Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Standoff Ends at Polygamist Compound

Police still searching for girl linked to abuse claim

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 6, 2008 10:24 AM CDT

(Newser) – Though "preparing for the worst," a SWAT team peacefully entered a polygamous sect's Texas compound after a tense standoff, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. They met limited resistance from members of the Mormon fundamentalist sect, and were continuing to search this morning for a 16-year-old girl believed to have had the child of the group's 50-year-old leader.

Almost 200 women and children have been taken away from the compound for questioning after the girl's initial report of sexual abuse. Officials told CNN that 18 of them who "had been abused or were at immediate risk of future abuse" were taken into custody. Authorities are searching building to building looking for any evidence linking the 16-year-old to sect leader Dale Barlow.

[Images (7)]

[Videos (2)]

This aerial view shows the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound under construction near Eldorado, Texas. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam, File)

A Texas State Trooper sits in his vehicle as he and others maintain a roadblock miles from a religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, Sunday, April 6, 2008, in Eldorado, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas Parks and Wildlife State Game Warden's law enforcement vehicles make their way toward a religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, Sunday, April 6, 2008, in Eldorado, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

A Texas State Trooper is shown at a roadblock miles from a religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, Sunday, April 6, 2008, in Eldorado, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas State Troopers maintain a roadblock miles from a religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, Sunday, April 6, 2008, in Eldorado, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

A Texas State Trooper exits his vehicle as he and others maintain a roadblock miles from a religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, Sunday, April 6, 2008, in Eldorado, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The sun rises as a pair of Texas State Trooper SUV's, lower right, are shown on a road block miles from a religious retreat built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, Sunday, April 6, 2008, in Eldorado,... (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

137 Children Removed From Polygamist Ranch (TheSilentMaxim (YouTube))

Polygamist Prophet Warren Jeffs Explains POLYGAMY (fincenMIB (YouTube))

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Rangers Talk to Polygamist Rape Suspect

But Barlow walks, claiming case of mistaken identity

(NEWSER) - Texas Rangers today questioned a man suspected of raping a girl at an Eldorado polygamist ranch, but let him go, CNN reports. Dale Barlow, 50, voluntarily met the Rangers in Utah, saying he is innocent of the charge that sparked a raid at the compound last week. "The Texas Rangers met with him," said the director of an Arizona probation office. "He was allowed to go, and no arrest was made." More»

Police Defend Inaction at Polygamist Ranch

Bare dramatic details of raid

(NEWSER) - Law enforcement authorities yesterday released dramatic details of the police raid that rescued children suspected of abuse at a polygamist ranch—and countered complaints that the action was too late. Some 60 men surrounded the ranch temple, weeping and praying, in the last day of the operation that seized 416 children—but no one violently opposed the officers, said a Texas Rangers captain. More»

'Sex Bed' for Girls Found in Polygamist Temple

Temple used for sex with underage brides, tipster tells cops

(NEWSER) - Members of a polygamous cult had sex with underage girls inside the group's temple immediately after "spiritual weddings," according to court documents. Investigators found the bed, described by a tipster, in the temple of the Texas ranch. Men had sex with "brides" as young as 13, reports CNN. Police removed 416 children—including several pregnant girls—after a plea for help last week from a 16-year-old girl who called a hotline. More»

Sex Abuse 'Rampant' at Polygamist Ranch

Pubescent girls forced to 'marry' older men, say investigators

(NEWSER) - Young girls at a polygamous compound were readied for "spiritual marriages" to much older men as soon as they hit puberty, the AP reports. Papers submitted to a Texas court detail a "pattern of abuse" at the ranch, where young boys were forced to marry underage girls and girls in their early teens were required to bear children. More»

Warren Jeffs Gets New Trial in Rape Case

Jury in polygamist leader's trial got bad instructions: court

(NEWSER) - Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, who has been serving 10 years to life for being an accessory to rape , was granted a new trial today, the Deseret News reports. The Utah Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the jury instructions delivered during Jeffs' 2007 trial were faulty. "We regret the effect our opinion today may have on the victim of the underlying crime, to whom we do not wish to cause additional pain," the opinion reads. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Standoff Ends at Polygamist Compound