So if you’ve clicked on this article, chances are you’ve had the displeasure of becoming acquainted with the very strange and unfortunate story of Jan Broberg. If you haven’t, I’m here to ruin it for you.
Jan was the daughter of Mary Ann & Bob Broberg from a small town in Idaho during the ’70s. She was kidnapped by her neighbor, Bob Berchtold, twice.
The most alarming aspect of this case is the timeline in which the events occurred.
Please see the timeline below:
Yes. Those are all facts and you read them correctly.
Let me reiterate the 3 things that made me want to turn the movie off:
1. Jan’s parents allowed a grown man into her bed AFTER he was accused of having inappropriate relationships with young girls.
2. BOTH of Jan’s parents committed sexual acts with Bob Berchtold. Jan’s mother even had an almost year-long affair AFTER he had already kidnapped her the first time.
3. Jan’s mother put her on a plane willingly to go spend two weeks unsupervised to see her kidnapper.
Now, I understand this was the 70’s and this was a religious family who probably didn’t know too much about pedophilia or the crime of it. However, what therapy includes a man laying with young girls? Even if it was to “stifle his urges” how would that help? Also, imagine being Jan and realizing there was a creepy man in your bed. It doesn’t sound like a good idea no matter which way you flip it.
The national U.S Department of Justice did a study and in just a 2-year span of time, 58,200 children were abducted by a non-family member that they know*. Most children reported missing are either runaways or abducted in a parental dispute, but directly after those – is the category of “non-family abductions”. It’s no secret that children get kidnapped by their neighbors. I guess no one ever gave the Broberg’s the memo.
The truth is, kids, go missing every day. I understand this was 1974 and it may not have been as common or publicized on the news, but they had to have known something was up. In the movie, a mutual friend of both families stated that he went on vacation with Bob and Jan and could tell something was funny and distanced himself. So if someone could tell by just being in their presence, how did her PARENTS not notice? Even the siblings interviewed mentioned that they knew Bob took favor on Jan. That’s not normal for a grown man to take FAVOR in a young girl.
Watching this film reminded me greatly of another recent documentary on Lifetime, “Surviving R. Kelly”. R.Kelly is a popular music artist in America who has been accused of manipulating young girls to come live with him and be a sex slave, in a quick summary. Some of the girl’s parents gave their side of the story and some of the same excuses were used by the Broberg’s. However, R.Kelly uses his fame and money to lure the girls in, what was so special about Bob? It’s just peculiar.
While I personally blame the parents for their lack of parenting, I understand that Bob Berchtold was extremely manipulative and charming. The town they were in seemed a bit boring and he lured them in with fun activities like horseback riding and nice gestures like fruit baskets.
Bob used so many forms of manipulation over the span of this movie that I lost track.
1. He used drugs to alter Jan’s mental state often.
2. He used her parents to get access to her.
3. He dangled her interests in front of her to get her to like him. For example, taking her horseback riding.
4. He literally separated her from her siblings by creating a new bedroom for her in her home.
5. He created an entire intricate plot about aliens and even made fake voices on a tape recorder to scare her into sleeping with him and marrying him.
6. He wrote her love poems and letters and snuck them mysteriously into her school to get inside her head.
7. He lied to her parents about her whereabouts so they would not search for her the second time, even went as far to say she was prostituting.
8. He burned her father’s business down to scare her into thinking she was not safe.
9. Even 30 years later he was still lying in the courtroom claiming she made all of it up to sell books. He also canvassed the neighborhood and spread lies about Jan and her family.
I probably forgot a few…comment below if you think of any more.
Bob had all of the traits of a sexual predator and he was extremely calculated in his moves to get into Jan’s head. His plan was well thought out. I just wish he didn’t get away with so much and at least one of the adults in the story stopped and said: “enough is enough”. Even Jan’s own father didn’t get to that point for years.
The only good news about this story is that Jan is still alive and well, and is also an actress in Hollywood.
The bad news is that she was molested multiple times, kidnapped from her home twice, taken to Mexico against her will, sent to an all-girls Catholic boarding school, and haunted by aliens all before the age of 14.
So that Bob Berchtold was a son of a gun, huh?
Tune into Abducted in Plain Sight on Netflix to watch it all unfold.
Here’s my favorite meme so far:
Comment your reactions below!
