CPS: Half of sect's teen girls have been pregnant

[Saguaro]

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- More than half the teenage girls taken from a polygamist compound in west Texas have children or are pregnant, state officials said Monday.

A total of 53 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 are in state custody after a raid 3 1/2 weeks ago at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Of those girls, 31 either have children or are pregnant, said Child Protective Services spokesman Darrell Azar. He didn't specify how many are pregnant.

"It shows you a pretty distinct pattern, that it was pretty pervasive," he said.

State officials took custody of all 463 children at the ranch controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, saying a pattern of teen girls forced into underage "spiritual" marriages and sex with much older men created an unsafe environment for the sect's children.

Under Texas law, children under the age of 17 generally cannot consent to sex with an adult. A girl can get married with parental permission at 16, but none of these girls is believed to have a legal marriage under state law.

State officials said earlier that they had found girls who were pregnant or had children of their own at the ranch, but they had not provided more than rough estimates until Monday.

Church officials have denied that any children were abused at the ranch and say the state's actions are a form of religious persecution.

FLDS spokesman Rod Parker said he does not believe the CPS count is accurate. He said that from talking to ranch residents, he believes at least 17 of the girls may actually be adults but have been labeled by CPS as minors.

Agency officials have called into question claims of adulthood among the girls since the raid and have in some cases disputed documentation provided, saying the girls look younger than 18. Because many FLDS members share similar names and have complicated family relationships, identifying all of the children taken into custody has been a challenge.

"I do have serious questions about how they are determining age in there," said Parker, who is trying to get a better count from FLDS families.

He noted though that since law enforcement confiscated every document that might show family relationships as part of its weeklong raid, the sect is at a disadvantage in proving names and ages.

The latest information from CPS comes with "absolutely nothing to back it up other than it's coming from them, and they think we should trust them," Parker said.

All the children are supposed to get individual hearings before June 5 to help determine whether they'll stay in state custody or that parents may be able to take steps to regain custody of their children.

Civil-liberties groups and lawyers for the children have criticized the state for sweeping all the children, from nursing infants to teen boys, into foster care when only teen girls are alleged to have been sexually abused.

No one has been charged since the raid, which was prompted by a series of calls to a domestic abuse hotline, purportedly from a 16-year-old forced into a marriage recognized only by the sect with a man three times her age. That girl has not been found and authorities are investigating whether the call was a hoax. Watch who might be behind the calls »

On Monday, CPS also revised its total count of children in state custody to 463, up one from Friday. Azar said the change resulted from finally getting the children out of the San Angelo Coliseum and into foster facilities around the state, where they were able to get a more accurate count.

Of those 463 children, 250 are girls and 213 are boys. Children 13 and younger are about evenly split -- 197 girls and 196 boys -- but there are only 17 boys aged 14 to 17 compared with the 53 girls in that age range.

Azar said the numbers could still change slightly because authorities have not seen documentation on all the children and have struggled to positively identify everyone.

On Monday, all were assigned caseworkers, who will work only on FLDS cases.

The sect, which broke from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints more than a century ago, believes polygamy brings glorification in heaven. Its leader, Warren Jeffs, is revered as a prophet. Jeffs was convicted last year in Utah of forcing a 14-year-old girl into marriage with an older cousin.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/28/polygamist.retreat.ap/index.html

[Oceanbreeze]

"Civil-liberties groups and lawyers for the children have criticized the state for sweeping all the children, from nursing infants to teen boys, into foster care when only teen girls are alleged to have been sexually abused."

They took ALL the children since NONE of the children have had the option to live a normal life.

[nixon]

"Civil-liberties groups and lawyers for the children have criticized the state for sweeping all the children, from nursing infants to teen boys, into foster care when only teen girls are alleged to have been sexually abused."

They took ALL the children since NONE of the children have had the option to live a normal life.Who is anybody to pass judgement and say what is "A Normal Life"? They live on the outer fringes of society, the have different beleifs. Kind of like C. Columbus in 1492 when he sailed the Oceanbreeze blue. Nixon.

[Saguaro]

Who is anybody to pass judgement and say what is "A Normal Life"? They live on the outer fringes of society, the have different beleifs. Kind of like C. Columbus in 1492 when he sailed the Oceanbreeze blue. Nixon.

It is against the law to force young girls into marriage

[nixon]

It is against the law to force young girls into marriage But they took all the kids on the pretense of not being able to lead a normal life. By using that arguement, the Amish would lose their children also, right?

[Saguaro]

They took them for child abuse

[toxic]

...
They took ALL the children since NONE of the children have had the option to live a normal life.

I agree with you.

What is more interesting to me, is the fact that they all believe that they are in Heaven-On-Earth, or what they called Zion.

