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Police Fear Stonewall by Polygamist Settlers

Posted Apr 13, 08 8:35 AM CDT in US,  Crime & Courts 

(Newser) – Warren Jeffs' hand-picked, devoted settlers may refuse to testify against his polygamist compound in Texas, officials fear—making it tough to win cases of suspected child abuse. "All these girls are taught from the cradle not to trust anybody from the outside—especially the government," Utah's attorney general said. "We're the beast. We're the devil."

People were sent to the Texas compound after a “culling” of the most devoted from communities along the Arizona-Utah border, the AP reports. "They started to escape to Texas" as Utah and Arizona began cracking down on the sects, said Arizona's attorney general. Police last week removed 416 kids from the compound after a teenager complained of rape and beatings by her "husband."

Source Associated Press

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The main temple on the Yearning For Zion Ranch, home of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in Eldorado, Texas, Friday, April 11, 2008.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Sporting long prairie-style dresses, girls play separately from the boys at a private school in Hilldale, Utah.   (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
A woman takes a baby out for a stroll May 20, 2006, in the polygamist town of Hildale, Utah.   (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
The main temple grounds of the "Yearning For Zion" Ranch, home of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Eldorao, Texas.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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Texas • religion • Utah • polygamy • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Arizona • Warren Jeffs • FLDS • compound


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