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Texas grand jury indicts polygamist sect members

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Jul 23, 2008 8:29 AM (29 days ago) By MICHELLE ROBERTS, AP
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Related Topics: ELDORADO, Texas
This undated booking file photo provided by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office shows polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs in Arizona. Jeffs was indicted Tuesday July 22, 2008 in Texas on a sex assault count. (AP Photo/Mohave County Sheriff's Office, File)
(AP Photo/Mohave County Sheriff's Office, File)
This undated booking file photo provided by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office shows polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs in Arizona. Jeffs was indicted Tuesday July 22, 2008 in Texas on a sex assault count.

ELDORADO, Texas (Map, News) - Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, already convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice and awaiting trial in Arizona on other charges related to underage marriages, is now accused of assaulting a girl in Texas in January 2005.

A grand jury in this tiny western Texas ranching community indicted Jeffs and four of his followers Tuesday on charges of felony sexual assault of a child. Another was indicted for failing to report child abuse.

The charges came nearly two months after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that child welfare officials overstepped when they took all the children from the polygamist sect's ranch in a separate child custody case. The state had accused the sect of forcing underage girls into marriage and motherhood.

While authorities sorted out the custody dispute in civil court, law enforcement continued a criminal investigation by sifting through hundreds of boxes of documents, photos and family Bibles seized from the Yearning For Zion Ranch during an April raid.

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State Attorney General Greg Abbott said five members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are charged with one count of sexually assaulting girls under age 17, a felony. One of them, not the 52-year-old Jeffs, faces an additional charge of bigamy.

Abbott said a sixth member of the FLDS is charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse.

"Our investigation in this matter is not concluded," said the attorney general, whose office is acting as the special prosecutor in the case.

The grand jury will continue consideration of other possible criminal charges on Aug. 21, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because proceedings of the panel are secret by law.

The identities of the Jeffs' followers who were indicted were not released Tuesday because the indictments remain sealed until authorities can arrest the men. Jeffs is in custody in Arizona.

"There will be an aggressive effort to apprehend them," Abbott said when asked whether he was concerned the men might have fled Texas.

FLDS members have historically lived around the Arizona-Utah line and bought the YFZ ranch in Eldorado about five years ago.

"We're actually quite shocked. As soon as we know who they're looking for, we'll try to face it," Willie Jessop, a church member and spokesman, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. "We believe in our innocence."

He said he didn't know who was indicted and that no one from law enforcement had tried to enter the ranch Tuesday evening.

Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for Child Protective Services, said the agency is still investigating allegations of possible abuse and would look at the living circumstances of the children associated with the men who were indicted.

"We know where each child is and we know the household situation, who lives there, et cetera," he said Wednesday, the same day some parents began court-ordered parenting classes. "We'll take a closer look at each one of those family situations to verify that the appropriate protections are in place."

The children of those who were indicted would not have to go back to foster care if child welfare officials believe their current living situation is safe, Crimmins said.

Roughly 440 children are still being monitored by the agency after the Texas Supreme Court ruled they had to be returned from foster care to their parents. The high court overturned the original custody order because it said the agency showed no more than a few teenage girls were abused or at risk, and many of the children taken from their parents were infants and toddlers.

The criminal charges in Texas came during the grand jury's second meeting on the case; it met in June without taking any action.

Abbott spent Tuesday in the small community building where the panel was meeting near the courthouse. Women and girls in prairie dresses, including a 16-year-old daughter of Jeffs, were escorted in and out, while lawyers and FLDS members crowded a bench in front of the courthouse.

Grand jury proceedings are supposed to be secret, but documents released as part of the child custody case have revealed some of the evidence collected by law enforcement during the weeklong raid that began April 3.

Investigators said they found photos of Jeffs in intimate embraces and kissing several apparently underage girls.

A journal entry purportedly from Jeffs attached to a report by a child advocate indicates he married his daughter to a 34-year-old man the day after she turned 15. The girl turns 17 on Saturday and has denied being married, though the child advocate report indicates intimate notes between the girl and man also were found in the raid.

Besides discussions of the girl's marriage, the journal entry also indicates Jeffs blessed marriages of two other underage sect members to himself and another member.

FLDS leaders have consistently denied there was any abuse at the ranch and vowed not to sanction underage marriages.

Under Texas law, a girl younger than 17 cannot generally consent to sex with an adult. Bigamy is also illegal in Texas, and although FLDS plural marriages were not licensed by the state, the law contains a provision outlawing the act of "purporting to marry" more than one person.