Are they truely happy?
Are they scared that it would be hard to adapt to our life style?
Are they afraid that they couldn't take care of themselves in our world?
Are they just not interested in jumping out of the situation they understand, to one they don't?

It seems to me, they have a routine, they are cared for, their obligation to their husband probably just takes a few minutes, they enjoy the other womens company, etc.

What implications does the answer to the above questions have to everyone else that "thinks" they are happy? :)

[patriotsblade]

But they took all the kids on the pretense of not being able to lead a normal life. By using that arguement, the Amish would lose their children also, right?

No, because the Amish obey state and federal laws. This group apparently was not.

[nixon]

No, because the Amish obey state and federal laws. This group apparently was not.What state and federal laws were broken in regards to the boys? There is a law about the girls not being able to marry before sixteen, but what arguement is there for the males being separated from their parents? What am I missing?

[Saguaro]

SAN ANGELO, Tex. — Texas authorities released court documents on Tuesday detailing accusations of a “widespread pattern” of physical and sexual abuse of children by a polygamous sect.

The accusations led to a raid that began on Thursday at their compound in a remote area of West Texas and the removal of 416 children.

Texas state troopers and child welfare investigators executing a search warrant started the search for a 16-year-old who called to tell of abuse at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints, a breakaway sect not recognized by the mainstream Mormon Church, own the ranch.

The girl who made the call has not been found, the authorities said.

The children and more than 100 adult women who elected to leave the ranch to be their caretakers are being housed at the Fort Concho historic site here.

An affidavit released on Tuesday says the 16-year-old repeatedly called a local family violence shelter asking for help to leave the ranch. She said that she had been taken to the ranch three years before by her parents and that when she was 15 she was forced into a marriage with a man who was then about 49, becoming his seventh wife.

The girl said the abuse began shortly after she moved to the ranch, the court papers say. She added that the man would force her to have sex with him and beat her when he became angry. The last time he beat her was on Easter, she said in the papers.

The girl, whispering into someone else’s cellphone, told the authorities that she thought she was several weeks pregnant, the papers say. She said that she was not allowed to leave the ranch other than to receive medical care, but that the man had left the ranch for a while to go to “the outsider’s world.”

A lawyer for the sect declined to comment on Tuesday.

The authorities have determined that the suspect, identified in the original search warrant as Dale Barlow, had been indicted in Mohave County, Ariz., on criminal charges of sexual conduct with a minor in connection with a reported marriage.

The man struck a plea deal, had the charge dismissed, served 45 days in jail and was given three years’ probation.

His probation officer said Monday that Mr. Barlow maintained that he did not know the girl and that he had not been in Texas in 30 years.

“YFZ Ranch and church members had told her that if she tried to leave, she will be found and locked up,” the affidavit states.

Church members also reportedly told her that outsiders would hurt her, force her to cut her hair and wear makeup and “have sex with lots of men.” The girl also said her parents were preparing to send her 15-year-old sister to the ranch from outside the state.

At the end of the call, she began crying and “then stated that she is happy and fine and does not want to get into trouble and that everything she had previously said should be forgotten.”

Based on that account, investigators entered the compound and found a number of young teenage mothers who appeared to be minors, some of them pregnant and some already with infant children.

“Investigators determined that there is a widespread pattern and practice among the residents of YFZ ranch in which minor female residents are conditioned to expect and accept sexual activity with adult men at the ranch upon being spiritually married to them,” the affidavit states.

Because of this “pervasive pattern of indoctrinating and grooming” girls to accept these spiritual marriages and bear their husbands’ children, the authorities found all the girls to be in danger of abuse.

Boys also are forced to marry under-age girls, “resulting in them becoming sexually perpetrators,” and are in danger of abuse themselves, the affidavit said. The affidavit was the basis for obtaining a judge’s approval to take custody of the children.

Child welfare investigators also found evidence that children had been deprived of nutrition and forced to sit in closets as a punishment, court documents indicate.

Carolyn Jessop, author of a book, “Escape,” fled the sect’s historic home base in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., in 2003 to escape a polygamous marriage.

Ms. Jessop said she believed that her former husband, Merrill Jessop, was leading the Eldorado group after the conviction and jailing of its well-known leader, Warren Jeffs. Mr. Jeffs was convicted last year of being an accomplice to rape for forcing a 14-year-old to marry her cousin.

“Those girls are terrified,” said Ms. Jessop, who traveled to Eldorado in an unsuccessful effort to speak with her stepdaughters. “They don’t think these people are there to help them.”

The authorities made two arrests in searching the compound, but have not charged any member with a crime relating to the abuse accusations.

