My mother worked two jobs, so there was a lot of time for that. 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. Other revelations, though, come thick and fast. In a candid conversation, Broberg tells VF about the surreal experience of seeing her abuser brought to life again. And this 10% experience, you cant let it ruin the rest of your life. The first time Berchtold kidnapped Broberg, he took her to Mexico and married her. Heidi Brewer met Broberg while filming this documentary. Hows your family?. 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. You mentioned hearing from another woman who had been abused by Berchtold. Of course, my insecurities show, and my anger pops out. I hope theyre doing okay, especially his kids. She worked as an actress and went on to star in several television shows and movies, such as the canceled show Everwood. Berchtold eventually moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he bought a family fun center. I didn't know the abuse was wrong until I was 12 or 13. Mary Ann was involved in an eight-month affair with B post kidnapping while she was still married to Bob, even though she knew he was her daughters abductor. In one, her underwear is clearly visible. You can live in the 90%, which is the rest of your life, and be in charge. Robert Hites Berchtold, 90, of Beaver Falls, formerly of New Brighton, died Thursday, September 10, 2020, in Providence Care Center. Then he twisted that into, They want us to get married, and then everything will be okay. Yet only 10 minutes of my story made the documentary. Hes so funny and kind and warm. About a month later, Bob took me to Ogden for the weekend to meet his five kids. It almost feels like this huge burden is lifted off my shoulders by having the story told right. Jan returned home, but only briefly. He said because we wanted to come home, they would not let me come back across the border if I did not have her married to me. A Friend Of The Family: What Happened To Kidnapper Robert Berchtold, Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Sparked An Important True Crime Debate, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Can Solve 1 True Crime Show Problem, Criminal Minds: Evolution May Have Finally Set Up Spencer Reid's Return, The Last of Us Episode 8 Trailer Reveals Original Joel Actor's New Role, Disneys Double Show Cancellation Hints At Big Disney+ Changes. 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.. After the first kidnapping, her parents were completely unaware of the sexual abuse. I was such a happy girl. I guess it doesn't matter at this point, but since the doc is out and everything.looks like any kin he had will never speak of him Scan this QR code to download the app now. I could see if the lining was coming out or if I really felt like I needed to put it back on because I needed somebodys empathy or sympathy for what happened to me. 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. 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 frequently called Mary Ann, confessing his love to her and asking her to meet him in Utah to talk about everything. He gave her allergy medication that knocked her out and drove with her to Pasadena, California where he enrolled her in a Catholic school with the alias Janis Tobler, feeding the nuns a fake story about being a CIA agent who needed someone to care for his daughter. Her dad owned Atkin Florist, while her mother was a homemaker. My father called the sheriffs department that same night when we didnt show up, she said. [The older sister] came to the conference when he showed up with the gun. Meanwhile, her parents blamed themselves for these events. They consulted with me constantly. Robert Ersol Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, died Nov. 11, 2005. He brought her to California and enrolled her in a Catholic school, posing as her father and a CIA agent, according to the documentary. I never saw a psychiatrist or a therapist. In spite of the fact that Robert (or B) was born on February 7, 1936 close to Tremonton, Utah, he spent the majority of his childhood in the Mountain West region with his mother, several of his siblings, his stepfather, and his stepfather's biological father. Berchtold made them believe his therapist had advised him to work through his pedophilia by sharing a bed with Jan. The 56-year-old actress, who was abducted, raped and abused by family friend Robert Berchtold in the 70s, Speaking to ET Online, Jan explained how her attacker didn't lie with her under the . Pete Welsh, the lead FBI agent investigating Jans disappearance, had to drill that into our minds, Mary Ann explains in an interview. I remember waking up in the morning and not feeling well at all. Broberg was missing for roughly a month during the first kidnapping, during which she was sexually assaulted by B. 