The FLDS, which believes polygamy brings glory in heaven, is a breakaway sect of the mainstream Mormon church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which officially renounced polygamy more than a century ago.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Comments from Examiner Readers

12:29 PM MST on Tue., Aug. 19, 2008 re: "Hearing to resume in new polygamist sect case"

 Examiner Reader said:
Finally the evidence and culpable adults are under the scrutiny of a Judge. Explain it to the Judge. How much abuse do women and children have to undergo before being a danger to oneself or others is apparent? If nobody is responsible in a household for the sexual exploitation of underage girls for 'heavenly father' how is that a safe home?

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7:28 PM MST on Thu., Jul. 3, 2008 re: "Head of Texas agency in polygamist raid retiring"

 Examiner Reader said:
Clearly Carey realized how much he and his department of harmed children and their parents. It is sad the Perry does not recognize the criminal fallacy. It is only a matter of time before voters send Perry to join Carey in retirement. Perhaps, only a matter of time before they are in jail for their crimes.

2 agree | 4 disagree
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6:01 PM MST on Fri., Jun. 13, 2008 re: "Texas police guarding home of judge at center of FLDS case"

 Examiner Reader said:
To say there are people within the FDLS that abuse children is a legitimate claim, as their have been conviction within the group. To say that such a problem is wide spread is an exaggeration at best. To say the FDLS people are a violent threat in general is nonsense. To portray them that way is deformation of character. Yet another crime the state of Texas has committed against these people. To protect an individual, such as Barbara Walther, guilty of crimes against humanity is necessary in general. Such cruel acts of kidnapping young children and young mothers into concentration camps often inspire vigilantes. Barbara has a lot more to worry about then some nut taking the law into his or her own hands. Her career at the bench is over, and history will remember her has a child abusing monster, right alone with the small minority of child abuser within the FDS.

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5:26 PM MST on Fri., Jun. 6, 2008 re: "Perry defends state raid on polygamist retreat"

 Examiner Reader said:
Way to go Gov. Perry. Apparently Perry and CPS have been watching too much tv and reading more msm drool than they should. Mental health workers were fired the first week for being too "compassionate" toward the children. That's too compassionate toward CHILDREN. These people have become the "cash cow" for so many wannabe authors and publishing companies it's unbelievable. I suppose Perry is just too darned lazy to address the undocumented people within his state so he watches some tv and decides to raid a COMPOUND. Easy target. If Perry is so concerned about things being illegal in TX, of course he will further act upon this and require his undocumented citizens to become documented so there will be at least a sex offender list for them. Or is it just these people? Go comb your hair Gov.

 7 agree | 4 disagree
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10:16 PM MST on Thu., Jun. 5, 2008 re: "Texas governor suggests sect may want to move on"

 Examiner Reader said:
I applaud and fully support Gov. Rick Perry dedication to protecting children. What is scary is his disregard for the law. The line Texas CPS crossed is not a fine distinguish of process, it was a gross, willful, and blatant violation of the 4th amendment. Rick Perry want responsibility for that, he can reassign as Gov. There is no doubt that the majority of the FDLS members do not abuse their children. The Texas CPS action of kind napping them and placing them in concentration camps is clearly abuse and the people responsible for that act need to be prosecuted and jailed. There is also no doubt that a minority of FDLS members are and have abused their children. There is also no doubt the those members well be prosecuted for that.

 6 agree | 8 disagree
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10:27 AM MST on Wed., Jun. 4, 2008 re: "More sect children reunited with happy parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
there is a difference between trying to shape a child's belief set and secluding them from society to prevent them from being able to think for themselves while indoctrinating them with a culture of oppression and abuse. when we have definitive proof (which we do) that the culture essentially requires the forced marriage of girls and that it is only a matter of time until every girl is raped , half the boys are kicked out, and every individual breaks the law by entering into bigamous relationships and abuse of the welfare system. While immediate is hard to define, do you leave a child with a parent when you have no doubts that that parent will beat it? isn't harm occurring to any girl in that group every second she is told that to get to heaven she needs to let some guy rape her and that for every boy to get to heaven must break the law and abuse women? I hope all of them go to jail for a long time and that utah and arizona follow suit (with maybe a little more caution).

