Peacock's A Friend of the Family: What happened to Jan Broberg?

Peacock's new crime drama series, A Friend of the Family, is based on the shocking Jan Broberg kidnapping case in the 70s. Broberg was kidnapped twice by a family friend, Robert Berchtold, in the 70s, when she was 12 and later at 14.

Read on to find out about what happened to Jan Broberg ahead of the premiere of Peacock's A Friend of the Family.

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Who is Jan Broberg, and what happened to her?

Jan Broberg, now known as Jan Broberg Felt, was born on July 31, 1962, in Pocatello, Idaho, to Robert ''Bob'' Broberg and Mary Ann Broberg. When Broberg was 12 years old, she was allegedly kidnapped by a family friend named Robert Berchtold. Berchtold allegedly ingratiated himself into the Broberg family during the early 70s.

As per Oxygen, Berchtold kidnapped Broberg in 1974 and fled to Mexico. According to the publication, Berchtold manipulated Broberg into thinking she was the savior of an alien race, and in order to save the species, she had to have a child with Berchtold.

Broberg was told that if she refused to do so, she and her family would be harmed. She said during an interaction with the Idaho State Journal that (obtained via Oxygen),

''They identified themselves as aliens from a dying planet. They said that they had been watching me since I was born and I had been chosen to be impregnated with a child who would save their planet. They called me the ‘female companion,’ not knowing what they meant by that, and I would be given further instructions when I met the ‘male companion.''

Meanwhile, Robert Berchtold allegedly had affairs with both Bob Broberg and Mary Ann Broberg. As per Oxygen, Berchtold returned Jan Broberg to her family after authorities caught him but wasn't charged with kidnapping as he'd convinced Jan's parents to sign an affidavit that stated the couple had given Berchtold permission to travel with Jan.

Broberg was kidnapped again in 1976 by Berchtold and was later caught by the police. However, according to Oxygen, he escaped punishment by claiming he had a mental illness. He was committed to a mental asylum for less than six months, as per Desert News. During an interview with BBC, Jan Broberg revealed that she'd told authorities what Berchtold allegedly did to her after she was kidnapped in 1976.

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Was Robert Berchtold arrested?

Decades later, Jan and her mother published a book titled Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story, which detailed the family's devastating experience and spoke about the importance of raising awareness regarding child se*ual abuse. Robert Berchtold, however, denied the accusations made against him in the book.

Broberg later filed a restraining order against Berchtold, as per Oxygen, after he turned up at a women's conference attended by Jan and her mother. According to various reports, multiple women came forward with their own stories of abuse suffered at the hands of Robert Berchtold.

Berchtold was accused of assaulting a member of Bikers Against Child Abuse (who'd attended the conference mentioned above at Jan's alleged request) and was ultimately found guilty of simple assault, criminal trespassing, and disorderly conduct. Fearing prison, Berchtold allegedly died by suicide in 2005, before his sentencing.

Over the years, Jan Broberg has established her career as an actress. She's played various roles in popular shows and films, like Passage to Zarahemla, Iron Man 3, At the Devil's Door, Criminal Minds, and many more.

Don't miss A Friend of the Family on Peacock on Thursday, October 6, 2022.