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# Not even Amish are immune to society’s ills
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/not-even-amish-are-immune-to-societys-ills-editor/
- Published: 2006-10-12T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:38:51.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Cheryl Erb Santa Monica*

When will murders against children stop, when there are no more children? (Charles Carl) Roberts should have gotten professional help, or at least forgiven himself, for his past of molesting relatives. He must have been a time-bomb ready to explode. Since he was armed and had stuff to tie up the girls, he planned this. No telling how long he had planned it. Those girls must have been in disbelief that anything bad could happen to them. This is a drawback to the Amish way of life — they are unprepared for the possibility that this kind of crime could ever affect them.

How tragic now for the Amish community to be included in some of the crime of the modern world, such as what happens on a daily basis in most cities of any size.

On the other hand, maybe those Amish communities ought to at least have telephones to get help when they need it.

It is tragic when city crimes spread to peace-loving, nonviolent communities/areas such as Amish villages. It is also scary. What is tragically frightening is how long some people carry around guilt over their past. Then it doesn’t take much to set them off.

I wonder what set Roberts off — his fears/dreams that he would molest again, as well as his daughter’s death? He’s right that he was never the same after her death, but did Roberts get any professional help?

At least he didn’t hurt his own children. Everyone here suffers a great, if not sadly tragic, loss.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 12, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/101206.pdf?ref=smdp.com)