 6 agree | 7 disagree
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9:48 AM MST on Wed., Jun. 4, 2008 re: "More sect children reunited with happy parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
Yeah, they brain wash their kids. But why stop with the FDLS. There is a log of people that are brain washing their kids into this nonsense of some kind of God, and savior. We need to take their kids and jail them as well. We also have all these people protesting the government and brain washing their kids into saying anything they want about the president. We got to jail those dangerous people as well. We also have to jail all those divorced people that have remarried. The FDLS property could be converted to a reeducation camp for al those evil brain washers. The point, you have to have evidence that parents are abusing their kids, not just a disagreement. This situation is a special case where to the majority of people agree the FDLS is not healthy for any of its members and has an abusive leadership. The problem is you can not make exception in the law, you have to follow it, even when it is hard.

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9:19 AM MST on Wed., Jun. 4, 2008 re: "More sect children reunited with happy parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
well, first, i am not sure they violated parent's rights when they acted as I do feel the children were at an immediate risk as they constantly being brainwashed and i feel preventing mental abuse is important. It is quite obvious if anyone looks at the situation objectively that we have a horrible and abusive cult in which all members can suffer harm at the whim of a figure in authority. But really, DNA test the lot. Any guy whose daughter is married under age, all his kids (no matter the wife) is taken away. Done. Oh, any person practicing bigamy (ie, pretty much all of them) is charged and goes to jail. DNA is a wonderful thing. It does not lie and shows so much. Which child belongs to which parent and hence which guy is married to which group of women/girls.

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9:07 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 3, 2008 re: "Texas judge refuses to sign order in polygamy custody case"

 Examiner Reader said:
I'm concerned that the polygamists are teaching that it is all right to disobey the law in the name of religion. That sounds dangerous! People can then pick and choose which laws to obey - or disobey if religions require or suggest it. Would it not be OK for Muslims to kill if their religion says to do so? Where can we draw a line? Which laws are irrefutable?

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3:20 PM MST on Mon., Jun. 2, 2008 re: "Judge orders return of polygamist sect's children to parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
The FLDS is just sick is all true. Their beliefs and cycle of abuse is clear. The problem is the idea that the FDLS is one big family just does not stand the test of law., given the legal definitions of family have been destroyed by the ultra liberal anti family forces in American politics. The only definition that can be used is these women are single mothers. This is the legacy the continuous and continuing attack on traditional families has left us. I would be very happy to hear any ideas on how CPS could be given the legal authority to act without putting parental rights in the whole state at risk.

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1:36 PM MST on Mon., Jun. 2, 2008 re: "Texas judge orders return of polygamists' children"

 The FLDS is just sick said:
The teachings of the community encourage (or even require) the systematic supression and abuse of little girls by men who have become corrupted by power. This is not individual families in a community. The entire community is essentially one family run by a crazy "prophet." At the very least, every man, multiple wife grouping is like a family and what the "husband" says regarding one of his "wife's" kids is a predictor of what he'll do to the rest. Everyday little girls are brainwashed that they can only get to heaven if they let themselves be treated like chattel and let some old guy rape them. If they try to escape, they are usually tracked down and dragged back. They live under a constant threat of abuse (both physical and emotional). Really, to say that they don't is ridiculous. I hate to break all those relativists hearts out there, but some things are just wrong and polygamy (especially polygamy involving children) is just wrong.

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12:05 PM MST on Mon., Jun. 2, 2008 re: "Texas judge orders return of polygamists' children"

 Examiner Reader said:
This is absolutely ridicules. First, why and the world are the under aged pregnant girls being returned to their parents!!!??? This are precisely the children tat desperately need protection. Does anybody believe for a hot second the FDLS will comply with the notravel orders!!!??? The evidence is obvious. Second, you have all of these kids with little or no evidence of abuse from other families (families other then the ones with pregnant girls). So with no evidence they are going continue to hold the family hostage with these unannounced visits, parenting classes, and other harassment. It is obvious that those kids are at risk given the history of the FDLS, however, this is nothing that can be one unless every parent in the country is ready to yield their parental right to the state.

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9:43 PM MST on Sun., Jun. 1, 2008 re: "Texas agency under magnifying glass over sect raid"

 Examiner Reader said:
Part of the problem in defining normalcy is the consistent political assault on traditional marriages and family. In the past states supported marriages and required some effort to keep marriages together. Adultery was illegal, and sex out side of marriage was not socially accepted. Now with no fault divorces, getting a divorce is just a little paper work. Sex is simply a nice after party. Adultery is legal or not enforced where the laws are still on the books. So with this pervasive moral decline fully supported and even encourage by movement and society it is harder to point a finger at the FDLS men and say they are living in sin. I am course referring to their having multiple wives, not the abuse of young girls which is easy to identify as sin even in this currently sinful society. So the problem of the FDLS needs to be addressed. The first step, outside of pursuing he abuse cases, is to restore traditional family in America.

