^^^^^^^Very well presented and said.
And add the following to it:
More teenage mothers emerge in Texas polygamy probe
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Reuters) - Texas authorities said on Thursday they identified 25 more mothers below age 18 among those removed from a polygamist compound, raising to about 460 the number of minors at the heart of a huge abuse probe.
An apparent phone tip earlier this month led to a raid on the ranch in a remote part of west Texas and the removal of the children. The compound is linked to a breakaway Mormon sect and is run by followers of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs.
Texas welfare and law enforcement officials say they have uncovered evidence of widespread child abuse on the grounds, with adolescent girls being forced into unions with much older men.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domes...e=domesticNews
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24294759/
And then you find this:
Sect challenges legality of search warrant, raid
CNN) -- Authorities knew that reports of alleged abuse at a polygamist sect's Texas ranch were questionable before they raided the compound, attorneys for the ranch's families said in court documents
The attorneys are arguing that search warrants were wrongly issued in the case.
A state official responded that the initial reports don't matter at this point, because "we found children being abused."
More than 400 children were taken during the raid at the YFZ (Yearning for Zion) Ranch on April 3.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/24/...aid/index.html
Polygamist Sect Mothers Separated From Children After Legal Efforts to Stay Fail
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Dozens of mothers from a polygamist retreat were bused away from their children Thursday, their legal efforts to stay united rejected as Texas officials sort out their massive custody case.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352530,00.html
How DNA tests reveal polygamist sex practices
Cheek swabs of 437 children can uncover family ties and criminal behaviors
Officials in Texas just finished collecting cheek-swab samples from the 437 children and alleged parents in order to determine who is related to whom.
The children were removed from a polygamous commune in Eldorado earlier this month during a raid sparked by reports of sexual abuse of underage girls. According to news accounts of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Eldorado, pubescent girls were forced into "spiritual marriages" to older men.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24297292/
"Sexual consent
Results could have legal implications, including any evidence for possible statutory rape, which includes individuals below a certain age deemed legally incapable of consenting to sexual activity. In Texas, 17 is the minimum age, making it illegal for anyone under the age of 17 to engage in sexual activity with another who is at least three years their elder. (An individual must be at least 16 years old to enter into a legal marriage in Texas.) "
"Incestual relations?
The DNA testing could also provide
incest clues.
Though no evidence of incest has been reported in the current case, the Texas Department of Public Safety is conducting the criminal investigation of possible sexual abuse at the Eldorado compound, also called the Yearning for Zion ranch.
"We assisted Child Protective Services in serving a search warrant at the YFZ ranch. While we were there, we observed activity that led us to believe that there may be some crimes that were occurring," said Tela Mange, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. "We obtained a second search warrant. And we are in the process of conducting a criminal investigation."
The investigation does include looking into possible "sexual abuse," Mange told LiveScience. "We haven't been more specific than that at this point."
"Incest is a statutory crime, and is defined as sexual intercourse between close
blood-relatives. The prohibited degrees of incest vary from state to state and can include brothers and sisters, parents and children, aunts or uncles with nephews or nieces, and grandparents and grandchildren.
In Texas, it is illegal for a person to have sexual relations with: a current or former stepchild or stepparent, an uncle or aunt (or half uncle or half aunt), or a brother or sister (or half brother or half sister), according to the Texas Attorney General's office."
I just had this rather unpleasant thought: Given the every other Fundamentalist/polygamous group has to be watching this, why do I fear a large up-sale of cool-aid? And I am not trying to be funny here.
If you have read any of the books, their leaders/Prophets can say just about anything is the word of G*D and must be followed.