Stories related to: Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

A Texas judge ordered more than 400 children returned to their polygamist parents today, the AP reports. Parents could begin picking up their children at 10 this morning, but were ordered not to leave the state or interfere with ongoing child-abuse investigations. More »

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. More »

Texas has agreed to return a dozen of the children in its custody to their parents, members of the polygamist sect FLDS, but the state is fighting to hang on to hundreds more, the San Antonio Express-News reports. The reunited families won't be allowed to return to the sect's Yearning for Zion ranch but can live in the San Antonio area under state supervision. More »

Yesterday's surprise court ruling in favor of a polygamous sect has Texas authorities scrambling, Time reports. An appeals judge ruled that the state had no right to seize children suspected of being sexually abused from the Yearning for Zion ranch. Officials now must appeal the ruling or return the children within 10 days More »

A Texas appeals court found today that authorities, acting on "no evidence," and supported only by a "general allegation" of impropriety, should not have removed more than 460 children from a polygamist compound, the Dallas Morning News reports. The panel also said a local court "abused its discretion" in authorizing an April 3 raid and ordered the children returned. More »

Texas authorities have admitted that 10 of the "children" taken into custody from the Eldorado polygamist sect are actually adults—including one who is 27—and more could be reclassified this week, reports the Houston Chronicle . This development could weaken the Child Protective Services' case that the sect was forcing underage girls into marriage and sex.  More »

Hearings for the biggest child custody case in American history began yesterday and members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints weren't happy with proceedings, the AP reports. Parents of the more than 460 children in state custody complained that the court's recommendations were too generalized and showed them no clear way to get their kids back. More »

The mammoth custody case of more than 400 children seized from a polygamist ranch in Texas will be broken up into individual cases today, the Houston Chronicle reports. Each will examine whether parents can demonstrate that their children will be safe from abuse before they can win them back from state custody. The process is complicated by the fact that more than 100 children haven’t yet been matched with parents. More »

Mothers from the Yearning for Zion polygamist compound in Texas may have to distance themselves from their religion—or face not getting their children back, the Dallas Morning News reports. Texas officials have prepared a list of goals the women need to work toward to prove they can provide a home free from the risk of child sexual abuse—and the guidelines may be unworkable under the sect's communal living arrangements. More »

Another young woman taken from a Texas polygamist sect has given birth while in state custody. The mom has claimed to be 22 years old, but state officials say she is only 17, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. More »

An elder of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints condemned the raid against a sect compound in Texas last month as a “terrorist act” in a letter to President Bush, CNN reports. Members of the FLDS have complained of the treatment of the families whose children were seized in the "intrusive invasion" by "a heavily armed militant force." More »

The raid on the Texas compound of a polygamist sect has similar communities worried, reports the New York Times . Groups of polygamists belonging to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints live along the Utah-Arizona border and many fear that the crackdown on their Texas brethren means they could be next as the federal government leans on states to get tough on illegal practices. More »

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. More »

One of the teens taken from a polygamist sect in Texas gave birth to a boy today as state police stood guard outside her hospital room, the Houston Chronicle reports. State officials say the mother is younger than 18 and that she will be taken to a foster care facility with her newborn to await a custody hearing, the AP notes. A sect spokesman says the girl is 18. More »

Of 53 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 taken from a polygamist sect in Texas, 31 have had children or are pregnant, the Houston Chronicle reports. Officials announced that the last of the 463 minors taken from the El Dorado ranch had been bused to foster homes after an appellate court denied the mothers’ motion for emergency relief. More »

The polygamous sect currently under investigation in Eldorado, Texas, has a sister compound in Pringle, SD—and it's making locals queasy, USA Today reports. The Pringle compound was started by the same leader in 2003, and is valued over $4.5 million. "They don't just open their doors," says the local sheriff, adding that there have been no abuse allegations. "It's a locked-down operation." More »

The last of the 462 children removed from the compound of a polygamous sect have been placed in foster care in 16 locations around Texas, the Houston Chronicle reports. The caregivers have been given lengthy instructions on how to treat the children, including keeping them away from TV, radio, and the Internet, at least at first, and avoiding red clothing, as the sect believes that color is reserved for Jesus to wear on his return. More »

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. More »

Some of the dramatic calls thought to be from an abused teen that sparked a raid on a Texas polygamist ranch have been traced to a cell phone number previously used by a well-known hoaxer, the Denver Post reports. Court documents reveal that the 33-year-old woman has a history of making phony calls to crisis hotlines, claiming to be an abused teen. More »

Texas authorities began moving children from a polygamist ranch to foster group homes around the state today. More than 100 of the children were bused to facilities, and the remaining 300 or so will likely follow later this week, the Houston Chronicle reports. The move comes on the second day of DNA testing of sect members to unravel family histories. More »