Adele's Review of Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story
The first thing you should
know in reading my review of Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg
Story by Mary Ann Broberg is
that I have a personal connection
http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Innocence-The-Broberg-Story/dp/0974515205
I
had the honor of hiring Jan Broberg, an amazingly talented actress,
to perform in an experimental audio book I produced many years ago.
Despite the fact that Jan had been kidnapped twice as a child and
abused by an adult male from her Church for many years, she grew into
an amazingly beautiful, talented and well balanced individual. I
enjoyed working with Jan immensely and would continue to hire her
except she is living in Hollywood where she in enjoying a successful
acting career. One of the projects Jan is working on now is a film
adaptation of the book her mother wrote about the kidnapping
No
story about the abuse of a child is easy to read, but Stolen
Innocence was especially trying
due to the way the adults in the case had also been duped by the
perpetrator, Robert Berchtold. The Brobergs met Berchtold family at
their LDS Church and became fast friends. Sadly, Robert Berchtold
used this friendship as a way of getting the Brobergs to trust him
with their daughter.
When
Jan was just 12 years old Berchtold offered to take her horseback
riding. Her parents consented, but instead of horseback riding,
Berchtold drugged Jan, tied her up in the back of a motor home and
drove to Mexico. The two were gone several days before Jan's parents
got the authorities involved. Berchtold had done such a good job in
conning the Broberg family they couldn't imagine he would ever harm
Jan
http://www.suindependent.com/news/id_6500/Actress,-child-abuse-survivor-Jan-Broberg-speaks-out-with-new-documentary-Stolen-Innocence-.html
Even
more astonishing, the Brobergs and the Berchtolds continued to
socialize attend the same Church even after the authorities returned
both Robert and Jan to their homes in Pocatello, Idaho. During the
five weeks Bertchtold held Jan captive in Mexico, he brainwashed her
into thinking she was supposed to bear his child or else her family
would face terrible consequences. Because Jan already been kidnapped
and sexually abused for many weeks, why would she have any reason to
doubt this? As a result, Jan secretly continued to stay in personal
contact with Berchtold.
A
few years later, Berchtold once again kidnapped Jan, this time taking
her to a Catholic school in California. Jan was eventually returned
to her parents several months later and the story about the sexual
abuse was finally revealed to them. Since Broberg came out with her
story, six other women have come forward with claims of abuse at the
hands of Berchtold. Unfortunately, these victims will never get the
justice they seek because Berchtold took his own life when he was
finally sentenced to serve jail time for his crimes against Jan.
The
upside to this tragic tale? Jan was able to heal enough to reveal to
her parents what really happened during the times when Berchtold held
her in captivity. She must be one heck of a resilient person,
because Jan has gone on to have a hugely successful career, appearing
in numerous movies including co-starring with Elijah Wood in Maniac.
To learn more about Jan, check out her Wikipedia page:
Abuse
stories are never fun to read, but they can help us grow and
understand those who are affected by this horrible crime. I gave
Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story by
Mary Ann Broberg four stars on GoodReads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4673038.Adele_Park
I watched the netflix movie. If the story is true, then the parents should both be in jail for child neglect and for contributing to the abuse of a child. To say they were "naive" is ludicrous. The fact that they are not in jail is a huge red flag to the story's authenticity. Lots of money was made from the book, attention to her career and now the movie. That seems like a much more plausible motive.
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