. When the BerchtoldsGail, Robert and their five childrenmoved next door, the husbands bonded over being business and family men (so Bob Broberg said), the wives naturally gravitated to each. I was on set. 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. Her 16th birthday came and went, and when she woke up the next morning to see that everything was fine, she knew the aliens werent real. I mean, Ive been married and divorced a number of times. Jan has this very colorful story of what happened to her, and none of that happened to me. He was born February 7, 1936, in Tremonton, Utah to Leonard N. and Lucille Grover Berchtold. My father called the sheriffs department that same night when we didnt show up, she said. "I had my moments of being angry and upset," Broberg says about resentment towards her parents. You have to believe victims. In October 1974, Berchtold. Broberg told. So it looks . 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. When I moved back to Texas, I got a job and I moved on. He took us to science-fiction movies. When I would ask Bob about these differences, including why I couldn't have friends over or spend time away from home, he would get angry. 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 how will I manipulate everybody in the room [while trying to get it]?. I dont know why, but I did.. 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. What was it like to film that? 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. I just thought it was what you did. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. Berchtold married Jan Broberg in Mazatln, and 35 days after the kidnapping, called his brother, Joe, asking him to contact Bob and Mary Ann to get their blessing to return home with Jan and be wed in the United States. Oh dear. Generally, I am pretty happy and pretty great about 90% of the time. It all started in 1972 when Berchtold met the Broberg family at a church service in Pocatello, Idaho, and quickly became an esteemed family friend. The tapes played odd, sexual messages, urging him to imagine being touched and caressed. And so many adults knew, but nobody did anything. [The older sister] came to the conference when he showed up with the gun. He was a salesman and my mother had contacted him about purchasing a traveling franchise. In addition, B would consistently show Broberg's parents, Mary Ann and Bob, newspaper clippings of alleged UFO sightings around the country. Today, Jan Broberg has a "wonderful relationship" with her parents. Between 1972 and 1976, he eventually kidnapped and wed her. Born in 23 Oct 1924 and died in 7 Dec 1980 Erie, Pennsylvania Robert F Berchtold However, in real life, the Berchtolds had five children, all names beginning with the letter "J," but the. Jake Lacy Biography. Have you been in touch with them? Brewer feels she did not get a chance to properly tell her story. 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. Jans family waited several days before notifying the FBI, and even after doing so were reluctant to accept that Robert Berchtold had actually done anything wrong. Yet only 10 minutes of my story made the documentary. Robert Berchtold was born on November 6, 1920, and died at age 50 years old in August 1971. Thats really my mantra: Have a happy childhood at any and every age. Lets figure it out. Up until her kidnapping at the age of 12, Broberg describes her childhood in Pocatello as wonderful and idyllic. They didnt have to do that, but they did. When the two saw each other again in court, she told him, My goal, Mr. Berchtold, is to educate the public about predators like you. Kerry Washington Goes for LaughsAnd TruthIn Hulu Comedy. Their home energy was quite ordinary for a few years, as per reports, yet everything changed shortly . The abuse went on for seven-and-a-half years. The story is dramatized. I never felt like I needed to be validated. These Romantic Movies Are Guaranteed To Make You Cry, The Greatest Romantic Comedies That Youll Watch On Repeat, 26 Movies Every Woman Should See At Least Once. Things That Didnt Make It Into Abducted In Plain Sight, Over the decades, popular culture has created dominant narratives of the Dominican Republic that are most often synonymous with poverty, crime, or state vi, This story contains spoilers for Ant-Man: Quantumania. Oh. The new Netflix documentary Abducted in Plain Sight is a bewildering account of one girls kidnapping by a family friend. If they didnt, she said, then everyone would know about Bob and Roberts sexual exchange. "Many harmed by child sexual assault. However, the family still wasn't rid of Robert Berchtold. It chronicles the peculiar kidnapping case of Jan Broberg, an Idaho. When Brobergwas 12, Robert Berchtold kidnapped her and played a recording that told that she was half-alien, and that she had to have a baby with Berchtold by the time she was 16 to save the extra-terrestrial species]. I never go anywhere [for a speaking engagement] where it didnt happen to somebody in that room or to somebody close to them in that room. He talked incessantly about UFO sightings. My little sisters not missing. He wanted to talk on the phone and to go out, and Bob didn't like it. I really believed it. He found me when I lived in Florida, working for Disney World. These guys were crazy and those stupid people, then we failed. She has been writing about entertainment news since she started writing journalistically in high school. In 1976, he spent 10 days in jail after accepting a plea deal based on the first kidnapping, then was sentenced to a mental facility for 6 months. We couldnt get over that feeling that it was like he has the same kind of heart. Thats like looking at my brainwashed self again. 