The harrowing real-life story of Jan Broberg who was kidnapped and assaulted TWICE by SAME MAN
POCATELLO, IDAHO: The world is about to get aware of the chilling details of the infamous 1970s case when a young girl was kidnapped twice by the same man, brainwashed, and repeatedly raped. Moreover, the man was a close family friend. The OTT platform Peacock has taken this case and its details to prepare a new crime series that will talk about the woman's horrifying experiences.
'A Friend Of The Family' will follow the Broberg family who lived a peaceful life in the quiet town of Pocatello, Idaho. Their lives, however, were turned into living hell when someone, whom they considered a friend, committed a crime so heinous that it left them scarred for life. The docuseries is produced by Jan Broberg, famously known for being kidnapped twice, and her mother Mary Ann Broberg. The disturbing story revolves around Jan who was abducted and sexually abused by the same man, twice in two years. Bob Broberg and Mary Ann were busy raising their three daughters - Jan, Karen, and Susan in 1974 when their 12-year-old daughter Jan fell victim to this horror. The terrifying subject has been previously explored in Netflix's 'Abducted in Plain Sight'.
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Robert 'B' Berchtold, her abuser, played by Jake Lacy, had befriended Mary Ann in the church and spent a good two-year time gaining their trust. He became a friend from a stranger and someone the family felt comfortable around. Berchtold went from seducing both Bob and Mary Ann, driving them apart while learning their weakness simultaneously. Another mind-boggling detail is that he brainwashed Jan into believing that she was involved in a top-secret alien mission. Her mission was to save their species by reproducing before her 16th birthday, and if she doesn't, her sister and father would suffer the consequence of being vaporized. Jan was so conveniently brainwashed that she went from loving him like a father figure to loving him like a husband.
'A Friend Of The Family' shares chilling detail of a real-life case
Berchtold was a molestor like no other. He had not only brainwashed Jan but her parents as well. After kidnapping and molesting Jan for the first time, he was able to do it again. But how? Over the years, Berchtold had entangled the Broberg family in a web of trust, shame, and complicity, so much so that he was miraculously able to convince them to drop the most serious kidnapping charges against him. In fact, her parents still let Jan be around him, and that too for a long amount of time. Eventually, he repeated his sins with no guilt whatsoever.
The trailer of the docuseries transports the viewers back to the 1970s when the incident took place. The narrator goes, "I bet when you were a little kid and you thought about the perfect place, this is probably what you wanted for yourself." Robert Berchtold meets young Jan, played by Hendrix Yancey, for the first time as they shake hands. The trailer quickly transcends into a dark mood but it does not directly mention the sexual assault. It also says that Berchtold has "impulsive moods" which could possibly explain his actions. The docuseries will land on Peacock on October 6, 2022.