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May 17, 2008 12:39:09 AM CDT

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25 Moms ID'd as Minors in Polygamy Probe  

Posted Apr 25, 08 3:28 AM CDT in Crime,  US    Most Popular

(newser) – Texas authorities have identified 25 more mothers from a polygamist ranch as underage girls, bringing the number of juveniles in custody to 460. The girls had initially claimed to be adults, Reuters reports. Officials are keeping hundreds of women and children from the polygamist compound in temporary custody in a rodeo stadium, under heavy guard.

Authorities dealing with the biggest child welfare case in Texan history have been moving children into foster homes all week and taking DNA samples in an attempt to straighten out the complex family relationships among sect members. There have been emotional scenes as families are pulled apart. Child welfare workers admit it's a tough job, but, one stressed, "these children have to be protected."

Source Reuters

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25 Moms ID'd as Minors in Polygamy Probe
Ruth, right, 34, a mother of four and a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, recounts to members of the press her experience of being separated from her children .   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
25 Moms ID'd as Minors in Polygamy Probe
Ruth, 31, a mother of 4 children, left rear, and Velvet, 31, center, a mother of one child who are all in state custody tell reporters how they were separated from their children.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
25 Moms ID'd as Minors in Polygamy Probe
The Tom Green County Courthouse is seen a dusk in San Angelo, Texas,April 17, 2008, where members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and others attend custody hearings   (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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Texas  • polygamy  • child abuse  • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  • Yearning for Zion ranch  • child welfare


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