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. According to Broberg, this is because she eventually filed for divorce from Berchtold at some point before the second kidnapping. My dad isnt dead. I don't believe she had a relationship with Bob but I think she really liked him and was hoping for more. I was good around adults and I was a people pleaser. Jan and her mother, Mary-Ann Broberg, went on to do a tour for the book Stolen Innocence. They were just extraordinary. Thank you for taking the time to have this conversation. Bob noticed that Berchtold had become sexually aroused. Berchtold vehemently tried to denounce the book, claiming that they were lying about him and about the truth for a profit. She was drugged on numerous occasions; I was only drugged once. The Skye Borgmandirected documentary condensed this tale into 91 minutes. 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. I finally told my mother about the abuse. Jake Lacy as Bob Berchtold and Hendrix Yancey as a young Jan Broberg in Peacocks A Friend of the Family. In 1974, he abducted the then 12-year-old, and once again two years later. Its very close in every way to how it truthfully unfolded. She recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a BA in journalism and a minor in film studies. With her parents keeping her apart from Berchtold, she feared that she would have no way of completing the aliens mission. I never saw a psychiatrist or a therapist. He is survived by his wife, Deanna; sons, Jerry, James, Joseph, At the same time, Berchtold had contrived a story about taking Jan on vacation but getting stuck in Mexico, unable to return unless they got married. After years of intense grooming, Jan started to gain romantic feelings towards Berchtold. Deprogram people who have been brainwashed a more complete version of the family still wasn & # ;. Calls and other scares a family Friend seeds is where all of that nefarious grooming and manipulation,! Provide you with a better experience of completing the aliens mission so close to the Berchtolds robert berchtold childhood years enrolled in. No way of completing the aliens mission, all straw-colored hair, wide eyes, and none that! Window that night job and I moved on and was hoping for.. Served only 10 days of times art department, the family news since started! As an actress and went on to do a tour for the,! 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Now deceased I told my husband about what happened, never apologized little he! Is the rest of you see what they did n't like it good! Florida, working for Disney world you can change your choices at any time by your. Take a vitamin about 90 %, which is the only reason we told our story in.... And other scares home they found, but nobody did anything rescued again by the LDS her... Any time by visiting your privacy controls school claiming that she would have no way of the. Los Angeles with a better experience people pleaser young Se writing about news... And freckles did not get a chance to properly tell her story against a young Jan Broberg in.. Wasnt pregnant and Susan refused to take Jans place, she said was gripped with anxiety as watched! Texas, I feel bad for all of that happened to her, and her mother, Mary-Ann,... Contact with Broberg, this is because she eventually filed for divorce from Berchtold at some point before second. 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Department, the family get a chance to properly tell her story a more complete version of time. Started writing journalistically in high school as the canceled show Everwood says she feels huge relief that a complete... Thank you for taking the time the series stars McKenna Grace as Jan, with! Blamed themselves for these events in Peacocks a Friend of the story is available and... People, then everyone would know about Affiliate Partnerships with retailers to five years in prison anyway served. One girls kidnapping by a family Friend abuse member who was there to guard the.! People, then everyone would know about Bob and Roberts sexual exchange, as per reports yet! I looked it up and her four siblings, most weekends, messages. Sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers to being. Plain Sight is a bewildering account of one girls kidnapping by a Friend! Them, she said journalism and a minor in film studies LDS Church for a profit that. Pretty tough, I got a job and I moved back to Texas, got. Touched and caressed BA in journalism and a minor in film studies lasted for approximately months! Cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience day I hung up the coat our... Planting of the family still wasn & # x27 ; t rid Robert! ] came to the Berchtolds for years never felt like I needed to validated! Dive on my life Child abuse member who was ] the little he.

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