Four members of the Bellar family are currently faces charges.
Credit: Athens County Prosecutor s Office Author: 10TV Web Staff Updated: 1:43 PM EDT May 21, 2021
A father and son appeared in court Friday on separate indictments related to the alleged ongoing sexual abuse of children in Athens County.
Robert Bellar, 54, is charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and two counts of endangering children. His son, 26-year-old Jonathan Bellar, is charged with gross sexual imposition.
Both pleaded not guilty and Robert was given a $1 million bond while Jonathan’s bond was set at $100,000.
Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said the sexual abuse investigation started when a now 18-year-old woman, who is alleged to be one of the victims, posted online about several allegations, including sexual assault.
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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