Four family members related to Serah Bellar, who was reported missing on April 3 last year at the age of 16, were indicted by an Athens County Grand Jury on Tuesday.Â
Robert, 54, and Deborah Bellar, 49, of Athens, parents of Serah Bellar and 17 other children, are charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a second-degree felony, and two charges of endangering children, both third-degree felonies.Â
The endangering children charges list Serah Bellar and another child as victims.Â
âThe Bellar family formed an enterprise in order to maintain control in the home, their cult-like beliefs based on their religious following, and caused physical, emotional, and psychological harm to their children,â their indictments, filed on May 18, state.Â
Prosecutor: 4 indicted for ongoing sexual abuse in Athens County 10tv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 10tv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Candidate forums are running a little differently this election cycle.
The League of Women Voters of Athens County hosted a virtual forum for the two candidates for the Athens County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile and Probate Division judge on last week.
Both candidates, candidates Kenneth E. Ryan and Zachary L. Saunders, tuned in to respond to questions from community members, who submitted queries before the event.
Tonya Conrath was the moderator for the evening, and she began the evening by acknowledging the passing of Juvenile and Probate Judge Robert Stewart.
Judge Stewart, 70, was in his 18th year as Athens County Probate Juvenile Judge. He died on Saturday, Sept. 12.