Forced Sex Alleged At Compound Temple
Young Girls In Polygamist Sect Required To Have Sex In White Temple, Court Documents Say
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Play CBS Video Video Prosecutors Target Polygamists Legal proceedings have begun against a polygamist sect in Texas from which over 400 children were removed amid allegations of sexual and physical abuse. Hari Sreenivasan reports.
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Video Polygamy Sect Kids Questioned The 401 children removed from a polygamist compound in Texas are being questioned individually. Authorities believe that all of them have been abused or neglected. Hari Sreenivasan reports.
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Video Texas' Child Abuse Case Authorities say more than 400 children have been taken from a polygamist compound and placed in state custody as they investigate if one of them had been an underage bride. Hari Sreenivasan reports.
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A law enforcement official is seen as members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sit along the covered porch of a structure at the groups temporary housing, Fort Concho National Historic Landmark, in San Angelo, Texas, Tuesday, April 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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Levi Barlow Jeffs, 19 and Johnson Steed, 41, who were arrested April 7, 2008 on charges of felony tampering with evidence in connection with the investigation at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints near Eldorado, Texas. (AP/Texas Dept. of Public Safety)
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Adult members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, stand around as children play with bottles of bubble water at their temporary housing, Fort Concho National Historic Landmark, in San Angelo, Texas, April 7, 2008. (AP)
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This aerial view shows the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound under construction near Eldorado, Texas, in this March 2, 2005 file photo. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam, file)
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Law enforcement officials escort members of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints onto a school bus in Eldorado, Texas, Sunday, April 6, 2008. Authorities took 220 women and children from the compound. The group was relocated to San Angelo, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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Photo Essay Polygamist Compound Raid Secret calls from alleged abuse victim lead to raid of religious sect's compound.
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Interactive Eye on Religion Find out more about the beliefs, practices and history of some of the world's major religions.
The temple "contains an area where there is a bed where males over the age of 17 engage in sexual activity with female children under the age of 17," said an affidavit quoting a confidential informant who left the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Agents found a bed in the temple with disturbed linens and what appeared to be a female hair, said the affidavit signed by Texas Ranger Leslie Brooks Long. The Rangers are the state's investigative law enforcement arm.
The temple also contained multiple locked safes, vaults and desk drawers that authorities sought access to as they searched for records showing alleged marriages of underage girls as young as 12 or 13 to older men and births among the teens. The affidavit unsealed Wednesday mentions a 16-year-old girl who has four children.
Texas law prohibits polygamy and the marriage of girls under 16.
Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman reports that compounds like the one in Texas is paid for by taxpayers in the form of welfare.
The more kids, the bigger the welfare check, Kauffman says.
Lori Allen, a woman who had escaped from polygamy, said, "Some of the women in this town have 26 babies."
Also Wednesday, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers completed a weeklong search of the 1,700-acre grounds, said spokeswoman Tela Mange.
Lawyers for the sect had wanted to cut off the wide-ranging search as it dragged on but agreed in court Wednesday to the appointment of a special master who will vet what is expected to be hundreds of boxes of records, computers and even family Bibles for records that should not become evidence for legal or religious reasons.
Attorneys for the church argued that a search of the 1,700-acre compound was unconstitutional, reports CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan.
Gerry Goldstein, a San Antonio lawyer flanked by nine other attorneys the church hired, said the search of the temple is analogous to a law enforcement search of the Vatican or other holy places. The church lawyers described in documents three men being dragged from the temple as law enforcement sought entry for the search.
Troopers also arrested two men over the week and charged them with interfering with the search.
Prosecutor Allison Palmer argued the search was to uncover any evidence of criminal activity, not to malign a religion.
The search of the compound in Eldorado, 40 miles south of San Angelo, began last Thursday after a 16-year-old girl called a local family violence shelter to report her 50-year-old husband beat and raped her. The search warrant covered all documents related to marriages among sect members, including photos and entries possibly written in family Bibles.
State officials said the women and children were in good overall health but would not comment on pregnancies.
Goldstein said a federal search warrant was issued as well as the state warrants.
Outside court, Goldstein declined to comment on the allegations against the church.
Court documents said a number of teen girls at the compound were pregnant, and all the children were removed on the grounds that they were in danger of "emotional, physical, and-or sexual abuse."
On Wednesday, state officials said the women and children were in good overall health but would not comment on pregnancies. About a dozen children appear to have chicken pox but were being separated at the evacuation sites, which include an old historic fort and a convention center here, said Child Protective Services spokesman Chris Van Deusen.
Authorities were trying to determine the identities and parentage of many of the children; some were unwilling or unable to provide the names of their biological parents or identified multiple mothers.
Officials still aren't sure where the 16-year-old girl is who made the initial call, and she is not named among the children in initial custody petitions by the state.
Texas has an outstanding arrest warrant for the man alleged to have been the girl's husband, Dale Barlow, 50. He's a registered sex offender who pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor in Mohave County, Ariz., last year.
An unknown number of men and women stayed at the ranch while authorities completed the search of the gleaming 80-foot-high temple, a cheese-making plant, a cement plant, a school, a doctor's office and housing units.
The Texas investigation is the state's first of FLDS members, but prosecutors in Utah and Arizona have pursued several church members in recent years, including sect leader Warren Jeffs. He is serving two consecutive sentences of five years to life for being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old wed to her cousin in Utah. He awaits trial on other charges in Arizona.
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See all 478 CommentsI can''t imagine how they survive in the secular world. - Posted by manynames at 01:42 AM : Apr 13, 2008
Another new name? Must be tired of soiling the old ones.
As for your other statements, you should be aware that I am anything but religious. However, I do believe that religious people have a right to practice their faith, and pretending that religious people are abusing their children when they practice their faith is a load of you-know-what. Most are better people than you can comprehend. There are a few bad ones out there, like this splinter group in Texas, but they are the rare exception. Your attempt to paint all religions as the same as this group is ridiculous. Therefore, the claim that your arguments have any credibility, posted under any of your various names, is yet another load of you-know-what.
Moments later, Jessica%u2019s sprawled on the floor. %u201CShe%u2019s out,%u201D declares Chad, whipping off his shirt. %u201CLet%u2019s rape her!%u201D
The Reverend Jerry Falwell first dreamed up the Hell House in the 1970%u2019s as a way to scare kids away from sin and back into the arms of Christ. Colorado Pastor Keenan Roberts began selling Hell House kits%u2014scripts, stage directions and a soundtrack are available for $200%u2014back in 1996. Roberts claims that more than 3,000 churches stage Hell Houses every year.
http://www.observer.com/node/39549
http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsR/roberts-pastor-keenan.html
One sicko dude..
Posted by BillORights at 06:19 PM : Apr 11, 2008
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This is the typical type of insult from the religious when confronted with a credible argument.
I can''t imagine how they survive in the secular world.
Pastor Roberts says that the optimum age for a child to visit a h e l l house is 12, and that he would rather "reach" them with that message...than to have them live a life of sin and never find...Christ. And if they end up having nightmares...too bad.
If you really and truly believe what Pastor Roberts believes, you too, would feel it right to intimidate children.
This sounds a lot like what is happening in the FLDS church.
Her view as a mature adult was that, of the two examples of religious child abuse, one physical and the other mental, the mental abuse was by far the worst.
She remembers that being fondled by the priest simply left the impression as yucky while the memory of her friend going to h e l l was one of cold, immeasurable fear. She never lost sleep because of the perverted priest, but spent many a night being terrified and suffered nightmares that the people she loved would go to h e l l.
Posted by Voltaire333 at 07:41 PM : Apr 11, 2008
Religious zealots have no morals when it comes to children and religion. Just Google "Edgardo Mortara" and learn that the "christian church" will secretly baptize a Jewish child and then take him from his parents because a "christian child" cannot remain with Jewish parents.
The Amish and Mennonites do not baptize their children until they are 18; however, the children are raised "in the religion" and expected to obey their parents. At age 18 they have the choice of leaving the church or being baptized. If they simply leave they are always welcome back; but if they accept baptism and then leave, they are shunned.
But at least they have the choice, however biased it might be.
