| Affidavit: Teen bride identifies suspect as 'spiritual' husband | |||||
| CNN | |||||
ELDORADO, Texas (CNN) -- The 16-year-old girl whose phone calls led to a raid on a polygamist compound in Texas identified Dale Evans Barlow as the man who she said beat, choked and sexually assaulted her after their "spiritual marriage," according to a court document unsealed Wednesday. The affidavit, signed by Texas Ranger Leslie Brooks Long, also says a former member of the polygamist church told authorities details of the sect's activities -- including a bed inside the group's temple that adult men used to have sex with underage girls immediately after wedding ceremonies. After authorities raided the ranch late Thursday, the ranger "observed the bed within the temple that had disturbed bed linens and a strand of hair that appears to be from a female head." The document said the 16-year-old, whom state officials call Sarah, identified her husband as a 49-year-old named Dale Barlow. Dale Evans Barlow, who turned 50 in November, was arrested in Arizona in 2005 on charges of conspiracy to have sex with a minor. He was placed on three years probation. State officials said Wednesday they believe they have taken the 16-year-old girl into protective custody, but that she may be afraid to identify herself. Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the state's Child Protective Services, said agency officials believe all of the children who lived at the ranch have been removed and are "hopeful" Sarah is among them. "We believe, but can't confirm, that she is with us and that she's simply too frightened to come forward," Meisner said. "This is a situation where the family is an entire community and the dynamics involved in that make it very difficult for her to trust us." According to the document released Wednesday, the girl said she has an 8-month-old child and is pregnant again. She said Barlow has beaten her -- once hard enough to break her ribs -- choked her and forced her to have sex with him. She said another of Barlow's "spiritual wives" would hold her infant child while he beat her. Long also wrote about seeing a document at the ranch that suggested marriages between one man and more than 20 wives -- all of whom lived in the same house. Two men were arrested for obstructing police, and 416 children were taken into temporary legal custody at the YFZ (Yearning For Zion) Ranch after the 16-year-old girl made a series of phone calls last month to a local family violence hot line. Authorities, including the Texas Rangers and state child welfare workers, raided the ranch late Thursday night. Sandra Guerra-Cantu, a doctor with the Texas Department of State Health Services, said most of the children are in good health -- though a dozen have chicken pox. The ranch is run by Warren Steed Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Jeffs is in prison after being convicted last year in Utah on two counts of being an accomplice to rape, charges related to a marriage he performed in 2001. A separate state affidavit released Tuesday described what it said was a widespread practice at the ranch of girls as young as 13 being married to adult men once they were believed to be of childbearing age. The document unsealed Wednesday said a former member of the church who lived at the ranch had become an informant for the local sheriff -- speaking with him as many as 20 times and as recently as April 5. It said details from the informant, which included the sect's practice of marrying teen girls to older men, were consistently "proven to be reliable, true and correct." The children are being housed at the complex of Fort Concho and a second shelter opened Tuesday in nearby San Angelo, Texas. Established in 1867, Fort Concho is a 23-building national historic site where Army troops were stationed until 1889. In addition to the children, 139 adult women have voluntarily gone to the shelters. Meisner said the women are not in state custody and are free to leave at any time, although as of Wednesday afternoon none had. CNN's Ed Lavandera and Tracy Sabo contributed to this report. | |||||
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CNN.com Originally published April 9, 2008 | |||||
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