 5 agree | 15 disagree
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6:22 PM MST on Sun., Jun. 1, 2008 re: "Texas agency under magnifying glass over sect raid"

 Examiner Reader said:
No forced marriage is legal. The only difference age makes is if the girl is younger then the states age of consent, it can not possibly be legal. If the women are over the age of consent, the women must claim she has been forced for it to be illegal. Perhaps now that the Texas CPS is done breaking the law, they can now use the law as it was met to be used to protect these children. The need to follow the leads where there is evidence. If the keep picking at it, they will be able to work through the layers of cover ups, separate the nearly stupid from the criminal. Such a lawful approach will require a high level of coordination between states, as this groups does move from state to state to avoid the law. Additionally, coordination with Canada will also be required. Even in this case, some of the ceased children are actually Canadian citizens.

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7:57 AM MST on Sun., Jun. 1, 2008 re: "Texas appeals sect ruling, lets 3 families reunite"

 Examiner Reader said:
What they have to look into, is how many of these forced marriages are actually legal, according the USA laws. Any marriage that was not legal, when any of these women had a child, when they were "underaged", was more then likely rape. The problem is, most of these women will not admit to this, because they are so brainwashed, they live in fear, and know no other way. Therefore, it would seem the State doesn't have enough proof. Unfortunately, all these little female children will go thru the same thing one day, and this is very sad.

 6 agree | 9 disagree
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7:30 AM MST on Sun., Jun. 1, 2008 re: "Sect parents cheer court ruling, await next step"

 Examiner Reader said:
They claim it's okay for young girls to be forced into having sex with men they don't want to be with, because they are "supposedly" married to these men. If they are "legally" married, then they should not be entitled to State Assistance. If the Judge is dumb enough to go along with this marriage thing, then she/he should take every single women and child in this cult off of Welfare. Let these bogus husbands start supporting all these women and children in this compound,instead of the taxpayers. This is nothing more then a breeding compound, milking the system for all it can get, and it's run by a bunch of money hungry control freak perverts. I can't believe a Judge is actually going along with this.

 5 agree | 8 disagree
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10:04 PM MST on Sat., May. 31, 2008 re: "Texas agency under magnifying glass over sect raid"

 Examiner Reader said:
When children are involved, I believe it is reasonable, all though not strictly allowed under the US constitution, to provide public servants more intrusive power. This is the current law in Texas as in most states. The problem here is not with the current law. The problem is not that the FDLS are good people. I have little good to say about people that have a rapist for a leader and subjugate their women. The problem is the law was not followed. This should be a lesson to everybody. Parents, look over your shoulder the next time a child howls in a grocery store over candy you will not buy because somebody that never had a two year old could call it abuse and some misguided CPS person will cease them and interrogate them. The public must continually review the balance between protecting children and invading the sanctity of families. CPS, no matter how good your intentions, if you break the law as Texas CPS did, you will do more harm then good.

 5 agree | 6 disagree
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11:49 AM MST on Sat., May. 31, 2008 re: "Snag in deal to return Texas sect kids to parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
The high court has ruled. No evidence of abuse is present for all but a few of these kids. They need to be returned immediately. They have been held hostage by the CPS long enough. The only reason whey Barbara and the CPS holding them longer is an obvious attempt to brain wash these kids and turn them against their parents. The kids need to be returned now. CPS needs to apologies for there actions and jopin the other child abuser in jail. Barbara Walther needs to be removed from the bench.

 7 agree | 6 disagree
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11:37 AM MST on Sat., May. 31, 2008 re: "Snag in deal to return Texas sect kids to parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
4th Amendment “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. “ Another constitutional Amendment egregiously violated by the CPS and the Walther. There is no evidence in 455 cases of any forced marriages. The other five are being investigated and I hope any perpetrators join warren Jeff’s in prison. The evident against Texas CPS is clear and public. These people need to be put in federal prison. I agree forced slavery is against federal law. Nobody would say otherwise. But anybody that actually understand the US constitution could possibly argue the methods being used by Texas CPS are supportable.

