BOONVILLE — A Cooper County man pleaded not guilty Wednesday before a new judge to charges related to allegations of abuse at the Amish retreat he led before his arrest.
Sam Shetler, 42, was the leader of Mercy and Truth, a retreat for Amish and Mennonite people, for years before he was arrested and charged in late March.
He appeared in person at the Cooper County Courthouse on Wednesday for an arraignment hearing before Judge Joshua Taylor, who was assigned to the case last week.
Shetler's attorney asked Taylor for bond for Shetler. Taylor found there would be no monetary value sufficient to release Shetler back into the community.
Sam B. Shetler appears virtually in court on March 31, 2026, for a counsel status hearing.
Shetler was denied bond at previous hearings before his indictment by a grand jury.
The prosecuting and defense attorneys on the case expect a trial for the case to take two weeks. A hearing to set the trial was scheduled for 3 p.m. Aug. 13.
Shetler was arrested in late March 2026. The retreat Shetler ran was described in court documents as being for people who are "morally or mentally disabled and or in need of counseling or therapy services."
Sam Shetler has operated the Mercy and Truth retreat at his property in Cooper County, pictured on March 27, 2026, for years. Shetler is accused of physically and sexually abusing people at the retreat.
Alleged incidents at Shetler's retreat date back to 2014 and are as recent as 2022. Court documents allege Shetler misled the community into believing he had medical expertise, which led to the death of a 6-month-old boy left in his care. Court documents also allege that Shetler sexually abused a woman and held multiple people at his property against their will and forced him to work for him without pay.
Shetler is charged with three counts of trafficking for the purposes of forced labor, one count of first-degree sodomy, four counts of first-degree kidnapping, one count of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.