Judge to Amish man: "This is serious stuff"

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Judge to Amish man: "This is serious stuff"

Suspect Andy Eicher leaves the Adams County courthouse.

By Nicole Pence

DECATUR, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- An Amish man accused of having sex with three of his ten daughters appeared in an Adams County court for the first time Tuesday morning.

55-year old Andy Eicher left the Adams County courthouse Tuesday morning after a judge reminded him of the crimes he faces. The Amish man is charged with five felony counts of incest and child molestation...after three of his daughters told police back in October their father had sex with them, several times.

If convicted, Eicher's maximum sentence could be as much as 90-years in prison. With his head buried in his hands during Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Schurger appointed a lawyer for Eicher. The Amish often want problems handled without mediation; however, the Judge told him, "this is pretty serious stuff, and because what is at stake here, the court is ordering you an attorney."

Eicher will be back in front of the judge late June. His Jury trial is set to begin in September.

Nicole Pence/Indiana's NewsCenter: "The last time an Amish man was charged with incest here in Adams County was in 1949. That man, Peter L. Schwartz, confessed to police that he had sex with his daughter. But, a court technicality erased that plea. And, five years later when the trial began, his daughter refused to testify against him... And, Schwartz walked away a free man."

A court hearing arraigned by child protective services was also held Tuesday morning to determine their involvement with the Eicher family. Indiana’s NewsCenter’s call to Adams County DCS went unanswered.

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