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11:32 AM MST on Sat., May. 31, 2008 re: "Snag in deal to return Texas sect kids to parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
8th Amendment “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. “ An amendment that Texas CPS and Judge Walther as willfully violated by holding a large number of innocent children in a concentration camp and then spreading them all of the state Texas, away from their mother, in foster care where they are four times more likely to die, s punishment that is bother cruel and unusual. The overwhelming majority with no evidence any was wrong with their parents.

 7 agree | 6 disagree
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5:50 PM MST on Fri., May. 30, 2008 re: "Texas, polygamists reach tentative deal on kids"

 Examiner Reader said:
Forced marriages, esp of children, is a form of slavery. Slavery is outlawed in the US by the XIII Amendment. Religion does not give any group the right to make slaves out of its members, keep them under lock and key, rape them, or beat them. Perhaps the Federal Government should get involve to free the childbride slaves.

 5 agree | 5 disagree
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2:29 PM MST on Fri., May. 30, 2008 re: "Texas, polygamists reach tentative deal on kids"

 Examiner Reader said:
Progress, but the injustice to innocent families continues, and kids remain at risk. The injustice is the blanket idea that these parent s should attend classes and not be allowed to leave the state when there is no evidence that they did anything wrong. There is just the assumption they committed a crime, but there is not even an investigation to see if that is the case. Hopefully they will have the good sense to sue the state of Texas in federal court for a million or two per child for kind napping. What is appalling is after the CPS broke the law by kidnapping all of these children and falsely imprisoning several adult ladies, they have not even apologized, to the parents and to the American public who they have stained with the arrogant incompetence. Kids remain at risk as all this is distracting from figure out what is happing to the few girls they may have been abused.

 7 agree | 7 disagree
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11:01 AM MST on Fri., May. 30, 2008 re: "Texas high court says sect kids should go back"

 Examiner Reader said:
Continuation from last entry… CPS actions just showed everyone that anyone can call CPS and report a true or untrue abuse situation that can hurt someone’s image like many other known CPS cases of families that CPS has destroyed from false allegations. Let me let you in on a little secret, the people that work for CPS are not saints either, so what makes them any better in trying to tell someone how they should raise their kids. I’m all for protecting children, but there has to be some real credible evidence before invading and removing kids from their parents, because the places these kids are placed are not any better.

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11:00 AM MST on Fri., May. 30, 2008 re: "Texas high court says sect kids should go back"

 Examiner Reader said:
CPS does it again… hurray for CPS… I think this should be real clear now to everyone that CPS acts first and asks questions later. This entire issue transpired just because of a mysterious phone call believed to be from a 14 year old girl from this same compound reporting allegations that are still not clear if they are true. Now; I’m sure we all agree on what we have saw in the past few weeks that this cult is in someway somehow violating and abusing these kinds, but thanks to the prompt response form CPS, this case will now take much longer to gather any kind of evidence that can be used in the courts against this cult. CPS first steps should have been to find the person that first placed this call to make sure that the allegations being made where legit. Continue on next page...

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8:47 PM MST on Thu., May. 29, 2008 re: "Court: Sect children should be returned to parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
Parents the send the kids to a school room with a picture of a rapist on the wall or not good parents. At the same time, children the hands of Texas foster care are four times more likely to be killed and six times more likely to be raped. That is particularly true for the orphan wards most of these children have been placed in. That is far worse then even the FDLS parents So what is the solution? The solution, oddly enough, is provided by Texas law. Texas CPS, is to intervene in the families with counseling and mandatory monitoring. So, what needs to be done is to remove the bumbling, law breaking idiots currently running Texas CPS and replace them with people who will help these children through the law.

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8:40 PM MST on Thu., May. 29, 2008 re: "Court: Sect children should be returned to parents"

 Examiner Reader said:
Nobody in their right mind would say that CPS should not intervene to the greatest extent allowed by law. I have reviewed most of the comments. To claim they represent support for FDLS is sadly mistaken. Such a view over simplifies the issue. The issue is not wheather the CPS should have done something, the issue is what they did was against the law. That is the ruling of the high court. The high court did not say FDLS parents are good parents. We are beyond the age of the wild west where official are above the law. To say the Texas CPS has total failed in every aspect, does not support FDLS, it simple states the truth.

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4:13 PM MST on Thu., May. 29, 2008 re: "Court: Sect children should be returned to parents"

 Concerned Reader said:
It is horrible that these children are being sent back to those molesting old men. I am appalled by the amount of readers on this site who are supporting this cult! I pray for those children! The state of Texas was right in taking those children away from that awful environment.

