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Alleged molester lured Amish dissidents from Indiana
More articles on this topic: CrimeMan accused of using his authority to coerce boy into sexual activity at home
The Holland Sentinel, Aug. 28, 2002
http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/
By NATE REENS, Staff writer
A Holland man charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct was once credited by his followers in a dissident Amish sect with having supernatural powers.
Those reports, included in a 1990 Los Angeles Times story, and Eash’s belief that the Amish should use phones and electricity later led the 50-year-old away from the mainstream Amish community in northern Indiana to Holland, where he settled on the city’s south side in 1994.
A number of people who looked to Eash as their spiritual leader and life counselor soon joined him here and, according to court files, supported the man now accused of molesting a teen-ager who was among his followers.
“This is not an organized church and he’s not ordained, but the people that came here to follow him and the ones that still look up to him see him as their leader or counselor,” Holland police Detective Jeff Velthouse said. “He describes himself and acknowledges that he is their leader.”
Eash was arrested and arraigned Friday — his 50th birthday — in Holland District Court on one count of using his authority position to coerce a 14-year-old boy into sexual activity. The charge is punishable by life in prison.
Velthouse said the teen-ager was living at the same 199 E. 34th St. address as Eash, but was not a relative.
[...]
A bond report, prepared by probation agent Cathy Shaw, describes Eash as “a cult leader who is supported by the members of the cult.” Shaw determined Eash may be a flight risk because he has no ties to the community.
“Police believe Eash is a risk and a threat to the alleged victim, the cult members and the community,” Shaw wrote in the report.
[...]
Velthouse said he’s unsure why Eash chose to settle in Holland after breaking away from the Indiana Amish community. The detective said Eash’s followers came on their own free will, but he would not say if the members are free to come and go as they please.
“Obviously if they’re going to move from one spot to another, they’ve committed themselves to his ability to minister or counsel them,” Velthouse said.
The detective stopped short of calling Eash’s religious group a cult, but said a group of its nature is “isolated” in and around Holland.
Eash gained national exposure and notoriety in 1990 when the family of Elma Miller hired a “deprogrammer” to convert her from Eash’s group and return her to the Amish lifestyle.
The Millers hired a AKPC_IDS += "600,";
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