How Robert Berchtold Got His Hooks In The Broberg Family

The Netflix documentary "Abducted in Plain Sight" has shown the public the monstrous and wicked mind of Robert Berchtold, a child predator who raped and kidnapped Jan Broberg when she was 12 to 16 years old. Berchtold not only manipulated and preyed on a child but also seduced the entire family — most notably Jan's parents — to help continue his relationship with Jan. Ultimately, Berchtold's hold on the family allowed him to kidnap Jan two separate times.

It all started in 1972 when Berchtold met the Broberg family at a church service in Pocatello, Idaho, and quickly became an esteemed family friend. Berchtold had a family of his own, and his children would often play with the Broberg kids, including Jan, according to ATI. At the time, Jan was only 10, and Berchtold — who the Brobergs called "B" — would often shower her with gifts and attention, which she loved. Berchtold spent lots of time with the family, and according to Jan's mother, Mary Ann Broberg, Berchtold would ask to go on boating trips if Jan went (via ABC 4).

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

During his time with the Brobergs, Robert Berchtold engaged in increasingly strange and manipulative behaviors. Berchtold invited Mary Ann Broberg to a religious retreat in Logan, Utah, where the two became more intimate with one another, which eventually led to their affair a couple of years later (via ATI). On a drive with Bob Broberg, Jan's father, Berchtold complained about his sex life with his wife and asked Bob to pleasure him, which started an affair between the two.

Berchtold said of the event (per ATI), "I entered into a homosexual relationship with her father in order to have access to Jan. I had a fixation for Jan. I don't know why, but I did." This only strengthened Berchtold's hold on the family, and in 1974, when he was kicked out of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for molesting another young girl, he supposedly sought out a psychologist. Berchtold then claimed he needed to sleep in Jan's bed to recover from his tendencies, which the Broberg parents reluctantly agreed to, according to ATI.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Later that year, Robert Berchtold convinced the Brobergs to allow him to take Jan Broberg horseback riding with him, and when he did, he drugged the 12-year-old and took her to a motor home, where she was tied in shackles to the bed with a radio repeatedly saying the phrase "female companion" by two separate feminine voices (via ABC 4). Jan eventually found Berchtold, who was covered in blood and seemed to be in distress. Berchtold told Jan that the two had been abducted by aliens and that they had to have a child together before Jan turned 16 or the world would be destroyed. Berchtold raped Jan Broberg multiple times over the next 39 days. 

Berchtold then took Jan to Mexico where he wanted to marry her, given that at the time, you only had to be 12 to legally marry in the country. He planned on coming back to the United States to officially have the wedding and asked his brother, Joe Berchtold, to ask the Brobergs for their blessing to marry their daughter. However, Joe contacted the FBI, and Robert Berchtold was arrested and sent back to the United States, according to ATI.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

When Jan Broberg was returned to the United States and to her family, the Brobergs had her checked for sexual abuse, but the clinician found none, so the Brobergs believed that Robert Berchtold hadn't done anything wrong. Gail Berchtold, Robert's wife, then blackmailed the Brobergs to drop the charges against him or else she would tell everyone about the sexual relationship between her husband and Bob Broberg (per ATI). The Brobergs complied, and Robert Berchtold never served prison time for what he did to Jan. Shortly after, he moved to Utah for work.

During his time in Utah, Berchtold convinced Mary Ann Broberg to visit him. The two had a sexual affair with one another, and Berchtold told Bob of the affair. Berchtold then later moved to Wyoming and opened his own business, and Jan persistently asked her parents to work for him in the summer. Mary Ann finally bought her a plane ticket to go see him. After two weeks of visiting Berchtold, Jan returned home before disappearing for a second time on August 10, 1976 (via ATI).

Robert Berchtold snuck Jan Broberg out of her window, drugged her, and moved her to Pasadena, California, where he enrolled her in a private Catholic school using the name "Janis Tobler," claiming that he was a CIA agent who needed people to care for his daughter (via ATI). Eventually, Berchtold began seeing Jan less often, and Jan was scared that they would not complete the "mission" and that the world would be destroyed because her 16th birthday was coming up. However, after her birthday passed and the planet was still here, she realized that the aliens were all made up (via ATI).

Jan returned home to her family, and Berchtold did serve a minimum sentence for kidnapping charges. After that incident, he was no longer involved with the Broberg family — until Mary Ann Broberg released the book "Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story" in 2003. Berchtold claimed that the Broberg family made up all the things in the book, but six other women came out saying that he had assaulted them as well. In 2005, Berchtold died by suicide, and the Broberg family continues to spread awareness about child predators (via ABC 4).

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.