Jan Broberg from 'Abducted In Plain Sight' says her parents are "absolutely guiltless"
26 March 2019, 14:42
Jan appeared on ITV's Lorraine and said that she views her parents as "absolutely guiltless" in the situation, explaining that "grooming happens to the entire family" in an ordeal like hers.
Netflix's Abducted in Plain Sight shocked audiences earlier this year with the story of Jan Broberg, a girl who was groomed and kidnapped multiple times in the 1970s by a close family friend. Beyond her shocking disappearances, audiences also had a strong reaction to her parents' involvement with her kidnapper, Robert "B" Berchtold.
Despite the internet's strong feelings about her mother and father, Jan is making it clear that she believes her parents were "absolutely guiltless" in the ordeal.
Jan appeared on ITV's Lorraine recently and was asked whether she forgives her parents and whether she even feels they need to be forgiven.
"I now, as an adult, know that grooming happens to the entire family," Jan explained. "That's how a predator gains access to a child."
"First of all, they build trust with the mother and the father. And then they find a way to divide them and make a ruse over here and a ruse over there. So they're not even paying attention to anything that might be happening with their child. My parents didn't know at all. They are absolutely guiltless in this whole thing."
Jan also urged viewers to rewatch the documentary and go over the timeline of details to get a better picture of the situation.
When the documentary first arrived on Netflix, people online were stunned by the confessions of Bob and Mary Ann Broberg. Bob and Mary Ann were the parents of three girls, Jan being the oldest.
According to the documentary, after Mary Ann befriended "B" Berchtold and his wife in church, their families became close. Both Broberg parents would eventually go on to have sexual contact with the man, all while he was grooming their eldest daughter.
At the end of the documentary, Jan maintains that she does not blame her parents.
"Yes, they made mistakes. But it's one thing to make a mistake, kind of, as two innocent people. It's another thing to make a mistake when somebody is orchestrating you and playing your emotions and feelings."
