I've been reading alot about this in the Houston paper, and the impression that is given by the Child Protective Services is that even if the call is found to be a fake, it will not negate the process of taking the kids. Once they were in there and saw the pregnant teenage girls (which they have found 31 of the 52 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 are either expecting now or have already had children or both
), they had the legal authority to take action, that in fact, they MUST take action. Like if a teacher suspects abuse, they MUST report it and it MUST be followed up on.
The whole thing is really disturbing. One of my good friends was Mormom. She left Utah after college and never went back, and has VERY strained relations with many of her family members, of which there are a ton (she is decended from the 7th wife of her grandfather, who had over 40 kids). She is disgusted by this offshoot cult.
If you want to know about the Mormom church's formation, and also specifically about the Jeff's FLDS movement, there is a very interesting book that my friend recommended to me called Under the Banner of Heaven.
If you think Scientology is based on some kooky ideas, the Mormon Church rivals it for kooky beginnings.