Eicher out of Jail; CPS working with Family

Eicher out of Jail; CPS working with Family

By Nicole Pence

An Amish father is out of jail after police charged him with incest and molestation. Nicole Pence, who first broke details of this story Friday, joins us with the latest on the case against Andy Eicher.

We don't know who posted his 2-thousand-dollar bond on Saturday, but Eicher is out of jail. The 55-year-old Berne man faces five felony counts of incest and molestation. Eicher is due in court within the next two weeks.

Adams County police and the prosecutor have been working on this case since last October. Court papers show us Eicher's 16-year-old daughter first confided to her neighbor that her father began "touching her in a sexual manner" as early as age five...that daughter also told police her father had "intercourse with her on more than 20-occasions." Two other daughters told police similar stories.

Andy Eicher has seven more daughters, and the Adams County Prosecutor Chris Harvey says all children were interviewed by police. Indiana’s NewsCenter has confirmed Child Protective Services is involved, but it's not clear to what extent. They're keeping a tight-lip on such a sensitive case.

Steve Scott/CPS, Regional Director: “Anything that stands in the way, whether it be culture, religion, or mis-communication, it is always a problem. If the evaluation reveals....and the assessment at that time would say the kids are not safe, we would take steps to make them safe.”

In an interview with police in November, Eicher did not deny the incest or molestation allegations, but "said he did not remember doing so."

CPS officials say they have worked Amish cases like this one before - where there have been claims of child molestation and incest.

Where are the children now? We don't know if they are in foster homes, with relatives, or at home. Still a lot of questions, including why it took six months to bring charges in the case, and prosecutor Chris Harvey has declined to talk about that with us.
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