State Officials Remove 416 Children from Polygamist Ranch in West Texas
By Rik Sehgal, Attorney-at-Law
April 17, 2008
A total of 416 children, ranging from infants to teenage mothers, are in state custody after officials raided a 1,700-acre compound in Eldorado, Texas, on suspicion of physical and sexual abuse.
On April 3, state officials began invading the west Texas compound of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a sect known to practice polygamy. The raid was initiated when officials received a phone call from a 16-year-old girl who claimed that her 50-year-old husband beat and raped her. The raid was conducted by multiple police agencies, along with the Texas Rangers, wildlife officers and the state highway patrol. Two men were arrested for obstructing the raid.
The children were removed from the compound and relocated to Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas, along with 139 mothers who volunteered to accompany them. Initially, all mothers who wanted to stay with their children in San Angelo were allowed to do so. Earlier this week, however, state officials sent the mothers of children over the age of 5 back to the compound while keeping the children under the care of Child Protective Services. CPS transferred children under the age of 5, along with their mothers, to the San Angelo Coliseum.
Mothers who returned to the compound after being separated from their children complain that the state deceived them. They claim the state promised they could stay with their children until later in the week, when a custody hearing is scheduled.
State officials are investigating the possibility of widespread abuse and explained that the decision to separate the older children from their mothers was made after extensive discussions with attorneys and therapists. A CPS spokesman said abused children are more likely to feel safe and be honest with investigators when their parents are not around.
The search warrant issued for the compound covered all documents concerning marriages among sect members. Lawyers for the sect have argued that the search was unconstitutional and compared it to a law enforcement search of the Vatican or other holy place. The prosecutor handling the case countered that the state's purpose in seizing the documents was to uncover criminal activity, not to malign a religion.
On April 15, a sect spokesman released pictures and videos of the raid that showed an armored car along with authorities in body armor carrying automatic weapons. The sect member who took the pictures said they indicate that authorities planned for a much larger assault than necessary merely to search for the girl who reported being abused. State officials responded that the armor and weaponry was necessary to protect and remove parties from the property, not to force entry into the compound.
Two dozen adolescent boys seized in the raid have been moved to temporary foster homes outside San Angelo—the first placement order issued by a judge in this case. The custody hearing, scheduled April 17, will be the biggest step so far in determining the fate of the children and parents of the compound.
Rik Sehgal is an attorney based in Fort Worth, Texas. He is Legal Editor, and also a contributing writer, for TheAttorneyStore.com.
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