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

Hot on Facebook
Man Tries to Order Priciest Starbucks Drink Ever Total cost: $23.60 »

NEWS ABOUT: Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Mom Fights to Keep Child She Let Wed Jeffs at 12

Daughter married Texas sect leader two years ago

(Newser) - A woman who allegedly allowed her 12-year-old daughter to marry polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs is now battling to stop Texas officials from taking custody of the girl and her younger brother, AP reports. Several of the 10 children of Barbara Jessop, accused of child abuse, have been linked to... More »

5 More Jailed in Sect Child Abuse

FLDS members charged with sexual assualt, bigamy, concealing child abuse

(Newser) - Five members of a Texas polygamous sect charged in a child abuse investigation are in custody after surrendering to authorities, the Dallas Morning News reports. Four of the men are charged with sexually abusing girls under the age of 17. The fifth, said to be the physician at the sect's... More »

Jeffs, Sect Members Face Sex Charges

Polygamist leader, 4 others accused of assaulting young girls

(Newser) - Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs and four members of the Texas ranch raided by authorities in April now face charges of sexually abusing girls under the age of 17, the Houston Chronicle reports. One of those indicted also is charged with bigamy, and a sixth person is accused of failure... More »

Judge Sends Kids Back to Polygamist Parents

They must remain in Texas, take classes and steer clear of investigators

(Newser) - 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 »

Jeffs Photos Used to Bolster Custody Case

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

(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"... More »

12 Children Returned to Sect Parents

3 families reunited; not allowed to return to polygamist ranch

(Newser) - 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... More »

Polygamy Kids Could Be Back Home in 10 Days

Texas must appeal surprise ruling or send children back

(Newser) - 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... More »

Texas Court: Return Kids to Polygamy Sect

Appellate body finds no evidence more than 460 children were in danger

(Newser) - 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... More »

10 of Sect's 'Child Brides' Are Adults

But state may return to ranch to look for more children

(Newser) - 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... More »

Sect Parents Slam 'Vague' Custody Plans

Decry persecution, say Texas offering no clear way to reclaim kids

(Newser) - 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... More »

Huge Polygamist Custody Case Divvied Up Today

Individual cases to be set for 400 kids

(Newser) - 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... More »

Hard Choice for Polygamy Moms: Your Cult or Your Kids

Women may have to leave ranch

(Newser) - 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... More »

Polygamist 'Teen' Gives Birth

Sect member has her third child in state custody

(Newser) - 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 »

Sect Elder Blasts 'Terrorist' Raid

'It does not require a foreign country to commit terrorist acts on American soil,' letter to Bush reads

(Newser) - 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... More »

Texas Raid Rocks Other Polygamists

Similar communities in Utah, Ariz., fear they might be next on list

(Newser) - 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... More »

Many Kids From Sect Had Broken Bones

State also says boys may have been sexually abused

(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... More »

Teen From Texas Sect Gives Birth

State says she's younger than 18, but ranch officials deny it

(Newser) - 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... More »

Half of Sect's Teens Have Been Pregnant

Last of kids involved in polygamist case bused to foster homes

(Newser) - 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... More »

Eldorado Sect Has Branch in South Dakota

No abuse allegations, but police wonder about 'locked-down operation'

(Newser) - 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,"... More »

Sect Children Slowly Meet Outside World

Care workers advised to keep them away from TV—and red clothes

(Newser) - 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... More »

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne