Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Jeffs Photos Used to Bolster Custody Case

Cheap publicity stunt, maybe, but parents of newborn took the bait

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted May 29, 2008 7:41 AM CDT
Email

(Newser) – It was an obvious stunt by Texas child services: entering photos of Warren Jeffs kissing two "child brides" in a custody hearing for a newborn. Reeling from an appeals court ruling that they failed to show that 450 children were at risk, officials wanted to hype the "pervasive" abuse at Yearning for Zion. No surprise. The surprise, writes Rebecca Walsh in the Salt Lake Tribune, was that the young parents whose newborn was at issue actually helped the state's case.

Confronted with photographs "just this side of kiddie porn," Walsh writes, the newborn's mother said Jeffs is incarcerated  for "unjust causes" and is "perfect." The father did object, but argued that "one kiss does not equal sexual abuse; you see worse things on the street." "Call it a "sleazy publicity stunt," Walsh notes, but if these parents aren't going to distance themselves from Jeffs, they don't have a prayer.

This photo entered as evidence in a Texas court show sect leader Warren Jeffs posing with an apparently young girl.
This photo entered as evidence in a Texas court show sect leader Warren Jeffs posing with an apparently young girl.   (buddyboyofcanada)
Photographs of Warren Jeffs presented in court.
Photographs of Warren Jeffs presented in court.
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is seen in this undated booking photo provided by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, in Arizona.
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is seen in this undated booking photo provided by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, in Arizona.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Photos show Jeffs with 'child brides'
ABC News

Sect members banned from mentioning Jeffs' name to kids
Houston Chronicle

Parents defend 'perfect' Jeffs in court
Salt Lake Tribune

Pix of the couple
Huffington Post

 
Texas • child abuse • Warren Jeffs • child custody • FLDS • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • polygamists

More Newser Stories

Don't Worry: Texas Will Get Warren Jeffs

Ex-FLDS Member Wants Hard Time for Polygamists

5 More Jailed in Sect Child Abuse

Polygamy Kids Could Be Back Home in 10 Days

Sect Parents Slam 'Vague' Custody Plans
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne