Jan Broberg Talks About How She Was Groomed By A Predator

The new Peacock original series A Friend Of The Family details exactly how a psychopathic pedophile infiltrated a family and gained their trust to such a level that he was then able to kidnap their daughter twice.

Based on the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, this nine-episode true crime series, which premiered on October 6, delves into just how methodical and manipulative Bob Berchtold was. He was obsessed with Jan Broberg and every member of her family.

The Brobergs were a happy, close-knit family devoted to their faith and community. They were naive and unprepared for the sophisticated tactics Berchtold used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them.

In a recent interview, Jan Broberg spoke with me about how she and her family were groomed and how she hopes telling her story will help others. She describes her family as loving, trusting and educated and says her parents were neither stupid nor careless. She and her mom, Mary Ann Broberg,  also serve as producers on the series.

“We met the family at church, so you’re already in a place of trust,” she began. “So how could this happen in our neighborhood, where we knew everyone, and everyone was a friend? The truth is that most predators are not strangers but people we know, people who can build trust, create special friendships, and separate family members psychologically.”

She recalls meeting Berchtold, whom she never once referenced by name in our interview. “He knew exactly what he wanted from me the first moment he saw me singing a song in church. I’ve looked back on that day and how he groomed not just me but, more importantly, how he groomed my parents and my siblings. Predators that are close to you, which are most of them, are invisible because you already have a trusting relationship. He was the nicest, most caring, charismatic, and charming guy. The women swooned over him, and the men wanted to be like him.”

The two families met at church in the early 1970s, and it seemed like a kismet match because all of the children were in the same age range, and everyone immediately became friends. They did hundreds of activities together: church parties, family dinners, boating and snowmobile trips, sleepovers, game nights, movies and barbecues. It was picture-perfect until one afternoon when Berchtold kidnapped Jan. From 12 to 16 years old, she was sexually assaulted and severely brainwashed by him.

“My family was so brave to expose themselves, to be so open and vulnerable about everything that we missed, that we didn’t see, that we didn’t know,” she said. “He was like a favorite uncle. I wrote in my diary about his oldest son, who was my age, and how he held my hand at the park and pushed me on the swing. I had a crush on him. He used his children and his wife to help in his grooming process.”

The series comes from writer, showrunner and executive producer Nick Antosca, who is well known for other true crime adaptions, including Candy and The Act. Like millions of people, he watched the 90-minute NetflixNFLX
documentary Abducted in Plain Sight that told Jan’s story and couldn’t get it out of his mind. When it came out in 2017, everyone was talking about it. The story itself was incredible; Berchtold held Jan captive under an elaborate ruse that they’d both been kidnapped by aliens and had to do as told to keep their families safe.

Antosca knew how judged the Broberg family was after the doc came out. The parents were questioned as to how they could’ve let this happen. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” he said in a recent interview. “Jan and her family were so compelling.”

He then read the book Jan, and her mom, wrote, “The Jan Broberg Story: The True Crime Story of a Young Girl Abducted,” and explained how moved he was. “It was relatable in that we all have vulnerabilities that somebody can use against us if they can suss them out. Especially somebody we love and trust.”

Though he admired the documentary, he felt the story was too complex for just 90 minutes, and he wanted to work with Jan and her family to tell it. To prepare, Antosca and his team poured over thousands of pages of trial transcripts, FBI notes, interviews, and childhood diaries.

“It’s easy when it’s condensed into a documentary. You get the big tabloid twists, but you lose the context and fullness of their lives. I felt like there was more story to tell. It’s a psychological horror story, but it’s also ultimately a story about a family overcoming something and getting to a place of forgiveness and healing where the monster has lost his power over them, which is also what made it worth telling.”

When asked how she is today, Jan explained how childhood trauma frames your whole life, but she says you can move past the pain. “There is hope after trauma. You can find healing, and that’s the bigger story.”

She started The Jan Broberg Foundation in 2022 to help victims of abuse heal and thrive, and she has a podcast series. “When you can give other people their voice to come out of their silence, it’s a meaningful reason for telling your story. That’s what I hope to accomplish. My family was willing to be that exposed and vulnerable so that other people might see that invisible predator that’s almost always already in their life. I want to raise awareness and healing.”

She says there’s only one person to blame: the predator. She learned of other girls who were abused after her, further inspiring her to tell her story. “It was essential to show this kind of predator, the slow burn, and how the grooming happened to all of us. Millions can relate because they’re still holding onto their secret. I’ve been telling this story for 32 years. It has to stop.”

A Friend of the Family is now streaming on Peacock. The incredible cast includes Anna Paquin (Flack), Jake Lacy (The White Lotus), Colin Hanks (The Offer), Lio Tipton (The Edge of Sleep), Mckenna Grace (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Hendrix Yancey (George & Tammy).