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Many Kids From Sect Had Broken Bones

State also says boys may have been sexually abused

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 30, 2008 6:53 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Of 463 children seized from a Texas polygamist compound, 41 show evidence of broken bones at a young age, the Dallas Morning News reports. "Several of these fractures have been found in very young children," said the head of Child Protective Services, which also said it's looking into possible sexual abuse of sect boys.

A spokesman for the Yearning for Zion ranch called the testimony "propaganda to make a case that cannot be proved. It will never be able to be backed up with any facts." Texas officials also said the state had difficulty keeping track of children because mothers lied about their identities, sometimes changing clothes with one another, and tampered with ID bracelets.

A bus with women and children of the Yearning for Zion Ranch, home for members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, pulls into the Methodist Children's Home.
A bus with women and children of the Yearning for Zion Ranch, home for members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, pulls into the Methodist Children's Home.   (AP Photo/Waco Tribune Herald, Jerry Larson)
Ruth, 34, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and a mother of four children in state custody becomes emotional outside the Yearning For Zion ranch.
Ruth, 34, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and a mother of four children in state custody becomes emotional outside the Yearning For Zion ranch.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Ruth, 31, a mother of four children and Velvet, 31, a mother of one child who are all in state custody tell reporters how they were separated from their children.
Ruth, 31, a mother of four children and Velvet, 31, a mother of one child who are all in state custody tell reporters how they were separated from their children.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
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Were boys sexually abused at the ranch?
USA Today

Documentary unearths some scary stuff
Chicago Tribune

US

 
Texas • child abuse • polygamy • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • Eldorado

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