The leader of an Amish sect in Ohio, who was indicted on federal charges for allegedly shaving the beards and cutting the hair of community members, must pay for his own legal defense after making millions off an oil-and-gas deal, court documents show.
Previously ruled indigent, the defendant received about $2 million in early March by leasing the rights to his 800-acre farm in Bergholz and will now have to foot the bill for his public defender should he choose to keep him, the judge ruled Monday. He is free to retain private counsel, should he choose to do so. The proceeds from the lease allowed him to free the farm of all outstanding debt and mortgages.
Because of his newfound wealth, the defendant must pay the public defender twice his normal government subsidized rate -- $250 per hour, a court order signed by a U.S. District Judge.
In December, 12 members -- 10 men and two women -- of the breakaway Amish sect were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to violate the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act. They were also charged with obstruction of justice in the five incidents, which occurred between September and November according to Cincinnati Civil Rights Lawyers.
The defendant is being held without bond, because the court considers him a threat to the community and a flight risk. He has offered to secure his pretrial release through either a significant cash bond or by pledging his property. The trial is scheduled to start August 27, say Columbus Civil Rights Lawyers.
The defendant exerted control over the Bergholz community by taking the wives of other men into his home, and by overseeing various means of disciplining community members, including corporal punishment. As a result of religious disputes with other Ohio Amish, the assaults on their perceived religious enemies were planned and carried out. The assaults all entailed using scissors and battery-powered clippers to forcibly cut or shave the beard hair of the male victims and the head hair of the female victims. During each assault, the defendants restrained and held down the victims. The manner in which Amish men wear their beards and Amish women wear their hair are symbols of their faith.
During some of the incidents, those who attempted to intervene and protect or rescue the victims were injured, officials said. Afterward, some of the defendants allegedly discussed concealing photographs and other evidence of the assaults.
In addition to the other charges, several men are accused of concealing or attempting to conceal evidence including a camera, photographs and an over-the-counter medication that was allegedly placed in the drink of one of the assault victims.
According to Cleveland Civil Rights Lawyers, the maximum penalty for the conspiracy count is five years in prison upon conviction, authorities said. The hate crimes charges would be punishable by a maximum of life in prison, while the maximum penalty for an obstruction conviction would be 20 years in prison.
An FBI affidavit in the case says that the defendant in some cases forced members to sleep for days at a time in a chicken coop and beat those who appeared to disobey him. He had been "counseling" married women in the sect, "taking them into his home so that he may cleanse them of the devil with acts of sexual intimacy," a sworn statement from an FBI agent said.
Seven men were arrested in November as part of a raid on the 800-acre compound, authorities said.
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