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. Berchtold, who was now living in Salt Lake City, Utah, had enrolled Jan at an all-girls Catholic school in Pasadena, California. They didnt forgive him. He would pick me up from school and take me to his place, his motor home, our place or just in the car in the middle of nowhere. Im home from this dance and safe. And then I start testing the waters over the next few months. He anesthetized her with sleeping pills and raped the girl up to maybe 200 times. Because my happy, carefree world changed in an instantand that was the instant when I woke up with my arms and my feet restrained in a dark room and that voice, that was so terrifying. If she failed to do this, the aliens warned, her sister Susan would be chosen instead, and harm would come to the rest of her family. Jan was one of three daughters born to Bob Broberg, a florist, and Mary Ann. He was sentenced to five years probation and five years in prison. All rights reserved. Jan and her mother, Mary-Ann Broberg, went on to do a tour for the book Stolen Innocence. I was so involved and so consulted and so cared for. Listen and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, Stitcher or the ABC News app. Susan called him and said, Your father said that youre his attorney. He said, I would never represent my father. Jan, Karen and Susan. In October 1974, Berchtold offered to pick Jan up from her piano lesson and take her horseback riding. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. Many people did. Ive watched it several times nowThat has consistently been the one [that bothered me]. I know that theyve been invited to share their side [of the story], including his ex-wife, but theyve never wanted to talk to anybody. . As Mary Ann described, they got a little too cozy and the first seeds of what would eventually grow into an affair were planted. We couldnt get over that feeling that it was like he has the same kind of heart. The Berchtold family also had a baby girl when they met in the Peacock dramatization. As it turned out, Berchtold had helped Jan escape out of her bedroom window that night. 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. He was a salesman and my mother had contacted him about purchasing a traveling franchise. He drove her to California, where he enrolled her in an all-girls Catholic school claiming that she was his daughter. 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. Robert Berchtold sexually abused Jan Broberg for several years and manipulated her and her family. I can't imagine how many girls there were before Jan, between Jan and I, and how many came after me. But whatever happened to Robert? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. All but 45 days of his prison sentence were suspended, and B ended up only serving 10 days in prison, according to the documentary. Rian Johnson, Halle Berry, and More Share Their Inspiration, From the Archive:Who Stole the Oscars? And did that give you some sort of relief or closure? In January 1974, Robert Berchtold was rebuked by the LDS . She had that same kind of brightness. I did what I was supposed to do. Jan Broberg is now the executive producer on the Peacock miniseries based on her life, A Friend Of The Family. I think he just knew that I cared about her. Warning: Contains SPOILERS for A Friend of the Family. It took Jan years to learn to cope with the damage Robert Berchtold inflicted on her. Through therapy, she learned to forgive them for not stopping the years of abuse she endured from B. The only contact we had was one time when Berchtold was trying to defame my mom for writing our storyafter our first published book. In 2005, Berchtold was found guilty of the assault committed during the Stolen Innocence book tour. So I felt like I was protecting her from being hurt, by allowing the abuse to happen. Shes gone., The Brobergs relative calm in the face of their 12-year-old daughters abduction by an adult man is one of the most immediately disturbing elements of the story. S, Welcome to Love Like This?, a romance column where we, Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Ineye Komonibo, revisit some of the most romantic or not, in hindsig, Whether its the iconic early-aughts film Love Dont Cost a Thing or her 2021 Netflix hit Resort to Love, Christina Milian has solidified herself in th, This story contains spoilers for Netflixs You People. That companion was B, and the mission was to have a child with him before Broberg turned 16 years old. Berchtold vanished from their lives, but managed to avoid going to prison. Jan has this very colorful story of what happened to her, and none of that happened to me. 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. In actuality, though, Jan explained that Berchtold had just been careful. I could dig into the pockets. Jan Broberg's abuser convinced her she was the last chance for an alien species. Thats why, she says, they didnt probe more when they knew something had happened. How involved were you with the making of the show? Growing up Mormon, Broberg told "The View" co-hosts she was somewhat familiar with the "Mary, Jesus, and Joseph story," and B told her a similar story through the voice recordings. Of seeing her abuser brought to life again just knew that I cared her. Is now the executive producer on the Peacock miniseries based on her life, Florist., her parents blamed themselves for these events Berchtold sexually abused Jan Broberg is now the executive on! 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