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Here's the latest on what's happening. These news articles are listed in chronological order. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Why The Texas Supreme Court's Ruling Regarding the FLDS Mothers Is Significantly More Protective of the Children Involved than the Media Have Painted It To Be | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By MARCI HAMILTON FindLaw Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Recently, the Texas Supreme Court affirmed the state’s Third Circuit appellate court’s ruling that Child Protective Services (CPS) lacked adequate evidence to justify taking all of the children from the FLDS’s Yearning for Zion compound. However, as I will explain, there are significant differences between the two rulings, which bode well for the endangered children of the FLDS.
The Texas Supreme Court Affirms that CPS Has Ongoing Jurisdiction The lower appellate court’s decision might have been interpreted as divesting CPS of any ongoing involvement, for the court did not make it clear what role it thought either CPS or Judge Walther might play in the future. Accordingly, that decision was misread by some as a complete vindication of the parents and as an order to return the children to the compound as soon as possible. That is certainly how the public relations people for the FLDS played it. Indeed, they tried to go further and convince the news media that the decision showed that there never was any abuse in the first place. They were wrong. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Journey home begins for FLDS members | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nancy Martinez and Janet Elliott San Antonio Express-News Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ELDORADO — As children from a West Texas polygamist sect were making their way into the arms of their overjoyed parents Monday, church leaders made a startling announcement: The church will no longer allow underage girls to marry adults within the sect. "In the future, the church commits that it will not preside over any marriage of any woman under the age of legal consent in the jurisdiction in which the marriage takes place," said Willie Jessop, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the group's Texas spokesman. The announcement applies both to the group's "spiritual" unions and legal marriages, he said. The minimum age to marry in the state of Texas is 16, but with parental permission. "The church believes in purity, cleanliness and innocence, and our children and families are the cornerstone of our lives and religion," Jessop said. "We hope this modest clarification will alleviate recent concerns and allow this church and its families to reside in peace among its neighbors." The announcement came as state District Judge Barbara Walther signed an agreement Monday morning that approved the release of nearly 450 children from foster care, ending a two-month impasse between FLDS members and Child Protective Services over where the children should live while the agency continues an investigation into child abuse allegations. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joyful reunion — FLDS children can't get enough hugs as they join their mom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Nancy Perkins Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BILENE, Texas — The two-story twin home is small with a tiny back patio, but it's home. And that's all that really matters to four FLDS children taken two months ago from their home on the YFZ Ranch. "Where's my room, mother?" shouts 6-year-old Abram as he scurries through the house, opening one door and then another. His sisters, Danielle, 9, and Autumn, 4, squeal as they dart around the cozy living room, standing still long enough to look at family photos their mother has taped on a wall before running back to her for another hug. "It's upstairs. There's one room for the boys, one room for the girls and one room for grandma," replies Sarah Barlow Draper as she beams at her little boy who can't seem to stand still or stop chatting. She watches Abram, or Abe as the family likes to call him, disappear up the stairs before seeing him reappear. With one leg over the banister, he slides down, yelling for someone to "catch me!" Abe declares the ride less than satisfactory, however. "We had a big, old, long one of these at our home on the ranch!" Abe says to no one in particular before darting outside to check out a nearby playground. Sarah, 37, can't help laughing at her child's energy as he insists on helping a Deseret News photographer set up a camera and even take photos. Abe is quite sure he knows how to take pictures, snapping several as his mother's smile widens. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Polygamous sect pledges to quit performing underage marriages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ELDORADO, Texas — The same day a judge signed an order returning hundreds of FLDS children taken in the raid to their anxious parents, the polygamous sect pledged to no longer perform underage marriages. "In the future, the church commits that it will not preside over the marriage of any woman under the age of legal consent in the jurisdiction in which the marriage takes place," Fundamentalist LDS Church member Willie Jessop said Monday, reading from a statement. "The church will counsel families that they neither request nor consent to any underage marriages. This policy will apply church-wide." Jessop stood on a dirt road here at the YFZ Ranch in the hot sun, wearing his Sunday best as he spoke passionately about the reunions taking place, and the pain that FLDS faithful have endured. "With the help of thousands of prayers that have been offered, we believe that God can start to mend so many broken and devastated hearts," he said. Families will be criss-crossing Texas today — sometimes traveling hundreds of miles to pick up their children from foster care facilities in happy reunions, exactly two months after the children were taken in the raid that became the nation's largest-ever child custody case. Susan Hays, a Dallas attorney appointed by the courts to represent a little girl in state custody, picked up her client's mother and has been driving her across Texas to retrieve the child. "The little girl is sleeping right now after we played a game of spot the cows," Hays chuckled over the phone, the sound of the freeway behind her. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FLDS Church issues statement on marriage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The church's policies regarding marriage have been widely misrepresented and misunderstood. Indeed, much of the misinformation circulating on this subject seems designed intentionally to fuel the flames of prejudice against the church.
The church's practices in this regard continue a long tradition of marriage in this country that would have been found to have been unremarkable in 19th century America. In the FLDS church, all marriages are consensual. The church insists on appropriate consent, including that of the woman and the man, in all circumstances. Nevertheless, the church is clarifying its policy toward marriage. Therefore, in the future, the church commits that it will not preside over the marriage of any woman under the age of legal consent in the jurisdiction in which the marriage takes place. The church will counsel families that they neither request nor consent to any underage marriages. This policy will apply church-wide. The church believes in purity, cleanliness and innocence. Our children and families are the cornerstones of our lives and our religion. We hope that this modest clarification in policy will alleviate recent concerns and allow the church and its families to reside in peace among our neighbors. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas sheriff defends raid on YFZ Ranch in one-on-one interview with Deseret News | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ELDORADO, Texas — He was the man at the gates in the white cowboy hat and the folksy southern drawl. Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran was one of the few outsiders whom the FLDS would initially allow onto the YFZ Ranch, and he cultivated a relationship with them. That relationship has been severely strained in the aftermath of the raid on the YFZ Ranch. "I did not have the power to step in and stop this," Doran said. "The state of Texas had an investigation. They had a call, an outcry of a child they had to investigate and we are there to support that type of investigation. Where there is crimes that are being committed, and outcries being made, we're going to go in and investigate it." In a lengthy and frank interview with the Deseret News on Tuesday, Doran spoke about the raid on the YFZ Ranch and what happens next. "We will still attempt to cultivate that relationship the best that we can," he said. "I know there's a distrust there. I didn't bring that distrust on. I didn't change my way." Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No word on how many families will return to ranch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Russell Wilde News 8 Austin Originally broadcast June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It's unclear how many of the more than 400 children placed in state custody will return to the YFZ ranch. An FLDS church member said that parents are still working out the logistics of getting all the children out of the shelters and back into homes away from the ranch or to the ranch itself. He also said that the community wouldn't be complete until every child is back at the ranch. "You know you get your children only to have them hand you an indictment saying, 'You're one of the ones we're going to single out now and accuse you of being involved in something,'" FLDS spokesperson Willie Jessop said. Those indictments could come as a result of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations that abuse – both physical and sexual – took place at the ranch. As part of the judge's orders that allowed FLDS parents to get their kids back, parents had to agree to cooperate with the ongoing investigations. Some parents fear possibly losing their children again. It's uncertain at this time whether or not this will happen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sect members aren't flocking back to ranch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Janet Elliott and Lisa Sandberg San Antonio Express-News Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ELDORADO — Mother-and-child reunions continued around the state Tuesday, but most families belonging to a polygamist sect are staying away from the windswept ranch they used to call home — at least temporarily. Only about a third of the families are expected back at the Yearning For Zion Ranch this week, said Willie Jessop, an elder with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a breakaway Mormon sect that believes in polygamy. The rest will remain for an undetermined time scattered in houses and apartments in various locations as they seek space and privacy to reconnect with their children. "They are taking the long way home," Jessop said by phone. "We fully support them as they go and do whatever they need to do as a family trying to rehabilitate." The state raided the YFZ Ranch two months ago, removing about 450 children from the ranch and placing them in state custody in shelters across the state. Child welfare officials said they believed all the children were at risk of abuse because of what they said were practices of spiritually marrying underage girls to older men. But the Texas Supreme Court last week sided with the 3rd Court of Appeals that Child Protective Services could have taken other actions before resorting to removal of all the children from the ranch in West Texas. As of Tuesday, 397 children had been returned to their parents, state officials said. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Polygamist case price tag: $7 million | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ashley Broughton CNN Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (CNN) -- Removing 460 children from a polygamist sect compound and then reuniting them with their families will cost Texas $7 million, according to the state Department of Family and Protective Services. The children were ordered returned to their families this week after the Texas Supreme Court found that the state did not have enough evidence to show that abuse was happening at the Yearning for Zion ranch near Eldorado. The price tag includes costs from fighting a court battle to retain custody of the children, attempting to determine their parentage through DNA testing and reuniting the children with their parents. The $7 million does not include more than $500,000 in estimated costs incurred by local governments whose law enforcement agencies were involved in the April 3 ranch raid, according to a budgetary presentation given to Texas lawmakers last month. The raid was prompted by an anonymous caller who claimed that men at the ranch were involved in sexual relationships with young girls. The ranch is owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a Mormon offshoot that practices polygamy. Child welfare officials said they found a "pervasive pattern" of sexual abuse through forced marriages between underage girls and older men. FLDS members have denied that any sexual abuse occurred and say they are being persecuted because of their religion. Albert Hawkins, executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services, told the state Senate Finance Committee that as of May 15, the state had spent more than $5.2 million to provide food, shelter and counseling to the FLDS children. The bulk of those costs included employee overtime and transportation, Hawkins said. Meanwhile, a state district judge told senators that legal costs in the case had topped $2.2 million. Most of that burden falls on Tom Green County, where the district court hearings were taking place, and Schleicher County, where the ranch is located, said Judge Ben Woodward, according to a Senate statement. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Headed Home From Boys Ranch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Reported by: Rachel Cox KAMR - Amarillo, Texas Originally broadcast Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMARILLO --- Today is the second day FLDS boys have been picked up at Boys Ranch. They're going home with their parents. A judge in San Angelo gave full custody of all the children back to their parents. The state's been investigating the FLDS ranch and hasn't been able to prove abuse or neglect. Today 39 boys were picked up, and now there are 11 left at Boys Ranch. Many parents say it's been hard being away from their children. The rest of the boys are expected to be picked up in the next couple of days and many plan to go back to the FLDS ranch. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FLDS Kids Gone | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Reported by: Darcy Deupree KRBC - KTAB TV Abilene, Texas Originally broadcast Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All of the children from the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado that were staying in Abilene are now back with their families. The last of the dozen kids who have stayed at the Hendrick Home for Children since April 25th are now headed home. The last of the children were picked up by their mother just after noon today. According to a deputy with the Taylor County Sheriff's Department she picked up three children. Child Protective Services spokesperson Marleigh Meisner said they will continue their investigation and continue to work with the Office of Attorney General. Texas law states that charges of sexual assault of a child can be filled up until ten years after the child's 18th birthday. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last of Sect Children of Zion Ranch Leave Central Texas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Aaron Mullens KXXV-TV News - Waco, Texas Originally broadcast Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WACO - For parents of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the wait is over as they drove for hours to pick up their children. All FLDS 44 children who were in the foster care of the Waco Methodist Children's Home are now back with their parents. Statewide, only a handful of children have yet to be reunited with their families. The relieved and exhausted parents received their children with open arms. However there are some stipulations the parents must follow. They cannot leave Texas without court permission. They have to take parenting classes. They must allow child welfare workers to make unannounced visits to the Yearning For Zion Ranch during reasonable hours. Still, some individuals are concerned that another move may harm the children mentally. Brad Cates, an attorney for one of the boys addressed this issue, saying "Certainly there's some transitional trauma, I think more so when he left the home going back. I'm no psychologist but I don't think that it's going to be a real issue adapting back into his own home." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Special bond formed at children's shelter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By: Kendra Mendez News 8 Austin Originally broadcast June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What most of us know about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints comes from the images we see on the news or what we read in the paper. Gena VanOsselar and her co-workers at the Austin Children's Shelter got an experience most people will never get. "There's no question that some bonds were formed; it was really hard to say goodbye," VanOsselar said. Volunteers at the local shelter perhaps got the best glimpse into the lives many are curious about. "We had read that they had a fear of technology, so we took down our computer lab, and the first night one of the mothers pulled out her iPod and asked where she could dock it," VanOsselar said. "It surprised us because we didn't expect them to be so technology savvy," she said. Sixteen children and mothers spent about six weeks at the shelter where they slept in cribs lined in rows. Kathleen Weager worked with many of the young children. "They're such very gentle people, very gentle children and very focused," Weager said. During their stay, with their mothers' permission, the children even got to experience some new things. "The second week, I asked the mom if it would be okay if we did some painting and they said okay, and so I brought out some water colors and the children loved the water colors," Weager said. Their paintings are the only things they left behind. The shelter staff tried everything to help them feel as normal and as comfortable as they could, even bringing in a pianist so they could hold their religious services. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FLDS Update: Close to 400 Kids Picked Up From Facilities Across The State | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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KLST-TV - San Angelo, Texas Originally broadcast Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| According To A Spokeswoman For Child Protective Services Parents From The Y-F-Z Ranch Had Picked Up Almost 400 Children From Foster Care Facilities Across The State. South Of Houston Tuesday Parents Picked Up More Children From A Facility In Liverpool. As Of Tuesday Afternoon Child Protective Services Numbers Indicate 397 YFZ Ranch Children Have Been Discharged From Foster Care. Parents Are Required To Sign Authorization Forms And Leave Fingerprints When They Pick Up Their Children Who Under A Court Ruling Will Not Be Allowed To Leave The State. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It's proving difficult to prosecute polygamists | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Daphne Bramham Vancouver Sun Originally published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legislators in two separate jurisdictions -- British Columbia and Texas -- erased any doubts Monday about just how difficult it is to prosecute polygamous fundamentalist Mormons. Texas took a very aggressive approach and has had to backtrack. British Columbia has taken a passive approach for nearly 60 years, and now Attorney-General Wally Oppal is finding it difficult to turn up the heat. In April, Texas child protective services raided a ranch owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and took more than 450 children into state care. They were responding to phone calls from someone named Sarah, who purported to be a pregnant 16-year-old who had been forced to marry a man nearly 40 years older than her and had already borne him one child. Last week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the child protection service had overstepped its legal powers because it failed to prove that all of those children were in "immediate" danger and in "urgent need" of protection. On Monday, officials began reuniting children with their parents, but only after taking the parents' fingerprints, requiring full details about where the children would be living, getting the parents' agreement that they would attend state-sponsored parenting classes and their agreement to allow unannounced visits by social workers. Meanwhile, in B.C., Oppal announced that he has taken the unprecedented step of hiring a third special prosecutor, Terrance Robertson, in the hope that he can find a reason to charge some of the men in Bountiful, a community of close to 1,500 that is split between FLDS members and people who follow Winston Blackmore, the former FLDS bishop who was excommunicated. Since Oppal was appointed three years ago, he has been unable to find anyone to prosecute based on the evidence RCMP gathered. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Authorities not yet done with polygamists, Schleicher County sheriff says | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Bill Hanna and John Moritz Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran warned Tuesday that a polygamist sect's battles with the Texas authorities are far from over. Doran, in one of his first extensive interviews since the April 3 raid at the sect's YFZ Ranch near Eldorado, predicted that sect members will face numerous criminal charges in the coming months. "I believe when all of the criminal charges come forward, it is going to be very hard to practice their beliefs within the state of Texas," Doran said. "I believe there are numerous criminal investigations going, and a number of charges will eventually come out of those investigations." A grand jury was convened Monday in Schleicher County, but Doran said that panel is only dealing with local issues and did not take up cases related to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS. He said the Texas Rangers, who are the lead agency in the criminal investigation of allegations of child sex abuse, are moving deliberately. "I see warrants coming, but the timing of that is up to the Texas Rangers and the district attorney," Doran said. "I'm not a party to that. We didn't have the manpower to conduct this investigation, so we've been in a support role, trying to provide communications with the ranch and provide law enforcement protection to our county." Last week the Texas Supreme Court upheld the 3rd Court of Appeals' ruling that Child Protective Services had no basis to remove all the children from the ranch. The Texas attorney general's office confirmed Tuesday that DNA test results have begun filtering back to West Texas. The tests were ordered to determine parentage of many of the children from the compound. