'Abducted in Plain Sight' Victim Jan Broberg Says Viewers Unfairly Blame Her Parents

Jan Broberg.Photo: Netflix

Broberg, now in her 50s, will be discussing those painful experiences — and how she eventually overcame them — at a panel discussion and meet-and-greet at this weekend’sCrimeCon 2019, an annual true crime festival from June 7-9 at New Orleans’ Hilton Riverside.

“My presentation will show clips from the doc and talk deeper about context and grooming,” she tells PEOPLE. “I want to explain more about how this kind of abuse can happen to regular, everyday families.”

Skye Borgman’s 2017 film (currently streaming on Netflix) recounts the story of the Brobergs, a middle-class Pocatello, Idaho, family that became close with a charismatic neighbor named Robert Berchtold, as well as his wife and kids, in the ’70s.

Jan Broberg and her family.Courtesy Jan Broberg

Members of the same congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Berchtold became a fixture in the Brobergs’ home, spending lots of time with parents Mary Ann and Bob as well as theirdaughters: Jan, Karen and Susan.

But the family’s friendship with Berchtold — whom the Brobergs call “B” in the film — took a dark turn when Berchtold, then in his late 30s, became sexually fixated on 12-year-old Jan. He went on to kidnap her twice and sexually assault her repeatedly as he concocted fantasticalstories about aliensin an effort to brainwash her against fighting back.

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In the film, Mary Ann and Bob Broberg also claim that Berchtold manipulated them into engaging in their own separate sexual encounters with him.

Since the film’s release on Netflix (and its ensuing popularity), Jan — who works as an actor and runs Utah’sCenter for the Arts at Kayenta— has been upfront about the lasting effects of the abuse she suffered as a child. She is vocal about recognizing pedophiliac grooming and warning signs of abuse, as well as educating people about how families can spot suspicious behavior.

She has also been vocal about defending her parents, whom she does not blame for her abuse.

“Many viewers think, ‘How could these parents not have seen it?’” Broberg says. “That’s the thing that continues to bother me: My parents are victims also.”

Broberg describes Mary Ann, 81, and father Bob (who passed away last year) as “the most wonderful, loving parents on the planet.”

Robert Berchtold and Jan Broberg.Courtesy Jan Broberg

“The manipulator was at fault. He was masterful and premeditated,” Broberg says. “When people don’t see it that way, he wins — and that’s hard for me. He should not be winning.”

source: people.com