DARLINGTON — Three Amish men made their initial appearances before a packed courtroom in Lafayette County earlier this week on charges of incest and child sexual assault.

Only a few chairs remained open in the courtroom Sept. 9 as Judge Duane Jorgenson found probable cause for the criminal complaints to be filed against the men.

Each of the defendants had his signature bond set at $20,000 with conditions that he be supervised by any adult member of the Amish community and have no contact with anyone younger than 18 except his own children.

The criminal complaints against the men — Elam Stoltzfus Allgyer, 36, Darlington, Benjamin Esh Allgyer, 31, Mineral Point, and Elmer Esch Stoltzfus, 25, Cuba City — were filed in early August and allege repeated abuse of seven Amish girls going as far back as 20 years ago.

One of the men, Elam Allgyer, also faces an additional charge, filed Sept. 9, of attempted second-degree sexual assault. According to the criminal complaint, he was attending a wedding in the Town of Blanchard in Sept. 2009 when he attempted to sexually assault a 19-year-old woman from Pennsylvania by getting her alone in a machine shed and grabbing her around the waist, but let go when she started screaming.

All three are due back in court for an adjourned initial appearance at 11:15 a.m. Sept. 23.