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Split was a heavy burden for FLDS family | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Nancy Perkins Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| YFZ RANCH, Texas — It was obvious that Zachary had had enough of prying eyes, nosy news people, snapping cameras and inquisitive strangers. "They don't need to see what I look like!" the 9-year-old son of Edson Jessop and Zavenda Young said defiantly as his parents consented to an interview Tuesday with the Deseret News at the YFZ Ranch. Edson and Zavenda took their son's outburst in stride, knowing he was tired from an all-night drive from the Waco shelter in which he had been housed. Ephraim, 7, and Russell, 5, followed their big brother's lead, covering their faces with both hands and refusing to answer nearly every question posed to them. "I want to throw rocks at your camera!" Zachary said, as he looked up briefly at his little brothers who were nodding their heads in agreement. "Just break it!" The boys, said their mother, have been through a lot over the past two months and their anger is understandable. "They've had a rough go of it," she said, coaxing the two oldest ones to sit by her. Edson tried to console the boys, wrapping an arm around Russell's stooped shoulders, saying, "We don't want to be mad, boys." Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most caregivers enjoyed the FLDS children | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Brian West Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MIDLAND, Texas — Nearly 400 FLDS children have now been reunited with their parents with most of the other 50 or so expected to go home today. "Six facilities still have children," Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said Tuesday. Many of those who cared for the children since they were seized from their homes at the YFZ Ranch and placed into state custody say they believe the children are returning home with different perspectives than they had before. "I hope they now know not everyone on the outside is their enemies," said Jackie Carter, executive director of the High Sky Children's Ranch here that was home to 15 teenage girls. "I think there's a little crack in that thought." Although happy to see the children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church go home, Carter said she had bittersweet feelings as the last three girls left. "I've been very sad today, actually," she said. "I thoroughly enjoyed them. We all learned a lot and will miss them." Since the children were placed into foster care facilities like hers six weeks ago, Carter said she's seen a big change in the girls. "They were a lot more reserved when they came. They didn't know if they could trust us." Delma Trejo saw a similar transition. "They were very guarded at the very beginning, which I don't blame them," said the executive director of the Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter in Corpus Christi. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Review of CPS actions likely, prof says | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Jayna Boyle San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A University of Texas law professor said one thing Child Protective Services can take away from its raid on the polygamist sect's YFZ Ranch is to "think before you act." "They didn't consider the ramifications of their actions," said John J. Sampson, a UT law professor who specializes in children's rights. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, 397 Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints children had been returned to the custody of their parents from shelters across the state following last week's Texas Supreme Court ruling and an order signed Monday morning in district court. CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said only six of the 16 shelters still had sect children in custody Tuesday afternoon. Authorities started a weeklong raid April 3 at the sect's Yearning For Zion Ranch because the state alleged a "pervasive pattern and practice" of forced marriage and child abuse, removing more than 450 people they thought to be children at risk. The sect practices a form of plural marriage in which men have several "spiritual wives" that are not officially recognized by the Mormon Church, which renounced polygamy a century ago. After 21 hours of hearings April 17 and 18, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther ordered that the children remain in state custody. Meisner declined to comment on whether CPS will change any policies as a result of the raid. Sampson said CPS has a tried-and-true standard operating procedure for instances of suspected abuse. The problem, he said, is that the agency used that same procedure at the sect's ranch, and it didn't translate well with a group of that size. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Judge allows sect girl's release, with conditions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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CNN Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (CNN) -- A teenage girl removed from a polygamist sect's compound can be released to her guardian, a judge ruled, as long as she's kept away from a person accused of abusing her, and from her father, sect leader Warren Jeffs. The 16-year-old must also be kept away from the Yearning for Zion Ranch, where she was one of 460 children removed by the state of Texas in April. Her attorney has said she is an "identified victim of sexual abuse." Attorneys for the girl said Monday that releasing her from state custody might cause her to come in contact with her alleged abuser. District Judge Barbara Walther delayed her release for up to 72 hours after most of the children were released. But on Tuesday, Walther signed an order allowing the girl's release under strict conditions. She was allowed to return to a guardian, a woman who shares her last name and may be her mother. The woman agreed to abide by the same conditions as other parents who reclaimed their children -- allowing unannounced visits from Child Protective Services workers, completing a parenting course, and advising CPS in writing of the child's address, among others. In imposing the additional conditions, Walther said the girl's alleged abuser should not be able to contact her in any way, and her guardian should notify police immediately if the person comes within 1,000 feet of the girl. In addition, Walther ordered that the girl have no contact with Jeffs, the leader of the estimated 10,000 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The judge ordered the girl's guardian to "take all measures necessary" to prevent it. And Walther ruled the girl cannot be taken within 1,000 feet of the YFZ Ranch. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children return to polygamist ranch, but criminal case against sect members looms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Associated Press The Dallas Morning News Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) – The members of a polygamist sect raided by authorities two months ago have their children back, but with a criminal investigation looming, the sect's troubles may not be over. "There have been criminal problems located out there," said Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran, who was with state troopers and child welfare authorities when they raided Yearning for Zion Ranch in west Texas on April 3. The Texas Department of Public Safety and the attorney general's office have taken over the criminal investigation at the request of authorities in the rural ranching community. While they confirm they are investigating, neither will say how long the investigation may take. Child-welfare officials have alleged that members of the church that runs the ranch pushed underage girls into marriages with older men, but the evidence needed to support a criminal case could prove elusive. No more than five underage pregnant girls were identified during the child custody hearings, and unless they were under 17 when they got pregnant and the father was older than 19, any sexual abuse crime would be difficult to prove. The crime of bigamy generally applies to legal marriages, and few of the sect members had legal unions. DNA evidence acquired in the custody case is off limits to criminal investigators unless child welfare investigators find wrongdoing or law enforcement gets court permission, and a prosecution probably would go nowhere without at least one willing witness in the insular ranch community. Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had a strong distrust of outsiders even before all the children at the ranch were taken away. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Girl reunites with mother - but no contact with FLDS leader | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAN ANGELO, Texas — A 16-year-old girl exempted from the massive order that returned hundreds of children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch will now be going home. A judge here on Tuesday signed a special order allowing the girl to go home to her mother — but she will have no contact with her father, FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. "Respondent is ordered to take all measures necessary to prevent the child from having any contact, in any form, with Warren Steed Jeffs," Judge Barbara Walther wrote in the order reuniting the girl with her mother. "It is ordered that the respondent shall prevent the child from being within 1,000 feet of the location known as 'YFZ Ranch' in Eldorado, Texas." On the day that Walther signed an order to reunite hundreds of children with their parents, the girl's attorney filed an emergency motion on behalf of her client. "This child is an identified victim of sexual abuse," Natalie Malonis wrote in court papers. Malonis sought the stay so she could work out an agreement with an attorney for the girl's mother and Texas child welfare authorities. The order returns the girl to her mother, who is expected to take parenting classes and cooperate with an ongoing Child Protective Services investigation. The family is restricted to living in the San Antonio area. A man named Raymond Jessop is also prohibited from having any contact with her. The order does not say what the relationship is between him and the girl. