33 Year Sentence for Texas Polygamist

Shiner residents of Texas said they don't think charges should be filed against the father who beat a man to death for allegedly molesting his 4-year-old daughter / kens5.com

The Texas attorney general's office says a 57-year-old member of a polygamist group has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for the sexual assault of a child.

The office says in a statement that a jury decided Thursday on the punishment for Allan Eugene Keate, the second member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be convicted on that charge.

The jury at a court in Eldorado, West Texas, deliberated for under two hours Tuesday before convicting Keate for his "spiritual marriage" to a 15-year-old girl who gave birth at age 16.

The prosecution's case largely relied on records seized from the polygamists' Yearning For Zion Ranch in April 2008, including some that indicated Keate had six wives aged 17 to 49 in 2007.

[AnnieDanny]

It bothers me that they think of themselves as Christians. Pedophiles who have convinced themselves and their women that they are righteous for what they're doing; does it get any worse than that? Most pedophiles know they're the scum of the earth. But these brainless people actually think we are persecuting them. I wonder why nobody's tried to apply a conspiracy theory to this whole entire group, because it seems as if they have conspired together to hide and perpetuate their crimes.

[cidaia]

The problem IMO is that these people reject the authority of the United States and its government.

They have basically declared themselves an independent state. They think they don't have to recognize, acknowledge, or obey our laws.

What's even scarier is that we tolerate this.

[SusanStoHelit]

What they do with the young men in the compound should be a crime - if only there were a good way to charge it. When a young man gets old enough (14, 15, 16) to possibly be interested in women, he's kicked out, unless he is a very special pet of the leadership. That's how they have so many spare women to marry to the older men. They're told the outside world is hell and will destroy them, they're given next to no education, no money, no nothing, just dumped on the side of the road.

[rmagee3]

We need to insist that States and Federal government cut off all Welfare going to these people and if the wives want to work to provide for their children then they can keep the kids. If not and they can't provide for them, take the kids and place them in the adoption system. The tax paying public needs to put their foot down on this kind of Fraud!!!

[Marcos989]

Allan Eugene Keate goodbye and good-riddance.
Heres hoping you get repeatedly raped in prison.
33 years seems excessive when you look at scarce resources. Lets just hope that all other more serious (violent) criminals also have a cot.

[unibarbie]

The other sad part is that most of these extra wives who have kids collect welfare since they are usually unemployed and not legally married to the husband.

[dvillegas43-2009]

A polygamist gets 33 years while a drunk driver kills two people and gets two years incarceration and probation. Only in Texas. What's wrong with this picture.

[culturechang]

War on Sex

[SusanStoHelit]

Raping kids is the problem. He wasn't charged for polygamy. He was charged for raping an underaged girl.

[SusanStoHelit]

This 'church' also passes the wives around - they are reassigned if their husband gets in trouble with the head of the church. Not that they are real wives - they don't register the marriages with the state because they can't let the girls out of the compound, give them a choice to say I do or not - let alone let some clerk at the records department see how young they are.

[barbaram99]

Don't forget the witch hunts...Christianty has blood on its paws as does religions and well the medical world...Yep Drs..I am glad they locked him up...Ia it in the US Constution...The Mormons faced the same issue..The President of the US of A dealt with the issue and the answer is in their C and D/Pearl of Great Price. It states one wife and one husband..I have not seen it in over 27 years as I am ex Mormon. That is why I have very use for religion..The issus is in the USA..Yep.The abuse of the handicapped..I demanded out of the LDS church years ago..We have right to worship as we see fit...BUT we don't have the right toforce it on others .Nor force multi marriages on us as it is illegal as it is to marry under aged persons..It is wrong...They hate others who are different from them..

[Hosheen]

Yappyone, you are obviously determined to defend the greatest evil in the history of humanity. What does that say about you?

First it says that you cannot think for yourself so you accept anything you are told by the purveyors of evil. Next it says you have never read your own bible nor have even considered opposing points of view.

Read your bible with an eye to critical thinking and ask yourself, is this true? Then why does it contradict itself so many times? Why is there no evidence at all that jesus ever existed?

Learn to think for yourself and maybe YOU will "come to the light". Then you'll be forever free.

[culturechang]

33 years huh?

Yesterday a saw a woman get 5 years for dumping her 2 year old child in boiling water. That has to make me wonder about the law's genuine concern form children.

Are we concern for children or are we just a War on Sex.

[displeased]

I agree with your prostitution comments, but it isn't right for old men to impregnate underage teenagers. You got to draw the line somewhere.

[SusanStoHelit]

One unjust sentence does not mean we should ignore all other crimes. It means we work to fix that one unjust sentence. And 33 years is well deserved if you knew much of anything about the real charges.

[displeased]

Also cidia, we can't move forward without research, and we can't move forward with only religion.