On Sunday, Levi Barlow Jeffs, 19, was arrested for interfering with the duties of a public servant. Leroy Johnson Steed, 41, was arrested on Monday on a felony charge of tampering with physical evidence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/us/09raid.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[nixon]

..."detailing accusations..." we can accuse whoever of whatever, let us see the proof. I was under the impression that this was America and you were innocent until proven guilty. People that live on the outskirts of our society are always suspects. As always, against the establishment, Nixon.

[Trueblue]

They don't leave kids in abusive situations until they are finished with their investigations. Nor should they.

[toxic]

..."detailing accusations..." we can accuse whoever of whatever, let us see the proof. I was under the impression that this was America and you were innocent until proven guilty. People that live on the outskirts of our society are always suspects. As always, against the establishment, Nixon.


No one can be proven innocent or guilty in the press. Any information they release now may corrupt any trial in the future.

Is there a way that this situation could play out to be harmless?

What do we know so far?:
- 60% of the underage girls are pregnant or have had a child.
- These underage girls are being given/married off to guys 40 years older than them.
- The Compound members are stonewalling the search for information or leaving the state.
- Prior cases have of men in this church have resulted in criminal charges and prison terms.

There is smoke and there may be a fire. Let's just hope this wasn't a bunch of over-zelous local Baptists that want some revenge on FLDS.

[nixon]

No one can be proven innocent or guilty in the press. Any information they release now may corrupt any trial in the future.

Is there a way that this situation could play out to be harmless?

What do we know so far?:
- 60% of the underage girls are pregnant or have had a child.
- These underage girls are being given/married off to guys 40 years older than them.
- The Compound members are stonewalling the search for information or leaving the state.
- Prior cases have of men in this church have resulted in criminal charges and prison terms.

There is smoke and there may be a fire. Let's just hope this wasn't a bunch of over-zelous local Baptists that want some revenge on FLDS.Like I've asked in a previous post, what about the boys? Where is the crime against them? Why where they separated from their families and taken into state custody?

[Trueblue]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Boys_of_Polygamy

[nixon]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Boys_of_PolygamyAnd that is a crime?

[Saguaro]

Nixon,you didn't read my post

[nixon]

Nixon,you didn't read my postJust remember one thing, you're only seeing and hearing what the man wants. Anti-the man, Nixon

[Trueblue]

And that is a crime?

I would think it fell under the category of abuse.

[nixon]

I would think it fell under the category of abuse.O.K. So what are we going to do to make it right? Get the government involved? Want to make a difference? What do you say we adopt a couple of these curtain climbers? Show them and teach them what is right and wrong. Right and wrong. Who determines that? Me? You? Wabash?

[Trueblue]

O.K. So what are we going to do to make it right? Get the government involved? Want to make a difference? What do you say we adopt a couple of these curtain climbers? Show them and teach them what is right and wrong. Right and wrong. Who determines that? Me? You? Wabash?

As a society, we have said that people must take care of their minor children, and not throw them out as sexual competition.

That's who determined it.

As for only knowing what the man wants us to know, we know that this is how the rest of these compounds have functioned, and we have lots of evidence that this one is the same.

I'm all for religious freedom, but these are children, and they have rights, too.

[nixon]

As a society, we have said that people must take care of their minor children, and not throw them out as sexual competition.

That's who determined it.

As for only knowing what the man wants us to know, we know that this is how the rest of these compounds have functioned, and we have lots of evidence that this one is the same.

I'm all for religious freedom, but these are children, and they have rights, too.So its a deal. You take a half dozen and so do I. Your friend, crime fighter and patriot against the current administration, Nixon.

[Trueblue]

So its a deal. You take a half dozen and so do I. Your friend, crime fighter and patriot against the current administration, Nixon.

Cute, but no, these boys go into a foster care home in their home state.

[nixon]

http://www.liftingtheveil.org/lowry-2.htm Read it and weep. My idea is better.

[toxic]

Like I've asked in a previous post, what about the boys? Where is the crime against them? Why where they separated from their families and taken into state custody?


Young boys don't get pregnant when you screw them in the ass :)

Hey, all kidding aside. I don't have total confidence in the Texas CPS or any other Texas Agency. I also don't have much confidence in Foster Care. I hope they have more legitimate information than they can release now.

I do think the FLDS people have caused a lot of this problem and share the blame. They could have just let the Troopers and CPS in to visit and investigate long ago. Sometimes it is better to answer a few questions than to stonewall.

[Trueblue]

I don't have total confidence in the foster care system, either, I just have ZERO in the FLDS group.

[Trueblue]

I would appreciate it if people would not try to debate me in the form of rep comments. There's nothing wrong with what you are saying, could you please say it here instead of cramming your thoughts into those little comments?

We all know that DCS is far from perfect. But the idea that they do not care about these kids is just mud slinging. You need to read about what these girls go through.