Abducted in Plain Sight (4/5)

Abducted in Plain Sight is out on Netflix now. You absolutely have to watch it to believe it. This True Crime Documentary is so bizarre and crazy, but also completely true. Be warned: You will get angry!

Abducted in Plain Sight is a true crime documentary on Netflix. I don’t know what I expected but this was way above and beyond anything I could have imagined.

I found myself frustrated and got increasingly angry while also trying to wrap my head around it. 

The crime in Abducted in Plain Sight does revolve around a pedophile. Obviously, this is bad enough on its own. Still, the story of Jan Broberg’s abduction and abuse, at the hand of Robert Berchtold, is so much crazier than what you can imagine. 

The pedophile grooming Jan’s parents

We often hear about pedophiles grooming their victims, but in Abducted in Plain Sight we also hear about the grooming of the victim’s parents. Or rather, Robert Berchtold goes so much further than anything I’ve heard before.

He has an affair with both parents. Not at the same time, mind you. No, he needs to be able to play them out against one another.

Jan Broberg’s mom and dad are part of this true crime documentary as is Jan herself and her sisters. When Jan’s mom talk about the affair with the pedophile Berchtold, she has a very off-putting smile on her face that she cannot hold back. It’s so strange, but obviously, those memories are very fond to her.

Jan’s dad, on the other hand, is visibly upset that he allowed himself to ever engage with Berchtold. However, I must admit that this may have as much to do with the homosexuality he engaged with as it does the involvement with Berchtold.

After all, both the Berchtold family and the Broberg family are Mormons. And yes, Robert “B” Berchtold is married with children of his own.

Also, the Mormon church is aware of Berchtold very sick interest in young girls. They counsel him, but it doesn’t exactly help.

A 40-year old man marries a 12-year old girl

When Jan Broberg is first abducted by Robert “B” Berchtold, he ends up taking her to Mexico where he marries her. At the time, Jan is 12 years old and therefore old enough to enter into marriage in Mexico at the time. Berchtold himself was 40 years old and also married, but neither of those minor details seems to stop him.

Also in Abducted in Plain Sight is Robert Berchtold’s brother Joe Berchtold. Hearing him talk about his pedophile brother is weird in and of itself. He does state that he always knew Robert was a pedophile and thinks he’s a creep for it.

However, he also speaks of events where he sees Robert with the very young Jan and does nothing. He does find it weird that his brother is so fascinated with Jan, but just accepts that he is. So, basically, he just minds his own business.

Then again, the FBI agent working the abduction case back in the 1970s also says some weird things. Like when he states that he found the “relationship between Robert Berchtold and Jan Broberg” to be very unnatural. This statement makes it sound like Jan Broberg was an equal partner in this ordeal when she was clearly the victim of a pedophile creep.

Watch Abducted in Plain Sight on Netflix

Everything I’ve mentioned anywhere in the above is just from the first half of the true crime documentary. I have watched the entire documentary, but it is so crazy and gets even more bizarre. You just have to experience it and I don’t want to spoil it for you.

The first half does also include Jan being convinced by her kidnapper and abuser that she has been abducted by aliens. Yes, this is just another twist in the tale. And again, everyone involved with this are part of the Mormon church.

There is so much in Abducted in Plain Sight that made me frustrated and angry. But I recognize that the victim and her family do their best to shed light on how it could happen.

Also, you have to remember that most of this ordeal did play out more than 40 years ago. 

Basically, you have to watch it to even begin to wrap your head around it. As Jan Broberg’s dad states towards the end of the documentary: “It’s such a bizarre thing, but it’s all true. We lived it!”

Abducted in Plain Sight is out on Netflix in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and various other countries from January 15, 2019.

Plot

In this true crime documentary, a family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter. Twice.