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas had secret plan to separate polygamist mothers, children | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By CHRISTY HOPPE The Dallas Morning News Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AUSTIN – State officials, fearing a violent reaction from members of a West Texas polygamist sect, considered a secret plan to haul hundreds of children and their mothers to Midlothian to be separated, internal e-mails show. But a judge vetoed the plan. They also worried that mothers would try to make a "run" from the shelter with their children, feared a rampage of infections among the families and fretted about the fear of violence and state resources being overwhelmed by events. More than 1,500 pages of e-mails between the governor's office and Child Protective Services, obtained by The Dallas Morning News under state freedom of information laws, show top executives working day and night in early April to deal with a raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch that quickly mushroomed into a massive operation. In the first week, more than 1,000 personnel were deployed and costs reached $2.3 million. Conspicuously absent in the e-mail strings was Gov. Rick Perry. While his executive staff was exchanging information and tracking events, Mr. Perry did not receive a full briefing from officials until five days after the raid – when more than 500 people were being held in state-run shelters. Spokeswoman Krista Piferrer said that because the situation was highly charged and fluid, Mr. Perry used the phone and personal updates from his staff to stay informed. During his administration, he has avoided using e-mail because the content is subject to open-records requests. The governor's office and CPS withheld hundreds of pages of messages, citing state laws exempting confidential information. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Judge's orders aimed to protect Jeffs' daughter from sect member | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By ROBERT T. GARRETT The Dallas Morning News Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ELDORADO, Texas – A judge Tuesday set special conditions for the release from state custody of a 16-year-old daughter of polygamist sect prophet Warren Jeffs after the girl's lawyer complained she'd been sexually abused by a man in the group and might be in danger. While 397 of the sect's 440 children in the custody of Child Protective Services had been released by late Tuesday, Mr. Jeffs' daughter was the only one accorded special protections, said her lawyer, Natalie Malonis of Flower Mound. State District Judge Barbara Walther of San Angelo allowed the girl to be released to her mother, Annette Jeffs, at a Midland foster care facility after ordering the mother to keep her in the San Antonio area where she lives – and away from the alleged perpetrator, a 38-year-old sect member. The judge may impose additional restrictions, Ms. Malonis said. "She was very concerned about, 'Will the parent be able to protect her?' " Ms. Malonis said of Judge Walther. Ms. Malonis said CPS and law enforcement had evidence that the girl was sexually abused, though they don't believe she's ever been pregnant. CPS lawyer Gary Banks and Tim Edwards of San Angelo, attorney for the girl's mother, helped craft the special order. It orders Annette Jeffs not to return to the ranch with the girl. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CPS: All YFZ Ranch children now gone from shelters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All children removed from the polygamist sect's YFZ Ranch in April have been returned to their parents, the state's Child Protective Services agency said this afternoon. In all, the state released 440 children to their parents or guardians, said CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner. The children were being housed in 16 foster care shelters across the state. That number includes two infants born in custody but does not include 26 women initially classified as girls who subsequently were determined by CPS to be adults. The children - initially numbering 464 - were removed in a weeklong raid begun April 3 raid by CPS and law enforcement on the ranch, owned and run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Many of the parents have returned to the ranch with their children, said FLDS elder Willie Jessop, estimating the figure at 20 percent and rising. "There seems to be more coming all the time," he said. See Photo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Protect children | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Opinion The Spectrum Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lost amid the euphoria of children being reunited with their parents this week in Texas came a disturbing statement from a spokesperson for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "The church will counsel families that they neither request nor consent to any underage marriages," elder Willie Jessop was quoted as telling The Associated Press. He went on to say that the church would allow marriages involving sect members who are of legal age. He also said that the church has been misunderstood and that marriages have always been consensual. While Texas authorities may have overstepped their bounds in raiding the compound in Eldorado and separating more than 400 children from their parents, Jessop's statements show why authorities had problems with the actions of some members of the church in the first place. Unless underage marriages were taking place, there should be no reason for a new push to ensure that girls are of legal age before being allowed to marry. Members of the faith shouldn't need any counseling that it is improper to consent to such marriages if this wasn't an issue prior to the raid. At its most basic level, this episode is about protecting children. Thirteen- and 14-year-old girls are not able to consent to marriage under the laws of most states. In fact, in most cases, a girl engaging in acts to consummate such a marriage would be a victim of statutory rape. As much as some members of the church want to make the events of the past month about persecution of religion, it's really been about protecting children. True, Texas went too far by removing children without evidence of abuse. In some cases in Texas, removal may have been justified. But, as a judge stated Monday, that's not the case with all of the children. But Jessop's statement at least hints that some members of the church engaged in underage marriages. It is that issue - not theological differences - that must remain a point of investigation until the church can build a better track record of protecting children. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jeffs' daughter wins protections | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Kirk Johnson and Gretel C. Kovach The New York Times Denver Post Originally published June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAN ANGELO, Texas — A 16-year-old girl who, her attorneys said, was sexually abused in a West Texas polygamist group led by her father, Warren Jeffs, was given added legal protections Tuesday by a district judge who barred any contact between her and Jeffs. The ruling came as more children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints continued to go home to their parents from state foster care. The order's language puts the focus of the investigation of the group more squarely onto Jeffs, who led the sect as a hailed prophet of God and is now serving a sentence of 10 years to life for a conviction in Utah last year of forcing an underage girl in his sect to marry against her will. Last week, investigators from the Texas attorney general's office executed a search warrant to obtain DNA from Jeffs in Arizona, where he is awaiting trial on other charges related to underage marriages. The warrant said investigators had evidence that Jeffs had married four young girls in Texas and Utah, two of them at age 12. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Four counts dropped in Jeffs case | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By JIM SECKLER Mohave Daily News Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| KINGMAN - A Mohave County Superior Court judge dismissed four of the eight felony counts against Warren Steed Jeffs, the jailed prophet of the polygamist sect in Colorado City. Superior Court Judge Steven Conn ruled on a motion filed by Jeffs' attorney, Michael Piccarreta. The defense motion argued that under Arizona statute, incest applies to those 18-years-old and older. The two victims were under 18 at the time of the alleged crimes. The defense also argued that the victims were first cousins from half blood, not full blood. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith argued as absurd that a man could be subjected to harsher penalties for having sex with a relative older than 18, compared to a girl younger than 18. Smith could not reached for comment on Conn's ruling. Conn ruled that the law is clear, requiring both parties in an act of incest to be 18 years or older. "Both participants in the alleged sexual activity were not more than the age of 18," Conn ruled. The judge also ruled that the crime of incest cannot be committed by first cousins of the half blood, saying "the statute does not apply to first cousins of the half blood." Jeffs, 52, the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is still charged in two 2007 cases involving two underage victims. He is charged with four counts of sexual conduct with a minor. The first case charges him with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor involving an underage girl between May 1 and June 30, 2002 and between Aug. 15 and Sept. 15, 2002. The second case also charges him with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor involving another underage girl on Aug. 31, 2003, and in September 2003. Jeffs allegedly arranged marriages between older men and their teenage relatives. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho woman assists polygamy children | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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KXLY TV - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Originally published June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BONNERS FERRY, Idaho -- All of the children of a polygamist sect in Texas have been returned to their parents. That's the word from Texas child welfare officials. But one woman living in Bonners Ferry says those kids should not go home to their parents. And she has a different perspective than most. The saga in Texas has been going on for almost two months, with the state battling with polygamist parents over the fate of more than 400 kids. The state ruled last week there's no evidence of abuse and those kids should be returned to their parents. But, as Mary Mackert knows all too well, that could mean a life sentence for those children of polygamy. On a farm outside Bonners Ferry, Idaho, Mary Mackert is rarely alone. Surrounded by her beloved goats, dogs and chickens, Mackert lives a much different life than she was born into. "I was a year and a half old," she says. "They took over 200 children into custody at that time." That was in July, 1953, in what is now Colorado City, Arizona, when the government raided a radical polygamist community. Though Mackert was separated from her family and her home, she doesn't regret that the state stepped in, only that she was sent back. "Because of it, I grew up in it and submitted to an arranged marriage to my husband," says Mackert. "I was 17 and he was 50." Mackert was the sixth of his seven wives, and eventually bore five of his 35 children. She says growing up in polygamy, you submit to the men and the prophet without question. Sixteen years later, she had enough of sharing her home and her husband and tried to leave. "I was abducted, locked in my room for a day and a half and my husband threatened to blood atone execute me," she says. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hendrick Home for Children Speaking Out | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Reported by: Angela Taylor KRBC - KTAB TV Abilene Originally broadcast Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The children of the polygamist sect in Eldorado have been turned over to their parents after two months in state custody. They were scattered all over the state of Texas. 12 of them were being housed at Hendrick Home for Children. David Perkins the Vice President for Child Care Programming says their goal was to show the children that they're safe and secure. He admits that being taken away from a parent is difficult, but he told them they would be taken care of and be exposed to new people and see that life outside the compound is not evil. Perkins adds that our society has an obligation to protect children from exploitation from adults and he's concerned now that the children are back at the compound. Perkins says he supports Child Protective Services 100% and knows they have the best interest of the children in mind. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Attorney General's Office and DPS Taking Over FLDS Criminal Investigation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Staff Report KWES NewsWest 9 - Midland, Texas Originally broadcast Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New details on the criminal investigation involving children from the FLDS ranch in Eldorado. The Texas Attorney General's Office and the Department of Public Safety have taken over the criminal investigation involving the polygamist ranch. Evidence of sexual abuse was limited to just five teenage girls. Authorities have DNA from all of the children and many parents -- more than 600 samples, but those results can't be used without a court order because they were taken as part of the custody cases -- not a criminal search warrant. Meanwhile, CPS reports all 440 children removed in April from the complex -- are now back with their parents. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FLDS Members Hope to Un-seat a Schleicher County Sheriff Involved in the Raid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Newsroom 590 KLBJ News Radio - Austin, Texas Originally broadcast June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| County Sheriff David Doran helped CPS and other state agencies move in church members at beginning because what he calls valid reasons, but now church members who once distanced themselves from the political world are aiming to use the ballot box as a weapon. Doran is up for re-election this fall. He continues to defend his involvement in the children initial removal and is pressing for criminal charges to filed on some of the churches members. This week over 3-hundred FLDS members have signed up for voter registration cards with the county clerk in Schleicher county. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Making his voice heard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Schleicher County sheriff disputes some sect claims | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Matt Phinney San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ELDORADO - Pictures of Warren Jeffs kissing an underage girl are a small glimpse of evidence that will come to light in the ongoing investigation of alleged abuse at the polygamist sect's YFZ Ranch, in which criminal charges are likely to be issued, the Schleicher County sheriff said. David Doran said he wants to balance what he feels has been a propaganda campaign undertaken by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints against the Child Protective Services and state law enforcement agencies. The ordinarily secretive group has opened the gates of its 1,700-acre ranch near Eldorado several times for reporters since the weeklong state raid begun April 3. Doran said the sheriff's office, which typically accompanies CPS on any investigation, provided "support and logistics" for CPS and the Texas Rangers during the raid that took more than 400 children from the ranch. His office, he said, is not part of the ongoing criminal investigation. He said Tuesday he expects indictments to be handed down as a result of the investigation, which is being led by the Texas Attorney General's Office. He said he wants the people of Eldorado and the Concho Valley to know what's going on. "They have a really strong propaganda campaign to sway public opinion," Doran said. "It's obvious that's what they have done. A lot of the information they put out is not 100 percent accurate. It's unfortunate that they are doing that." Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Together Again | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A court backs a polygamous sect, and a family is reunited. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Gretel C. Kovach Newsweek Web Exclusive Originally published June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| After almost two agonizing months, Sandra Jeffs walked into a shelter near Houston on Monday to reclaim her 1-year-old daughter, Annette. The toddler, like some 400 other children, had been taken away by Texas authorities in early April in a crackdown on a religious sect that practices polygamy. When Sandra appeared, the little girl, fair-haired and cherubic, seemed puzzled at the sight of her mother. It had, after all, been such a long time for a little one. Rather than lift her arms to her mother, she reached instead for a shelter worker. "She had forgotten me," says Sandra, 26. "It hurt more than I can even describe. The children were returned to their mothers this week after two court rulings in Texas found that state child-welfare officials overstepped their bounds in the sudden and drastic intervention at the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado. The community calls itself the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a group that long ago broke away from the mainstream Mormon church. State authorities insist the removal of the children was motivated by serious concerns about abuse. The raid had been prompted by a call from a person claiming to be a 16-year-old girl being beaten by a 50-year-old "husband." The source of the call has never been identified; church members and, now, some authorities, suspect it was a hoax. Still, some lawyers continue to express deep anxiety about the leadership of the polygamous community. Deborah Keenum, who was assigned to represent 11 of the children, noted that recent court evidence included pictures of sect leader Warren Jeffs, now imprisoned for serving as an accessory to rape, passionately kissing a 12-year-old "bride," pictures she found "disturbing, completely disturbing." She adds: "Those children need to be protected. And if mothers allowed that to happen, then that's a failure to protect under state law." Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Irony in Texas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Opinion Deseret News Originally published Thursday, June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As I have followed the FLDS debacle in Texas, I find it quite humorous — and ironic — that San Angelo, Texas, is the county seat of Tom Green County.
Mike Rosenhan Kearns | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There's only a little sign of life at the sect ranch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trucks, gardens are idle with few FLDS residents | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By JANET ELLIOTT Houston Chronicle Originally published Thursday, June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ELDORADO — Three-year-old Anne Jessop sat on a pink-and-purple tricycle while 7-year-old brother Ephraim perched himself on a dolly, their heads together in whispered fun. Nearby, another brother, 5-year-old Russell, rode a bike. But Zachery, a 9-year-old brother, leaned quietly against a wall outside the woodshop, his wary eyes cast on yet another group of strangers visiting the Yearning For Zion Ranch. The children and their parents, Edson Jessop, 51, and Zavenda Young, 43, had been home just a little over 24 hours Wednesday. They drove all night from Hockley in Harris County, where Anne and Russell had been staying at the Boys and Girls Country. Zachery and Ephraim were picked up first from a children's facility in Waco. "It's just wonderful to have them all here," Young said. "I was lonesome when they were gone." The four siblings were among the few children seen during a tour of the 1,700-acre ranch Wednesday where life is far from getting back to normal for members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a polygamist sect. "There are a few returned, and we'll be grateful when more come," Jessop said. Jessop said his children were well-cared-for at the two facilities. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stripped Bare: As FLDS children in Texas begin returning to their parents, ex-sect member Kathleen Mackert asks what future awaits polygamy’s children | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Stephen Dark Salt Lake City Weekly Originally published June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LAS VEGAS—Six-year-old Kathleen Mackert packed a suitcase she found in the closet. She put in some food from the kitchen of her family’s home, a blanket, a change of clothes and her nightgown. It was after school and her mother wasn’t home from work. She set off down the street in Kearns, determined to find new parents. Her mother and father could not be her parents. Not a man who did such terrible things to her. Not a woman who failed to protect her from him. They couldn’t be her parents.
She says she had tried to kill herself a few months before. "I was in hell, I might as well go there," she recalls now, 44 years later. Her suicide attempt came shortly after her father started sexually abusing her. But her mother, Myra Tolman, interrupted her plans. Kathleen Mackert says her mother smelled the aspirin on her breath in the middle of the night and forced her to vomit the pills. Tolman says, however, she saw an empty aspirin bottle and a few pills scattered around her daughter’s bed, dragged her to the bathroom and made her vomit. Kathleen Mackert walked through the quiet subdivision, spring buds marking the trees in nearby open fields. Surely a parent would find her, take her in for their daughter and love her. But as it grew darker, she couldn’t figure out where she was. She kept walking. No one came out to ask the scared little girl in a long dress, coat and thick braids if she wanted a new home. "Kathleen Fawn Mackert," her mother screamed at her as she pulled up in her car. She always used the full names of the seven children she had with her polygamist husband, Clyde Mackert, when she was angry. "What do you think you are doing?" Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All FLDS children returned to parents | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Thursday, June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAN ANGELO, Texas — The last of the hundreds of children taken in the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch have now been reunited with their parents. "All of the 440 children have been successfully returned to a parent or guardian," Texas Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said Wednesday. Texas child welfare authorities also officially declared 26 young women — whom they believed to be minors — as legal adults. The state had initially claimed as many as 31 were underage mothers. That leaves five underage girls the state claims are pregnant or who have had children. But attorney Andrea Sloan said the number is actually four. She represents a 14-year-old girl on the list whom she insists is neither pregnant nor married. "They are finally admitting what we all have known," said Laura Shockley, a Dallas attorney who represented several of the so-called disputed minors. "I think they've made a huge mistake. I think they violated those young women's constitutional rights, and they should prepare themselves for the possibility of attorneys addressing that." Shockley told the Deseret News she is considering a lawsuit against Texas CPS on behalf of her clients, alleging civil rights violations. "This is egregious, what they have done. If there are violations at the ranch, CPS had a right to investigate them. The procedures they used are gross, overreaching and gross negligence in their part," she said. The children were reunited with their parents after Austin's 3rd Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Texas acted improperly in removing them from the YFZ Ranch. The return of the children does not end the CPS investigation into allegations of abuse on the FLDS property. "Our investigation continues," Meisner said, declining to reveal any specifics. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UEP Trust waiting on FLDS probe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Thursday, June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAN ANGELO, Texas — Lawyers for the court-controlled real-estate holdings arm of the Fundamentalist LDS Church say they will wait until a criminal investigation into the polygamous sect subsides before pushing subpoenas to see evidence. The United Effort Plan Trust's court-appointed special fiduciary wants to see evidence that was seized by authorities during the raid on the YFZ Ranch. Subpoenas were served on prosecutors here, but no hearing has been scheduled on the matter. "The subpoena will stay in place until they've taken care of job one," Sam Allen, a San Angelo attorney retained by the UEP Trust, told the Deseret News on Wednesday. "When they've done their priority of investigating materials and how they decide to address the criminal case." A judge on Monday ordered an agricultural financial institution to give up information about the funding of the ranch. "We're just tracking assets," said Bruce Wisan, the special fiduciary of the UEP Trust. Wisan is seeking information about the UEP Trust's management before the courts took over, as well as any assets to satisfy an $8.8 million judgment against FLDS leader Warren Jeffs and other former trustees who were accused of mismanaging it. Jeffs was convicted last year in Utah of rape as an accomplice in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. He was sentenced to two terms of five years to life in prison. An Arizona judge dropped four of eight charges against Jeffs on Wednesday, saying a state incest law does not apply to the arranged marriages of two teenage girls and their older male relatives. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Perry defends state raid on polygamist retreat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Associated Press Austin American-Statesman Originally published Thursday, June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DALLAS — Gov. Rick Perry took personal responsibility Thursday if Texas "stepped across some legal line" in the April raid on a West Texas polygamous sect's ranch while defending the state's action, The Dallas Morning New reported. Perry, who was in La Baule, France, for a European business conference, said the state has an obligation to protect young women from being forced into marriage and underage sex. "That's my bottom line on this," Perry said in a story for the newspaper's online edition. He also warned members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that child sex abuse won't be tolerated and even suggested that followers of the renegade Mormon sect may want to leave the state. "If you are going to conduct yourself that way, we are going to prosecute you," Perry said. "If you don't want to be prosecuted for those activities, then maybe Texas is not the place you need to consider calling home." Willie Jessop, a Utah-based FLDS elder, said Perry's remarks were shocking, particularly given a Texas Supreme Court ruling that forced this week's return of 440 sect children on the grounds that Child Protective Services provided scant evidence that the children were in danger. "It's an outrage that he should even make such gross and broad allegations," Jessop said. "He's listening to people that tell lies about the FLDS." Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Stolen Innocence': Story of a teenage bride | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The book: 'Stolen Innocence' By Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer (William Morrow) The buyer: Sharp Independent and Killer Films | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Josh Getlin Los Angeles Times Originally published June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The deal
Sharp Independent at HarperCollins and Killer Films option Elissa Wall's "Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs," the story of a girl forced into marriage at 14 as a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and her later escape from the polygamist cult. The players Jeffrey Sharp ("Evening" and "Proof") and Christine Vachon ("Boys Don't Cry" and "I'm Not There") are producing. Wall is represented by attorney Roger Hoole. The back story When Wall escaped the FLDS -- and delivered dramatic courtroom testimony against cult leader Warren Jeffs -- she got a crash course in how to present herself to the news media. But she wasn't quite as prepared when Hollywood came calling. Soon after William Morrow agreed to publish "Stolen Innocence," HarperCollins' book-to-movie unit raised the idea of turning her story into a film. Sharp, who runs the unit, was keen on partnering with Vachon, with whom he'd worked before. When they sat down with Wall, however, the author expressed concerns. "I was hesitant about a film, and still am," she said. "I wanted the integrity of my story to be respected. I wanted to know that things wouldn't get overly dramatized if the story moved to the screen." Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Happy returns, for now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Probes remain active as sect gets kids back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Thursday, June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| With all 440 children from the YFZ Ranch now returned to their parents, at least five entities are pursuing investigations into the polygamist sect to which they belong. A combination of criminal and civil probes by agencies from Utah and Texas could result in indictments, a second removal of some children or seizure of the ranch itself - depending on the result of the four separate investigations. "If (the ranch) was built with trust money, then it would need to come back," said local attorney Sam Allen, representing the Utah-based United Effort Plan Trust, which has won a judgment in Utah against the FLDS for money diverted from the sect's trust for other uses. "That's what we're trying to find out." The trust Monday requested and received an order from a Tom Green County district judge allowing its San Angelo attorneys access to documents relating to the purchase of, and improvements made to, the ranch. San Angelo-based First Ag Credit, which helped arrange the purchase of the property by YFZ Land Corp., has seven days from the order's date to turn over the documents. The four-member limited liability corporation that bought the ranch includes Raymond Jessop, who also was the focus of an order signed Tuesday that placed additional restrictions on the movement and contacts of a 16-year-old daughter of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sect Leader Spared of 4 Charges | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By AMANDA LEE MYERS The Associated Press TIME Magazine Originally published Thursday, June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (KINGMAN, Ariz.) — An Arizona judge dropped four of eight charges against Warren Jeffs, even as authorities in Texas looked into whether the polygamist sect leader had relationships with four girls at the west Texas ranch raided in April. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steven Conn dismissed the charges at the request of the defense, finding that a state incest law does not apply to the arranged marriages of two teenage girls and their older male relatives. Conn ruled the law only applies if both participants in the sexual activity are older than 18, and that the law does not apply to half cousins. In both of the marriages Jeffs is accused of arranging, the girls were under 18 and were their husbands' half cousins. He was charged with incest as an accomplice. Prosecutors said the law could lead to absurd results, such as an uncle having sex with two nieces, one younger and one older than 18, and being subject to harsher punishments for his conduct with the older one. But the judge said the statute's language was clear and unambiguous, leaving no room for interpretation. "We're obviously very pleased with the court's ruling," Jeffs' attorney, Mike Piccarreta, told The Associated Press. "You can see we've chopped these things down considerably." In his ruling, Conn wrote that Arizona's incest law initially was enacted without reference to participants' ages. In 1985, it was amended to apply only to people who were 15 years or older, and in 1998, it was changed to its present form, applying only to those 18 or older. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Is the case against Warren Jeffs unraveling? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Brandon Kline KPNX 12 News - Phoenix Originally broadcast June 5, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The list of charges against Warren Jeffs in Arizona is dwindling. Four incest charges were dropped this week. Two other charges were dropped in March. Some are wondering if any prison time will be added to Jeffs' prison sentence. Anti-polygamy activist Flora Jessop says its a tough battle to be a prosecutor in this case. She says one of the biggest challenges is convincing the FLDS faithful to testify. Many are afraid of retaliation from other members. Jeffs faces four charges in Arizona including sexual misconduct. He faces anywhere from probation to eight years in prison if convicted. Originally, Jeffs faced as many as 27 years in prison. Many anti-polygamy activists seem demoralized. Hundreds of FLDS children have been returned to their families in Texas. They fear the FLDS community believes the government will never be able to stop underage marriages. Jessop believes the families will begin to filter into mainstream society where CPS won't be able to find them. But does the Arizona case even matter? Jeffs is serving a sentence of five years to life after a conviction in Utah. But, Jessop says an Arizona conviction could send a powerful message to the FLDS community. Mohave County attorney Matt Smtih declined to comment. He says he doesn't want to further jeopardize the case against Jeffs. No date has been set for the Kingman trial. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas shouldn't return sect children to parents | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Opinion Central Maine Morning Sentinel - Augusta, Maine Originally published June 6, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I do not see how the Supreme Court in Texas can allow 468 children to be returned to their parents.