Posted by BillORights at 06:19 PM : Apr 11, 2008
Nope! I prefer to pontificate! Reading is a bore! :-)
Posted by BillORights at 06:16 PM : Apr 11, 2008
Gee, I don''t know Bill. If someone genuinely thought they were helping a child into heaven by beating it until it bled, do you think you might want to at least try to help the child or explain to its parents why what it was doing was wrong? Same thing with indoctrination. It''s wrong, and if I have any moral obligations at all, I have a moral obligation to speak out against this form of child abuse. Psychological abuse of children is every bit as real as physical abuse, and I''m truly sorry you don''t understand that.
Have you read any book since kindergarten?
Let%u2019s try to approach this one civilly. There are many Christians who believe, through faith, that their beliefs are the absolute truth, and these beliefs are held to the depths of their soul. To them, these are not merely opinions, but absolute fact, including the parts that even they cannot comprehend. While you may justifiably find it annoying when someone comes to your door to save your soul, for most of these people, they are truly trying to help you. Given all of this, how would you think it remotely possible for these people to withhold something they believe to be so vital from their own children?
Come to think of it, had Bill been taught that value as a child, he wouldn''t be struggling so much now to get along with others. Bill, have you ever heard of the book, "Everything I Need To know, I Learned In Kindergarten?" I''ve not read it, but something tells me you might benefit from it. :-)
Posted by deemsnyd at 05:48 PM : Apr 11, 2008
Okay, you make some valid points. I will try to respect your belief in Christianity. However, I cannot respect anyone''s decision to indoctrinate a child with such a belief. Children should be told that there are lots of beliefs out there, that some are more credible than others, and that some day when they are old enough, they will have to make up their own mind about what it is they believe, but until then, their only job is to laugh, play, and to treat others as they would like to be treated. Nothing more than that needs to be instilled in a child. They can figure out the rest at their own pace.
You have not needed any help from me. The credit is all yours.
Dang it, Bill, I''''ve wasted 2 days on him. :) - Posted by deemsnyd at 05:34 PM : Apr 11, 2008
I know how you feel. It is frustrating to reason with someone who cannot.
I agree that it is hard to respect people''s views. It is much easier to settle with respecting their right to express them rather than the view itself. But, personally, I think the former is what we are to strive for even though it may not be possible in all cases, such as this article for example. We can''t possible be expected to respect the views of the men who have s e x with these girls, but I don''t think it unreasonable to respect other less offensive views. For instance, my view of Christianity should be respected by you as long as I''m not part of some insanity like this article has uncovered. And whether you want to believe it or not, most Christians are not like the people in this article. Most are probably not as different from your view of "normal" as you think. This is not an attempt to indoctrinate but rather a request that you consider actually respecting views that differ from your own and not merely the right to express them.
Posted by BillORights at 05:29 PM : Apr 11, 2008
Bill, I must say how flattered I am by your ridiculous attempts to discredit me. Rather than refute any points I make (I know, I''ve never made one--there, you don''t need to post that barb), all you seem capable of is name-calling. Of course, you wouldn''t take the time to try to discredit me if you didn''t feel so threatened by my arguments. I do wonder what your own psychiatrist has to say about this? Once you confront your real demons (fear of being without gun), you might realize that I''m not the threat to your existence that you seem to think I am, and you might even be able to assilimate with the general population and even engage in intelligent discourse, instead of being holed up in your house with a gun. Now, that would be real progress! I''d give your psychiatrist the Nobel prize if he could get someone like you to stop clinging to his gun!
Posted by deemsnyd
Well, if you want a truce, as far as personal attacks, that''s fine with me. However, I do not need to respect your views in order to respect your right to express them. There is a difference, and while I do not respect them, I certainly do respect your right to express them.
Posted by BillORights at 05:29 PM : Apr 11, 2008
Ahh...but had I only known this sooner...
Dang it, Bill, I''ve wasted 2 days on him. :)
For those not yet familiar with all aspects of his paranoia, he is referring to his rants in previous forums in which CBS deleted his repetitive and irrelevant posts, and apparently blocked his access, too. For some reason he has convinced himself that I have some superhuman ability to delete his drivel from these forums personally, and by extension of this erroneous assumption, he believes that I am abusing his rights as guaranteed by the First Amendment. If there are any psychiatrists or psychologists reading this forum, please be aware that any advice you can provide to him will be gratefully welcomed by the rest of us.
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