April 07, 2008
401 Kids In Custody From Polygamist Sect
Authorities said Monday they have taken legal custody of 401 children who lived on an isolated West Texas polygamist retreat built by imprisoned "prophet" Warren Jeffs.The children are being kept at a temporary shelter at historic Fort Concho in nearby San Angelo while authorities investigate whether a child bride gave birth on the ranch at age 15.
The children in state custody are joined at the shelter by 133 women, most of them mothers, who were taken during the past few days from the sprawling Yearning for Zion ranch, said Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the state's Child Protective Services agency.
The women are free to return to the 1,900-acre compound, officials said, but many have chosen to remain. At this point, officials said, the children's fathers are not permitted to see them. Video See buses take girls from compound »
Court proceedings began Monday to determine whether there is enough evidence to remove the children from their homes on the ranch, which is near Eldorado, Meisner said. A hearing is scheduled April 17.
Seriously, 401 kids? Speechless. How does stuff like this happen? Thank God for a very, very, very courageous 16-yea-old girl. Wow, the girl deserves a medal for making the initial call!! Amazing fortitude! It would be great if more girls would report their abusers.
I don't even know what to say about this story. Guys, thoughts?
Posted by anthony at April 7, 2008 10:51 PM | TrackBackHBO does a good job with this segment of American life in their series entitled "Big Love". It's an interesting portrayal of life on the compound, the different sects within Mormonism, and different perspectives on how Mormons approach the surrounding culture. And, of course, how Bill Paxton attempts to love 3 women and way too many kids.
Posted by: Stephen at April 7, 2008 11:19 PMShe deserves the COngressional Medal of Honor. No joke... seriously. tenet got 1 and this girl has possibly sAved more lives... and is more viritious
Posted by: STork at April 8, 2008 01:32 AMI know many normal Christian families who would be happy to adopt some of those kids.
My heart especially hurts for those kids.
Posted by: GUNNY HARTMAN at April 8, 2008 02:54 AMAccording to the news coverage (and not surprisingly) many of the children AND mothers have never left the compound before now. It is immensely sad that all of these children have been but abused. Considering the fact that most of the girls are married to old men as early as the age of 13 and are pregnant in their mid teens, I am just as sad for the teenage mothers who must be so broken and confused.
I was happy to see that the buses they were using to bring them out were labeled "First Baptist Church" and I hope and pray that they and other surrounding churches are able to comfort and minister to these freed captives.
If you haven't read it yet I would recommend the book "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. It was written a few years back when Jeffs was still at large and does an excellent job at exposing the historical and present day atrocities connected with LDS and FLDS sects.
Posted by: Ryan Kromann at April 8, 2008 01:00 PMI heard on the news last night that the authorities were having a hard time determining exactly who the 16 year old girl who called the police is. Reading in the above excerpt that the mothers are free to return, but aren't, makes me think that naturally they don't want to leave their children. But also, maybe the mothers planned this to escape their prison.
Posted by: t.smith at April 8, 2008 03:50 PMGreat post Ant. I hope they find the 16 year old. She's brave, but she may have paid the ultimate price for her courage. She may be a modern example of martyrdom...
This story makes me sick. Those men are sick. Wow!
Posted by: Chris Brooks at April 8, 2008 09:56 PMPart of me wonders how many detectives and lawmen missed the signs of what was going on, especially given that the head of this group has been in prison for a few years. Nobody ever went to the local cafe and listened over breakfast? Nobody ever took a look at the TANF records to see an awful lot of kids with not very many fathers?
My prediction; lots of DNA tests, and most of those dads get to spend some time in the big house for statutory rape and perhaps even incest. Prediction #2; someone is going to propose "a law" to deal with the fact that somebody driving a black & white didn't do their job.
Posted by: Bike Bubba at April 10, 2008 04:29 PM...laws...those are funny things. I don't quite get as interested in legislation as I used to..
Posted by: shawn at April 10, 2008 05:23 PMShouldn't we be more outraged by the fact that these guys are holding women and children against their will than that they are Mormons? I mean, sure, bash the Mormons if you like, they have a cultish reading of scripture. But these abusers are not abusers because they are Mormons. There's a difference, and conflating the two merely amounts to self-congradulation for not being an abusive Mormon.
The only correct response to sin is grief, whether we see it in ourselves or in others. The only correct response to injustice is action, personally, and with the assumption of responsibility.
Nathanael Snow
ndsnow@gmail.com