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5:49 PM MST on Tue., May. 27, 2008 re: "Authorities appeal court ruling in polygamist case"

 Examiner Reader said:
Texas CPS with yet another total inept argument. The fact that parents may leave the state is not a good argument for allow Texas CPS to continue to break the law. Under that argument, you could say the every time a CPS agency has concerns about the care of a child, that the child should be removed from their parents because the parents could leave the state. That notion is all ready rejected by law. The law limits when a children can be removed from parents without a court hearing. Those conditions, the case of all about 5 of these children, have not be met per the appeal court ruling. Texas CPS has not, at least not publicly, provide any supportable defense for their actions. They just keep argue around the issue, magnifying their folly.

 9 agree | 14 disagree
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5:41 PM MST on Tue., May. 27, 2008 re: "Authorities appeal court ruling in polygamist case"

 Examiner Reader said:
To put a larger context on the situation, in 2005, 48 Texas foster children died. A child in Texas foster care is four times more likely to die then the general populations. Additionally, 63 children where raped. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a system to rescue children from the state of Texas.

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12:13 AM MST on Sun., May. 25, 2008 re: "Texas appeals sect ruling, lets 3 families reunite"

 Examiner Reader said:
I do not think anybody is saying that the FDLS parents should not be reviewed. The facts are they follow the teachings of a man convicted of rape. Additionally, nobody in their group will come out and denounce the practice of marrying young girls. This issue is one of due process. There is a right and wrong way to approach these things. After a call such as the one the authorities received, the authorities had every right and responsibility to come onto the ranch and investigate. Further, they had the right and responsibility to remove at least five of these girls and any other children that lived in the same household. Additionally, the CPS should investigate the other families living on the ranch. What they did was take all the children. The appeals court has made it clear that that was not legal. It is clear what the CPS actually did is against the law. Their methods have also harmed a lot of children. They need to be replaced with a more responsible, more capable party

 15 agree | 5 disagree
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11:53 PM MST on Sat., May. 24, 2008 re: "Texas appeals sect ruling, lets 3 families reunite"

 Examiner Reader said:
So, Texas CPS ransacks these peoples homes, removing all of there personnel papers, and then when they can not immediately produce the papers, they use that against them. This is demonstrated by the fact the FDLS parents produced the papers as soon as they could collect new copies. Texas CPS is getting tangle up in their own lies. If Texas CPS truly cares about these children, they are completely inept. They could truly be the dumbest people in the country. The alternative is Texas CPS is tormenting these people because of their religious believes. Either way, Texas CPS is a very dangerous group of individuals. I can only hope that they are taken out of power so they can not continue to harm children.

 9 agree | 6 disagree
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11:40 PM MST on Sat., May. 24, 2008 re: "Texas appeals sect ruling, lets 3 families reunite"

 cnebt said:
You all know what is going on in this compound and it is unthinkable that they would send these children back there. There is a big diff in a girl on the streets getting pregnant by some boy than a girl getting pregnant by some old perverted man that she didnt choose to be with! Their 'Religion', NO, their brainwashing and molesting! What about the 100 kids who havent been matched? Maybe it is because their mother is a child herself! None of them want to tell anything. There are reasons for that! The way they live, not knowing who their biological parents are, it is crazy to send any of them back. This has nothing to do with 'RELIGION', they have broken the law in more ways than one and not only do those children need to be away from them, but the adults also need to be punished! They acted in good-faith, found imminent danger on that good-faith basis, even if it is only 5 cases, or 1, it is 1 too many and should not be ignored!

 6 agree | 8 disagree
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9:43 PM MST on Sat., May. 24, 2008 re: "Texas officials seek to block ruling in sect case"

 JMT said:
Under this way of thinking it would seem CPS would stand at the door to Maury Povich studios and arrest every girl walking out that is underage and testing the 15th guy she says is the baby's daddy. I guess they are holding off until they do find the father of the kids. What a bunch of bull poo !!!If they are truly concerned with children's safety, they would go after there own employees...

