Peacock's Sins of the Amish, another documentary series covering an area that has been explored before, is set to premiere on Tuesday, May 24, in a two-part special documentary format.
Sins of the Amish will be told from numerous women's perspectives, revealing a terrible secret that has supposedly plagued the secluded society for years. These victims will present first-hand accounts and try to find justice for the horrific acts they claim they saw while living as Amish and Mennonite members.
Following these courageous women, Sins of the Amish will provide the victims of sexual abuse a platform as they endanger their personal safety and image to come forward against their horrible childhood experiences.
This was done while the Amish and Mennonite communities reportedly backed the offenders, rather than the survivors.
Who is Misty Griffin from Peacock's Sins of the Amish?
Sins of the Amish's Misty Griffin, an activist and author, is one such woman who became prey to the same bishop's sexual abuse who was meant to protect her. Now, 37-year-old Misty is a self-published author of the best-selling novel titled Tears of the Silenced and a nursing graduate from Pasadena, California.
When living with her abusive mother and step-father got out of hand for 19-year-old Misty, she decided to escape the ranch they used to live in. Instead, she and her younger sister were taken to a strict Amish community where they were adopted by two separate families.
Unfortunately, after being adopted, Misty started having issues with the family and had to make a sudden move to the bishop's house as a live-in maid, where he lived with his family of eight. She soon became a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of the man who people claimed was the leader of their community and the head of the church.
When Misty was 22, she fled the Amish when a bishop reportedly sexually abused her while she was living in the community. Her book is based on her own personal experience living among the greatest rural Amish towns, which are descended from the Amish Mennonites.
Exploring Misty Griffin's dark past and alleged assault ahead of Sins of the Amish premiere
Reportedly, Griffin's new life with the strict Amish community started when she was 19 years old. Although she was initially cheerful about the change from living on a remote mountain farm, where she was raised in Amish habits, her happiness soon turned into her biggest nightmare.
She claimed that the community's focus on atonement meant that the members were even willing to live in close proximity to a convicted criminal, with only six weeks of shunning as punishment.
Reports state that in the beginning, although Misty lived in the Amish community for almost three years, she had to move to the bishop's house (head of the church), where he lived with his wife and seven children. In an interview with Vice, she revealed that the bishop sexually assaulted her not long after her move into the house he lived in with his family.
In an interview with the Daily mail, the victim spoke of her traumatic experiences:
"I had nowhere to go. I was going to go to a woman’s shelter because I honestly believed that the bishop was going to kill me. I was so scared. It was so terrifying."
She claimed that after almost six months, she became suspicious that the bishop had also been molesting his daughter (who was merely 12 years old) when she caught him doing something unsual around the girl.
That was when she decided to report his actions to the police. However, the police department refused to file a report and said that she did not have enough evidence against the Bishop. Soon after, the said Bishop moved to Canada with his entire family.
During the same interview, she recalled her attempts to file a police report against the offender and said:
"When I went to the police in 2005 that is literally the hardest thing I have ever done. I mean I didn’t want to the go to the police. The only reason I went to the police was for the children."
She added:
"There were people that I intersected with that knew I was being abused and did not help me. I told myself I cannot be that person. I cannot leave these children in this house and not do something about it."
Peacock's Sins of the Amish aims to tell the world the story of Misty Griffin and several other women/girls in the Amish community who have been suffering for years at the hands of abusers.
Sins of the Amish premieres this Tuesday, May 24, 2022.