The pagan sect to which these children will be returned (pagan sect masquerading as a Christian sect) forces young girls to marry and train boys to perpetuate sexual abuse. According to The Wall Street Journal, "After raiding the ranch last month, Texas officials said they had discovered ceremonial temple beds used to consecrate 'spiritual unions' between older men and teenage girls." Moreover, again according to The Wall Street Journal (May 24) "an orchestrated conspiracy of silence" by ranch residents made it difficult for investigators to establish family relationships among the dozens of adults and children. It would be irresponsible for the Texas Supreme Court to return the children to a well-lit "heart of darkness." Virginia M. Sullivan Belgrade Lakes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas governor suggests sect may want to move on | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Washington Times Originally published June 6, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gov. Rick Perry hinted Thursday that members of a polygamist sect whose children were recently returned amid a botched sex-abuse investigation should pack their bags, a newspaper reported. Perry, who was in La Baule, France, for a European business conference, said that the state of Texas has an obligation to protect young women from being forced into marriage and underage sex, The Dallas Morning News reported in its online edition. He also warned members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that child sex abuse won't be tolerated and even suggested that followers of the renegade Mormon sect may want to get out. "If you are going to conduct yourself that way, we are going to prosecute you," Perry said. "If you don't want to be prosecuted for those activities, then maybe Texas is not the place you need to consider calling home." Willie Jessop, an FLDS elder who lives in Utah, said Perry's remarks were shocking, particularly given a Texas Supreme Court ruling that forced this week's return of 440 sect children on the grounds that child welfare officials provided scant evidence that the children were in danger. "It's an outrage that he should even make such gross and broad allegations," Jessop said. "He's listening to people that tell lies about the FLDS." FLDS officials have accused the state of persecuting sect members for their religious beliefs. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conn drops incest charges against Jeffs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attorneys for former FLDS leader argue that statute doesn’t apply | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Suzanne Adams Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Friday, June 6, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| KINGMAN - In a written ruling, Judge Steven Conn agreed with an argument made by attorneys for Warren Jeffs and threw out four charges of incest against the polygamous leader. Jeffs is charged with four counts of being an accomplice to incest and four counts of being an accomplice to sexual conduct with a minor. He could now face anything from probation to eight years in prison on the remaining charges. Before the incest charges and two other charges were dismissed, he was facing 27 years in prison. During a hearing on May 16, Jeffs' attorneys argued that according to state statutes, incest could only occur between two first cousins of whole blood who are over the age of 18. His attorneys said that Jeffs married two couples who are both first cousins of half-blood - they share only one common relative - and the women involved in the marriage were both under the age of 18 when they were married. Timothy Linnins from the Attorney General's Office argued that limiting the charge of incest to relatives that are over the age of 18 does not make sense. He also argued that while state statute does not specifically state that marriages between cousins of half-blood are prohibited, it is implied by the fact that marriages between half-siblings are prohibited. In his written ruling, Conn stated that the statute defining what constitutes incest was "clear and unambiguous" and required that both parties involved in the act of incest must be 18. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Sarah' in FLDS case will be in court today | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Friday, June 6, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| COLORADO SPRINGS — The woman considered a "person of interest" in the phone call that sparked the massive raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch is scheduled to make her first appearance in court this morning. Rozita Swinton, 33, will appear for a pre-trial conference on a misdemeanor charge of making a false report. She is accused in a local case of a phony abuse call where she pretended to be a 13-year-old girl named "Dana," who was locked in a basement, drugged and sexually abused by her father. When police here arrested Swinton, Texas Rangers were also present and seized evidence from her home that indicates a connection to the call that sparked the raid that resulted in 440 children being removed from the YFZ Ranch. Texas authorities will only say that Swinton remains a "person of interest" in their ongoing investigation. "The criminal investigation is still continuing. I do not know when we will be turning over the case to the prosecutors," said Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange Thursday. All of the FLDS children taken in the raid have been returned to their parents after the Texas Supreme Court and Austin's 3rd Court of Appeals ruled the state acted improperly in removing all of the children from the ranch. The Deseret News reported in May about phone numbers linked to Swinton being used to call family crisis shelters and child welfare authorities in Texas, Arizona, Washington and, possibly, Utah. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hearing delayed for suspected 'Sarah' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Friday, June 6, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| COLORADO SPRINGS — A court hearing was delayed at the last-minute for the woman considered a "person of interest" in the phone call that sparked the massive raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch. Rozita Swinton, 33, was scheduled to appear in an El Paso County courtroom on Friday for a pre-trial hearing on a misdemeanor charge of making a false report to police. The hearing was postponed at the request of her defense attorney. "He asked for a continuance due to the amount of discovery in this case," said prosecutor Frederick Stein. "I did not object to the defense request because the discovery is very lengthy." Swinton's next court appearance is scheduled for July 9. She is accused in a local case of a phony abuse call where she pretended to be a girl named "Dana," who claimed to have been locked in a basement, drugged and sexually abused by her father. The call had dozens of Colorado Springs police officers going door-to-door through a neighborhood, searching for the girl. Swinton is being investigated for the call that triggered the raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado, Texas. Police have said in arrest warrant affidavits that cell phone numbers used by Swinton have been linked to calls to family crisis shelters in Texas and Washington by a 16-year-old girl named "Sarah." Similar calls were made to child welfare authorities in Arizona and Utah. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jeffs' defense wants all raid evidence left out of his trial | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Friday, June 6, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs' defense team wants to keep any evidence seized from the raid on the YFZ Ranch out of his upcoming trial in Arizona. In papers filed in Mohave County, Ariz., Superior Court late Thursday, Jeffs' defense lawyers put the court on notice that they intend to fight to suppress "any and all evidence obtained from the raid and the search of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) property in the state of Texas." "It is becoming more and more evident that the Texas raid was based on a hoax telephone call containing false accusations of abuse," attorneys Richard Wright and Michael Piccarreta wrote. "Published newspaper articles indicate that similar charges were made regarding the Colorado City/Hildale community, and were determined to be unworthy of belief. Indeed, it is believed that Colorado authorities are investigating criminal charges of false reporting to a law enforcement agency in connection with that matter." Jeffs' attorneys put the court on notice in a legal reply, complaining that they have been denied access to public records regarding calls claiming abuse in Arizona and Utah. The Arizona Attorney General's Office objected to their records request, saying that attorneys representing criminal defendants cannot make public records requests, because they can obtain it through discovery. In their reply, Wright and Piccarreta said they want to gather information on the hoax calls and "show that the raid and search of the FLDS property in Texas was illegal and the fruits thereof must be suppressed." Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hearing postponed for 'person of interest' in Texas calls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By COLLEEN SLEVIN The Associated Press The Dallas Morning News Originally published June 6, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A court appearance was postponed Friday for a Colorado woman considered a "person of interest" in connection with phone calls that may have triggered a raid on a Texas polygamist compound. Rozita Swinton, 33, of Colorado Springs is charged with one misdemeanor count of false reporting to Colorado authorities. Her pretrial conference in state district court in Colorado Springs was postponed until July 9 because her lawyer, David Foley, wanted more time to review police reports, prosecutors said. Foley didn't immediately return a call. Colorado Springs police claim Swinton has a history of making false abuse reports. She is suspected of being involved in a string of false reports in Colorado Springs between October and April, said Lin Billings, a spokeswoman for the El Paso County district attorney's office. Swinton caught the attention of Texas authorities because a cell telephone number linked to her was "possibly related to the reporting party" for the Yearning for Zion Ranch incident, according to her Colorado arrest affidavit. Texas authorities say they raided the ranch April 3 after a girl reported that she was a member of the FDLS and that she was beaten and raped at the sect's Eldorado ranch. Authorities have not located the 16-year-old girl and are investigating the source of the call. The phone number used to call a San Angelo, Texas, crisis center is one once used by Swinton, though investigators have not said whether Swinton made the call or what was said. Texas authorities call her a "a person of interest" in their investigation into the call. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wall's book is lacking any heroes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Lee Benson Deseret News Originally published Friday, June 6, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| n Elissa Wall's new tell-all book, "Stolen Innocence," we learn, among other things, that polygamists spell dysfunction just like the rest of us, only with a capital D. Elissa is the FLDS child-bride whose testimony sent FLDS leader Warren Jeffs to two consecutive five-years-to-life prison terms on accomplice-to-rape charges. In her book, written with New York freelance writer Lisa Pulitzer, she not only provides details of the why and how Jeffs got convicted, but gives us an insider's tour through the mostly walled-off world of plural marriage. And if you think things can sometimes get upside down in a normal monogamous family, try multiplying that by a power of x multiple wives. For Elissa's family, it all started when Doug Wall, a native of central Utah and a football player at BYU, got married, joined the FLDS, and then got married again ... and again. In the summer of 1986, he had Elissa, one of 24 offspring he would produce, with his second wife, Sharon, and for a time everybody lived in Salt Lake City, where they were the biggest family on the block — until the wives didn't get along and Doug had to travel a lot to keep everyone fed and some of the kids started acting out and all of that conspired to have Doug's priesthood taken away by the church leaders because he "couldn't control his family." After that it went from bad to worse to real bad until Elissa's mother and her respective children were ordered to the FLDS compound in southern Utah, where they were grafted into a whole new family headed by Fred Jessop, aka Uncle Fred. It was Uncle Fred, Elissa's newly appointed father, who "placed" her to be married to her 19-year-old first cousin, Allen Steed, three months before Elissa turned 15. Remember Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in "War of the Roses?" A model marriage, by comparison. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Few willing to break away from FLDS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Those who do testify risk being cut out of family | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By TERRI LANGFORD and LISA SANDBERG Houston Chronicle Originally published June 7, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| At 21, Elissa Wall overcame her fear of losing contact with her family forever and endangering her immortal soul when she decided to help Utah prosecutors in their sexual abuse case against polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs — a man her church believes gets his orders directly from God. Wall is one of the few women who has gone up against the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the group that broke from the Mormon church more than 100 years ago and now sits squarely at the center of a Texas child abuse investigation. "One of the tenets you learn is that if you leave and you testify against the leaders, you are what they call an apostate and damned to hell," said Wall, who wrote Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs. "That's one of the biggest things, those mind hurdles. ... You have to get over this mind thing that you're going to hell," said Wall, whose testimony was key in convicting Jeffs last year of being an accomplice to rape for his role in forcing a 14-year-old Wall to marry her 19-year-old cousin. The FLDS' rigid sense of community and conformity could be a major hurdle for Texas authorities as they investigate allegations of sexual and physical abuse at the sect's sprawling ranch near Eldorado in West Texas. "It's very rare anyone breaks away," said Sam Brower, a Utah private investigator who has spent 4 1/2 years tracking FLDS members and helping authorities in his state and Arizona build criminal cases against them. "Most can't bring themselves to leave their community, they've segregated themselves from the world and to ask them to break off from the community ... they do what they're told." Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Four incest charges against Jeffs dropped | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Staff and Wire Reports Today's News Herald - Havasu City, Arizona Originally published Saturday, June 7, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steven Conn dropped four of the eight charges against polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs at the request of the defense on Wednesday, finding that a state incest law does not apply to the marriages of two teenage girls and their older male relatives. Conn ruled the law only applies if both participants in the sexual activity are older than 18, and that the law does not apply to half cousins. In both of the marriages Jeffs is accused of arranging, the girls were under 18 and half cousins to their husbands. He was charged with incest as an accomplice. Prosecutors said the law could lead to absurd results, such as an uncle having sex with two nieces, one younger and one older than 18, and being subject to harsher punishment for his conduct with the older one. In the charges against Warren Jeffs, Conn said the statute’s language was clear and unambiguous, leaving no room for interpretation. "We’re obviously very pleased with the court’s ruling," Jeffs’ attorney, Mike Piccarreta, told The Associated Press. "You can see we’ve chopped these things down considerably." In his ruling, Conn wrote that Arizona’s incest law initially was enacted without reference to participants’ ages. In 1985, it was amended to apply only to people who were 15 years or older, and in 1998, it was changed to its present form, applying only to those 18 years or older. Conn also wrote that because the incest law specifically mentions half brothers and sisters, it arguably excludes all other relationships of the half blood by not mentioning them. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith, the prosecutor in the Arizona case against Jeffs, reportedly had no comment. Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson said Judge Conn "has a history of ignoring punishment" regarding state sex offense cases and "that sends a message that it is okay to commit such crimes." "Judge Conn has lost his reputation of being a hangman judge and facilitates abuse through lenient sentences for convicted sex offenders," Johnson said. Johnson added, in regards to this judge, the crime of drunk driving is more punishable than are the crimes of sexual abuse or even rape. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Freed from Bountiful: a mother wins a battle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Daphne Bramham The Vancouver Sun Originally published Saturday, June 7, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Over the past two weeks in two different countries and in very different circumstances, two sisters regained custody of their children. Those children now face vastly different futures. One set of cousins was returned to their mother after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state had improperly seized more than 450 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' walled compound in west Texas. They will grow up within in a reclusive, polygamous sect where toys, television and books are banned and where church, not family, comes first. The other cousins have been set free from its strictures. Their mother, Teressa Wall, got full and permanent custody after her estranged husband agreed to a negotiated settlement that was approved by the B.C. Supreme Court. Teressa's son and two daughters will only go back to the FLDS community in Bountiful, B.C., for short visits with their father and only if they want to. Last September in Utah, Teressa helped put FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs in jail. She testified that Jeffs could have stopped the "spiritual marriage" of her 14-year-old sister, Elissa, to their 19-year-old first cousin. But Jeffs didn't and Allen Steed subsequently raped Elissa. Jeffs is now serving two consecutive terms of five years to life in Utah for being an accomplice to rape and is awaiting trial in Arizona on similar charges. Before Teressa testified, her estranged husband never opposed her taking the children with her to Idaho, not even when a U.S. border officer phoned to make sure that Teressa was not abducting them. But within weeks of her testimony, Roy Blackmore filed for divorce and full custody. It was clearly retribution. It pitted her bank teller's wage against the church's treasury. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FLDS couple challenging Texas to win full rights to their 3 children | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Brian West Deseret News Originally published Sunday, June 8, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAN ANGELO, Texas — Attorneys for an FLDS couple are frustrated over a breakdown of negotiations involving their custody case. Joseph and Lori Jessop will be back in court Monday to ask a judge to give them "full possessory rights" to their three children. They're fighting to separate themselves from the massive Texas Child Protective Services case involving nearly 450 children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church. "This couple, and two other families — they are on a little different legal footing" than the others, said Teresa Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Jessops' attorney. The Jessops won a temporary restraining order from a San Antonio court on May 13, preventing Texas CPS from separating their infant son from his mother when he turned 1 year old. CPS had only allowed mothers of children younger than 1 to remain with their children in foster facilities. The court later granted the parents temporary custody of their three children until a hearing Monday. The Texas Supreme Court ruled May 30 that CPS had improperly removed the children from their homes on the YFZ Ranch, and all children have since been returned. Now, the couple wants to be free of the conditions CPS has placed on all of the families while the department continues to investigate allegations of sexual and physical abuse. But CPS attorneys won't negotiate with them for "full possessory rights," said attorney Rene Haas, who represents the Jessops. Read more | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas city awaiting next phase of case | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criminal charges against FLDS are expected soon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Brian West Deseret News Originally published Sunday, June 8, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SAN ANGELO, Texas — All of the FLDS children are back with their families. Most of the media have gone home, too. The conversations heard around this city, which has been at the center of controversy for more than two months, seem to have steered away from the raid at the YFZ Ranch and the many allegations of activities there. "We're just enjoying the quiet lull until the next phase begins, which is the criminal cases," a court clerk here declared. Investigators have been working behind the scenes, continuing to pore over an estimated 1,000 boxes of evidence and other items taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's 1,700-acre ranch in early April. Most courtroom observers, including attorneys, seem confident some sort of criminal charges will be filed within the next few weeks. For weeks, Child Protective Services has talked about underage brides, sexual abuse and physical abuse. There's even been talk about potential bigamy charges. The Texas Attorney General's Office has taken over the criminal investigations. But it's hard to get much out of them but vague comments. "We'll | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