 9 agree | 5 disagree
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3:16 PM MST on Fri., May. 23, 2008 re: "Authorities appeal court ruling in polygamist case"

 Examiner Reader said:
The legal age for marriage in Texas 16. So the CPS argument is that a girl knew of a married 16 year old girl. That does not violate Texas law. I believe 16 is too young, however, I do not get to make up the laws, and neither does Texas CPS. Arrange marriage is also not illegal. The Texas CPS is just recycling the same arguments proven to be false. Any lawyer re-filing the same lies should be disbarred. This is another demonstration on how inept Texas CPS is. The Texas CPS is completely out of control and needs to be shut down. The Texas CPS is behaving like a bunch of thugs and needs to be prosecuted and jailed as such. If it is not possible to immediately return the FDLS child hostages to their parents, they need to be transferred to a more responsible party while the DNA test are in progress.

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1:24 PM MST on Fri., May. 23, 2008 re: "Texas officials ask court to block ruling in sect case"

 Examiner Reader said:
Texas CPS has no shame. I understand they need to protect FDLS teen girls from potential abuse that has occurred in the past, however, they are guilty of abusing children by removing over four children that where at no immediate risk, and perhaps no risk at all. They continue to repeat the same claims they have been making for the past month, however, those claims have been soundly proven false, in this case. CPS officials involved need to be fired, and in some cases jailed for child abuse. The children need to be return now, without any conditions. The state of Texas needs to provide a public apology and million dollars for each child they kidnap and held hostage. American, should be ashamed of what we have allowed to happen!

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9:13 PM MST on Thu., May. 22, 2008 re: "31 of 53 teen girls at FLDS ranch are pregnant or had baby"

 Examiner Reader said:
Sweet justice. As I told you in my earlier entry, the entire case against the FLDS was and is a scam. And those of you who watched CNN tonight now know I was telling you the truth. I made only one mistake. There were not three girls under 18 which were pregnant. There were just two and none below 18 have given birth at all. So, the FLDS were correct all along. They do not marry off minors. One girl is seventeen; one girl is sixteen, though the 16 year old says she is 18. None the less, it is not against Texas law to be 16 and married or 16 and pregnant. The State swore under oath that 31 minors were pregnant. Now if you notice, my entry was dated in April. Do you honestly think I was the only one to know this information? In fact, there is mounting reason to believe that Texas officials also knew this information all along. Three appellate judges today ordered the return of the children to their parents. 468 children were kidnapped right in front of your eyes.

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3:32 PM MST on Thu., May. 22, 2008 re: "Texas court: State can take sect children to foster homes"

 Examiner Reader said:
i heard that the 16yr old was pregnant by the older man, is that true?

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1:40 PM MST on Thu., May. 22, 2008 re: "Court: Texas had no right to take polygamists' kids"

 Examiner Reader said:
So, when does the criminal case against the Texas CPS start. The charges; 15 counts of false imprisonment, 445 counts of kidnapping, trust passing, assault with a deadly weapon, and petty theft.

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7:58 PM MST on Wed., May. 21, 2008 re: "Texas CPS returns to sect ranch; rebuffed at gate"

 Examiner Reader said:
Let me understand this. Texas CPS arrives with an armed gang and kidnaps 460 some children and several young women on very shaky legal ground and then they expect to walk in and kidnap more children. I am shore some of the children needed to be removed for their protection, but not the majority. What Texas CPS is doing is illegal and immoral. It requires clear evidence of immediate danger to remove children from their parents. With the exception of five obviously pregnant teenagers, they have nothing. Men who force teenage girls into sex need to be put in jails for abusing them. CPS people that kidnap children when there is no immediate danger to them need to go to jail as well.

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8:36 PM MST on Tue., May. 20, 2008 re: "Relatives outside sect seek custody in Texas case"

 Examiner Reader said:
I do not doubt for a second that there are some bad people in the FDLS group that have abused young girls. These people need to be identified and prosecuted and the abused girls taken care of. However, many are not guilty of anything but having poor judgment in the religion and selection of a church. Such bad judgment is not a crime. The FDLS parents, deemed guilty without due process, are now being given a script on how they must raise their children to get them back. So the majority of these parents who have not abused their kids must now do as the state tells them in their own households or the state will continue to keep their children hostage. I wonder if the parents required their kids as the so called mainstream society. Let them fail at school, watch violent and sexually suggestive TV, listen to abusive rap music, have sex with each other. In short, I wonder if the state of Texas will require the parents to neglect and abuse children as the so called mainstream does.

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3:40 PM MST on Tue., May. 6, 2008 re: "FDLS members responded to raid with song, prayer"

 Examiner Reader said:
I was wondering if the children are born on the compound or in the hospital? Do the children and adults have social security numbers?

