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November 23, 2008 2:31:51 AM CST

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Polygamist Sect Men Break Silence

Posted Apr 21, 08 1:52 PM CDT in US 

(Newser) – Male members of the Texas polygamist sect say they weren’t aware that state law prohibits people under 18 from marrying until after the raid on their compound, CBS News reports. Three men from the Yearning for Zion ranch said on the Early Show that they'll cooperate with court-ordered DNA testing, and one argued that the sect members are misunderstood "because we're closed mouthed."

Refuting allegations of abuse but dodging a question about whether adult sect members marry teenage girls, the man said, "I think that people have a false concept of what our religion is all about." Said another: "We are not a people of force. We do not teach our children to have sexual conduct before they are of age."

Source CBS

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Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints walks past sheriffs deputies as they leave the Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo, Texas, Thursday, April 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
A member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints makes her way through a crush of media, as she arrives at a hearing at the 51st District Courthouse in San Angelo, Texas Thursday,...   (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Trent Nelson)
The main temple on the grounds of the "Yearning For Zion" Ranch, home of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Eldorado, Texas, Thursday, April 10, 2008.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Rod Parker, the attorney serving as spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints walks out of the Tom Green County Courthouse during a break in the child custody hearing...   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
This April 8, 2008 file photo shows outside the temple at the Yearning for Zion ranch, home of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints near Eldorado, Texas.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, file)
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Texas • child abuse • polygamy • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • underage sex


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