Chapter 16 Page 1

On May 7th 1997, my nephew Ervin couldn't take it any longer. All his steps he had taken in the past to try to stop his parents from further abuse had failed. Ervin said, "My parents have to be stopped." On May 8th, Ervin arrived in St. Lawrence County, New York. Ervin had a brief conversation with his parents, hoping to convince them to stop abusing his brothers and sisters. But his parents refused to listen to their son's request. Around ten thirty that morning Ervin made a phone call to St. Lawrence County Sheriffs Department requesting that his parents be arrested on child abuse charges. 

A Deputy arrived at the Miller residence shortly after Ervin made the phone call. Detective Jerry Wayner arrived at the Miller residence about fifteen minutes later. Detective Wayner immediately called the District  Attorney Roy Vance for advice about the possible removal of Andy and Emma Miller. Roy refused to give Jerry the okay to make an initial arrest before Jerry first cleared it with Atlee Byler, who operates a local furniture shop out side of Heuvelton. Atlee isn't a preacher; he is only a member of the Miller church. He had very close ties to the district Attorney's office. The District Attorney had simply left it up to Atlee whether or not Andy and Emma could be removed from there, or be charged with any crime. 

Jerry and Ervin went to Atlee's home and asked for his permission to take further action. Atlee said, "Jerry, do what ever you have to, I can't give you an answer yes or no." Jerry and Ervin arrived back at the Miller home. The uninformed officer was getting impatient. He had been on the scene since ten thirty that morning. It was now close to four o'clock in the afternoon. The District Attorney refused to give them the okay to make an arrest. Finally the uninformed officer was so frustrated that he took it upon himself to arrest Andy Miller on allegations of child abuse. 

The following day Emma was also removed from the Miller home on charges of child abuse. Immediately, orders of protection were signed so Andy and Emma Miller weren't allowed to step foot on their property where the ten Miller children remained. Ten of the Miller children remained at their home. The ages ranged from four years old to the age of twenty. Social Services were immediately awarded custody of the Miller children under the age of eighteen. Michelle, Kevin and Rachel were to supervise their younger brothers and sisters since they were above the age of eighteen. 

The week of the 15th, third degree felony assault charges were filed against Andy Miller for abusing his children. Ervin was desperately trying to get his younger brothers and sisters signed up for food stamps. This wasn't an easy task since none of them had any birth certificates or social security numbers and were Amish. That was three strikes against them. The first time the caseworker said, "It's against your religion to receive Government benefits." And simply talked them out of it. 

When Andy and Emma were initially removed from their home, they cleared out their checking and saving accounts and left their children without a dollar in their name. The Amish community was showing no support toward the Miller children. The Amish tried their best to discredit them. It was so bad that an order of protection was signed against St. Lawrence County Amish community. When Andy and Emma were removed from their home, Bishop Jacob Miller's son provided them with free room and board. After May 8th, the ten remaining children immediately had a Court appointed Attorney, Mr. Hyde. But the children weren't aware they had an attorney and Mr. Hyde came out to see them. The children were horrified, they needed medical attention, and they felt everyone was giving them a run around. They thought they had no other option but to call their uncle who has been excommunicated and asked for help. 

On the evening of 5-27-97, I received the phone call from the Miller children that I had been expecting for years. While I was talking to the Miller children that evening, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They advised me that nobody had been working with them except their neighbor, Jack Wayner, who had been really good to them and helped them out. Jack had donations already set up and notified churches. The Amish hadn't been providing any support for the Miller children, and they hadn't been donating any money or food. 

On May 29th, Fran called the St. Lawrence County Sheriffs Department and talked to their receptionist. She advised me that Sergeant Jerry Wayner wanted an interview with me over the phone about the Andy Miller Case. I advised the Sergeant Detective that I would, if this case was not covered up like all the rest had been. I had full intentions of not letting that happen. Jerry assured me that justice would be done. At that point I told him that I wouldn't intervene with justice. I also talked to Sherry Sharon from Social Services on May 29th and told her basically the same thing. We made arrangements to go to upstate New York to see what we could do to help our nieces and nephews. On May 30th, we left for New York, arriving there the next day. I talked to my brother Pete for a couple hours in the morning, then went to Andy Miller's residence and ate breakfast with the children. Neither one of these children could talk fast enough to Fran and I. Also on May 30th, we had a job interview. 

On the first of June, we visited with our friends Ralph, and Carol Gibson in Hannibal, New York. The next day we distributed fliers through Wayne and Holmes County. My family and I visited Kenneth Miller, who used to be my neighbor. Kenneth Miller asked me if I was willing to make a speech to a lot of different sectors of the Amish. Everyone we came in contact with when we were passing out fliers said it was sad and a terrible case of abuse. But when it came right down to it, no one would lift a finger to help those children or stand behind us. The only ones, I had standing behind me and supporting me, were Fran and our two lovely daughters, Debra, now, age 18 and Rebecca, 13. 

The girls wanted to be involved in helping their cousins. They couldn't understand why the Amish would beat their children like that. We passed out a total of a 100 fliers on June third in Wayne and Holmes County, Ohio. We also stopped in Knox County, Ohio and visited my sister. On June 4th, we went to Cincinnati, Ohio for orientation for our new job. I had to quit my previous job, because I needed more time off. While in orientation these two days, we were constantly on the phone with our children to see if anybody responded to fliers we passed out. 

On June 6th, we tried to run an ad in the Sugar Creek, Ohio Budget. The ad read as follows: "For information on the Swartzentruber Amish Child Abuse Case. Contact David Yoder P.O. Box 328 Old Washington, OH. 43768. For donations call Heuvelton, N.Y. Bank." In the meanwhile, in orientation and having all the trucking regulations thrown at us that they possibly could, and all the company Policies that went with it. Fran and I found it difficult to concentrate. But we managed. On June 6th, we got a load of freight and headed to California. On June Sixth, I talked to my nephew Ervin Miller from Ohio. I talked to Jack Wayner concerning my nieces and nephews, trying to get a copy of the Andy and Emma's arrest records. Also, I talked to Detective Jerry Wayner concerning the case. Jerry said he was looking for any kind of help he could get. He had been trying to get a court date, and was worried that if they settled things in Family Court there'd be no Criminal Court. 

Andy made the statement that he and Emma wanted to throw their 5 oldest children at home out of the house, and keep the five youngest. I said, "Jack, don't worry. It's far from over yet; all hell is fixing to break loose. I'm going to get at everyone involved in it, from all different angles." I added, "It wouldn't be over until I said it was over and I intend to save my nieces and nephews no matter what." Also, I talked to Larry from ABC on the 6th. We talked about the case and whether we could get their affiliate from Watertown, N.Y. involved. On June 6th, talked to Jack Wayner again, to reassure him that I would do anything in my power to see that justice would be done. 

At this time, the Miller children remained at their parents' home, while the parents are somewhere in hiding. Everyone I have come in contact with concerning this case tells me to stay cool and calm, that it’s the only way I can turn this case around. On June 7th, I talked to Jerry Wayner and faxed him documents stating Civil Rights Violations, corruption and cover up. Social Services were failing to adequately take care of the Miller children. They were making this a religious issue not a child abuse issue.  I also spoke to Jerry Wayner to make sure he got the documents and that he would distribute them to the District Attorney, Family Court Judge, Commissioner of Social Services and Attorney for Social Services, to be on their door step for Monday on June 9th. This was followed up with another document on June 8th, just to re-enforce the first one, stating basically the same. 

In the meantime, we were under a hot load of freight. We left Cincinnati, Ohio on June 6th at 7:30 A.M. and arrived in Los Angeles, California on June 8th at 11:30 A.M. The documents that were faxed to St. Lawrence Sheriffs Department also stated that the F.B.I. and TV stations would be notified of the Social Services wrongdoings for failing to provide adequate medical assistance to the Miller children. On June 9th, we were in Los Angeles, California Watkins Terminal waiting for a load of freight. We contacted the F.B.I. Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on June 9th, and they told us to contact the F.B.I. Headquarters in New York and gave us the phone number. On June 9th, we called F.B.I. Headquarters in New York City, faxed them newspaper clippings and filed a complaint of allegations of possible Civil Rights violations. Michelle and James had been severely beaten that it was life threatening. For no other reason, but they refused to join their parents' church. 

I believe this to be in violation of the Civil Rights Act. Corruption and possible cover up involves Social Services from St. Lawrence County, New York. They hadn't been forthcoming in trying to help the Miller children. The first time the Miller children attempted to sign up for food stamps, Social Services said, "You aren't allowed to have them." On the Miller children's second attempt they were again persuaded to drop the issue. 

After I had faxed a document stating this is in the violation of the Miller children's Civil Rights by refusing them food stamps simply because they're Amish, Social Services denied that they ever refused the Miller children any public assistance. On the Miller children's third attempt Social Services made them aware that they need Social Security numbers and birth certificates in order to qualify for public assistance. 

I told the F.B.I. that I was deeply concerned that the District Attorney wouldn't allow the officers on the scene at the Miller home to take any legal action before it was first cleared with his closest and best Amish friend Atlee Byler. Atlee had made a statement to me in the past, as long as Roy Vance was the District Attorney, no matter what kind of legal trouble the Amish should get into, that he was confident Roy would let the Amish deal with the problem the Amish way, no matter how serious the issue may be. 

The F.B.I. Duty Agent asked us to wait a few hours and call back, so they'd have time to review the clippings and report after our fax was received. In the meantime, I was on the phone talking to Anthony Hutchins the editor of Watertown Newspaper. Also, I faxed Anthony information concerning the case. From there, I talked to reporter Clyde Jarvis up in the Canton, New York area. I went into details about the child abuse in the Miller family ever since there have been children in that family.  I explained the rigid control that the Swartzentruber Amish have in upstate New York, and the different conservative sectors of the Amish along with the alleged cover up of an Amish Preacher in Wayne County, Ohio who abused his son. I told him of my belief that Jacob Miller is obsessed with total control of his culture. Jacob's church was the strictest Amish church I'd heard of. 

I put one pay phone down and picked up another one and was talking to the F.B.I. again, in New York Headquarters office.  This time I went into more details about the Amish and their rigid control. From there the F.B.I. advised me that they would fax these papers to the Head of New York State Social Services. They told me what I had to do, and what worked and what didn't. They gave me the phone numbers for Albany, New York and Syracuse, New York. I called the Albany, New York office and asked for their fax number. The Albany Agent also had us call back on June 10th to give the Civil Rights Division time to review the clippings and personal report we faxed them. 

On June 10th, I talked to Jack Wayner again, Andy Miller's neighbor, to check on my nieces and nephews. Jack was frustrated. Jack said he didn't think there was one good Amish man in upstate New York. Jack was afraid that the case was being covered up, totally, and the parents were being put back in the house. Jack had been such a good friend to my nieces and nephews. He gave them support when no one else would have. I talked to my nephew Ervin on June 11th, concerning his brothers and sisters. I advised him that I was doing everything I could to bring the F.B.I. in on this, to see that justice was finally done. 

I talked to Larry at ABC again and to Tim Hunt, Watertown TV station about the Andy Miller case of Civil Rights violations and possible cover up. On June 11th, Tim Hunt of the TV newsroom phoned me, and we set up a date to give my nieces and nephews a live interview on June 16, 1997. 

On June 12th, I talked to my nephew Ervin from Ohio. I asked, "Ervin, if you and your brothers James and Peter could please come to New York on June 16th to help support their brothers and sisters, so we can turn the case around." A representative from Social Services went to the Miller residence in New York and apologized for their negligence in the case. This took place on June 11th, and the Miller children's Attorney had finally made arrangements to interview them. However, I was not aware of this. I had already written another Civil Rights report on behalf of my nieces and nephews. A copy was faxed to the F.B.I. office in Albany, New York early in the morning of June 12th. On that same day, I sent newspaper clippings and reports to the Geraldo Rivera show. On June 13th, I talked to Jerry Wayner, Andy Miller's neighbor. He told me that a couple of days earlier the Amish Deacon, Kevin Yoder's son, Rudy, age 20, stopped in front of Andy Miller's house and threatened Raymond, age seven, with the buggy whip. Detective Jerry Wayner of St. Lawrence Sheriffs Department was called. Both Jack Wayner and Jerry Wayner advised Kevin that they would not tolerate any more of this harassment. 

On the same day, I called the Governor of the State of New York. I also called the White House, and I sent the Governor of New York State, the President of the United States, and the Attorney General a copy of everything I had. I talked once again to the reporter Clyde Jarvis from the Watertown Newspaper. Clyde said, "If you come up here and bring the TV cameras you'll probably be arrested. I think that some kind of order was passed, but I can't comment any further." 

On June 14,1997, I rode my bike up into Wayne County and Holmes County in a last attempt to see if there was any kind of change of heart among the Amish Community. I wanted to talk to my nephews, but I only got to talk to the oldest one, Ervin. I believe he could have talked for days about the abuse they suffered, and the beatings they all took and how he had to threaten his father so he could get his baby sister medical attention. Ervin was devastated that his own people, his brothers and sisters, didn't want to support him. I told my nephew Ervin, "I'm proud of you, and I'm going to see that justice is done no matter what it takes."