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3:36 AM MST on Sat., May. 3, 2008 re: "Warrant dropped against man named in polygamist retreat raid"

 Examiner Reader said:
Like illegal immigration, all of us have to have ID, Social Security numbers and obey the law to travel and work in the US. Which no one seems to get. So if Poligamy is against the law, it is illegal for you to expose your children to it. Simple but true. Adults have freedom of Relgion, not children.. they must be reared, educated and never hidden from the world, they are our future. MW

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10:23 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "Official: History of injuries found in polygamist sect kids"

 Examiner Reader said:
The mothers appear to have had a plan to keep investigators from uncovering family relationships and histories and this justifies separating the children from their mothers if only for a time. Can't help but think that the sect's men are the puppet masters here and that it would be wise for authorities to hold off on any further disclosures like this broken bone business until more is conclusively pieced together.

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7:10 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "FLDS teen gives birth to boy while Texas officials stand by"

 Examiner Reader said:
This is uncharted territory folks. never happened on this scale before and the Texas authorities acted upon existing laws that require them to secure the children to obtain information concerning their parentage, overall physical health and to determine who if any among all of these children might have been victims of sexual abuse. You can be sure there are other ways to have done this some maybe better and definitely less stressful for the mothers and children. Some of the mothers were however involved in the "marriages" of their young teenage daughters to older men, some of them relatives. That makes some of them potential accomplices-but which ones? Separation was done to expedite this process and should result in a speedier return of children to uninvolved mothers. Fear of a Jonestown scenario where mothers fed poisoned drinks to their children to "facilitate their mass entry into heaven" must have played into this decision as well. Easy for us to second guess fom a distance.

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6:42 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "FLDS teen gives birth to boy as state officials stand by"

 Examiner Reader said:
We might just have a breeding program going on here under the guise of religious practice.

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6:35 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 30, 2008 re: "FLDS teen gives birth to boy as state officials stand by"

 Examiner Reader re 6:37 said:
RE:A young boy, a Jehovah Witness,aged 10 having headship over his adult mother is not abuse,it's stupidity. But they have the right to believe as they please, and don't think for a moment that they'll hesitate to tell you EXACTLY(and at length!)what they believe.Again their right.MY right to say, no thank you, I believe otherwise and you can keep the magazine then close the front door on them!Religious institutions have been allowed to become powerful political and financial engines largely because of tax allowances.I think these kids, male and female were separated from their mothers in order to question them without their mother's ability to censor or shape their answers.Religious BELIEFS are personal,private and protected.Religious PRACTICE is open to scrutiny and in the worst cases prosecution as in the Catholic molestation cases and may be in the this case.Warren Jeffs,their prophet/leader has already been convicted in the case of a 13 year old,spiritually married to her cous

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6:37 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 29, 2008 re: "Debate heating up over state's handling of polygamist retreat case"

 Examiner Reader said:
I have to wonder why all the little boys were removed from their mothers. One doctor on the news said it was perhaps that the court deemed them 'possible' perpetrators. Hmmm. So a five year old little boy, ripped from his mothers arms and security is a 'possible' threat? If that's the case, then I think we have to start raiding all the Catholic seminaries in case it's 'possible' that they turn out to be pedophiles? How long before we should raid all the Mosques, Jehovah Witness Kingdom Halls and Mormon temples so that all the 'possible' head of households can't force their women to submit? A young boy, even if he is 10 years old, has headship over even his mother if he is part of Jehovah's Witnesses - does this power make it abuse? I believe it's time that we start looking beyond the physical abuses and start recognizing the severe mental and emotional abuses that occur daily in religion. Maybe we need to define religion and stop abuses like tax avoidance by making all rel

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2:08 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 29, 2008 re: "Debate heating up over state's handling of polygamist retreat case"

 Sam said:
This sect or cult is not much different than any number of others operating under the guise of religion in this country. They were easier pickings because they look different and chose to isolate themselves. I think the State has handled it badly. The men could have been removed, CPA could have been given orders to go in and work with the mothers - some trust could have been put in force. Anyone inside any cult that has gotten out, fully understands the emotional and mental ramifications of being 'in the world'. In turn, it poses legal argument as well. I watched the media sarcasm over the fact that the kids hadn't eaten processed food, or the style of dress and hair they had, or the fact they hadn't used crayons - rather trite comments to be made since I thought the main core of the argument was rape & child sex abuse.

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8:08 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 29, 2008 re: