Amish Man Charged With Rape

An Amish man in Guernsey County, Ohio, is charged with two counts of rape and the sheriff's department said there could be more victims.

Guernsey County Sheriff Michael McCauley told NEWS9 the charged man is now 18 years old, but was only 17 at the time of the alleged rapes, meaning, he will be tried as a juvenile.

McCauley said the alleged victims currently involved in the case are only 5 and 13 years old and both of them are also Amish.

McCauley stressed to NEWS9 the difficulty Amish communities often bring to cases, because he said often they are hesitant to talk with law enforcement.

McCauley also said, though, that right now he and the department are thankful that they know of at least two of the alleged victims. And he said the Amish community in this case is proving to be helpful so far.

McCauley said this case has been under investigation for several weeks now, and said this is just the beginning of what will likely be a very large investigation into a particular Amish community.

---Ashley Koe, NEWS9