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

25 Moms ID'd as Minors in Polygamy Probe

Families separated as probe into rogue Mormon sect continues

(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... More »

Polygamist Tip-Off Traced to Hoaxer's Phone

Woman has history of making fake calls to abuse hotlines

(Newser) - 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... More »

Texas Moving Sect Kids Into Foster Care

Action taken before notifying lawyers; some bused to group homes

(Newser) - 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... More »

Polygamist Sect Launches Online PR Campaign

Features photos of tanks and 'pioneer girls'

(Newser) - Members of the Texas polygamist community whose children were seized because of suspected abuse have taken their battle against authorities to the Internet, reports the Deseret News. The sect has launched two companion websites—one of them featuring photos and videos of crying children being led away, flanked by armed... More »

Polygamist Sect Men Break Silence

Members 'have been made very aware' of state marriage laws

(Newser) - Male members of the Texas polygamist sect say they weren’t aware that state law prohibits people under 18 from marrying until after the raid on their compound, CBS News reports. Three men from the Yearning for Zion ranch said on the Early Show that they'll cooperate with court-ordered DNA... More »

DNA Tests on Polygamists Begin

Officials seek foster home for 416 children

(Newser) - Texas officials begin taking DNA samples today from 416 children removed from a  polygamist sect and from adults who lived with them. The tests will be used to sort out the parentage of the children in the confusing mix of families with multiple mothers on the sprawling Eldorado ranch, reports... More »

Texas Keeps Sect Kids for DNA Testing

Polygamous ranch forced children to obey, psychiatrist testifies

(Newser) - A judge ruled today that 416 kids seized at a polygamous ranch in Texas will be held for genetic testing, the San Angelo Standard-Times reports. At the end of a 2-day custody hearing, Judge Barbara Walther said the tests were needed to sort out relationships between the sect's parents and... More »

13-Year-Old Moms Among Girls From Polygamist Ranch

Custody hearing told girls believed having babies was their duty

(Newser) - Moms as young as 13 are among the 416 children removed from the Texas ranch of a polygamous sect, a child protection officer told a hearing yesterday. The state, making its case to keep the children away from the ranch, testified that a pregnant 14-year-old and a number of pregnant... More »

Outside Sect, Life is Tough

Free from polygamous compounds, escaped women often turn to drugs and alcohol

(Newser) - Even for those women who escape the forced marriages and controlling patriarchy of polygamous sects like the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, life isn’t easy. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to escape the mental burden, CNN reports. And some never leave because they’re programmed to think... More »

Polygamist Hearing Has Chaotic First Day

State plans to relocate sect's 416 children

(Newser) - Lawyers for the state of Texas told a chaotic, objection-filled hearing today they would press for psychiatric evaluations and genetic testing of all members of a polygamist sect, the New York Times reports. On the first day of a custody hearing to determine the fate of the sect's 416 children,... More »

Texas Officials Justify Splitting Sect Families

Child-welfare authorities cite need to break 'code of silence'

(Newser) - Texas family-services officials today defended their decision to separate the mothers and children removed from a polygamous Mormon sect last week as the only way to get at the truth about alleged child abuse, the Houston Chronicle reports. Fifty-seven of the 139 mothers were forced to leave the group of... More »

Moms Return to Polygamist Ranch

Texas moves their kids to new shelter, plans legal battle

(Newser) - Nearly 140 women from a polygamist sect returned home today as officials moved their kids to a new shelter, the AP reports. The mothers had joined 416 children who were seized by Texas troopers 2 weeks ago and taken to a historic fort. Today officials moved the kids to a... More »

Poor Conditions Behind Moving of Sect's Kids

416 children being taken to undisclosed 'suitable' Texas location

(Newser) - Over 400 children seized from a polygamist sect are being bused to a more "suitable" location from their current West Texas housing, a state official tells the Houston Chronicle. Women inside Fort Concho complained over the weekend of cramped conditions at the temporary shelter. The state plans to ask... More »

Polygamist Moms Beg Governor for Help

Claim state is 'traumatizing' their kids

(Newser) - Mothers from a polygamist Texas sect are appealing to the governor to investigate the welfare of their children in state custody, AP reports. Three moms sent a letter claiming that several of the 416 kids seized in a raid on their compound because of suspected child abuse have been hospitalized,... More »

Police Fear Stonewall by Polygamist Settlers

Faithful see government as 'devil'

(Newser) - Warren Jeffs' hand-picked, devoted settlers may refuse to testify against his polygamist compound in Texas, officials fear—making it tough to win cases of suspected child abuse. "All these girls are taught from the cradle not to trust anybody from the outside—especially the government," Utah's attorney general... More »

Rangers Talk to Polygamist Rape Suspect

But Barlow walks, claiming case of mistaken identity

(Newser) - Texas Rangers today questioned a man suspected of raping a girl at an Eldorado polygamist ranch, but let him go, CNN reports. Dale Barlow, 50, voluntarily met the Rangers in Utah, saying he is innocent of the charge that sparked a raid at the compound last week. "The Texas... More »

Top 10 Crazy Cults

Polygamists, UFOs, and apocalyptic prophesies abound

(Newser) - Experts are debating whether the polygamist sect raided in Texas last week is a cult. Meanwhile, LiveScience has cooked up a list of bona fide cults—the top 10 craziest of them all:
  1. Raëlians: Followers believe that UFOs spawned most religions and cloning can lead to reincarnation.
More »

Police Defend Inaction at Polygamist Ranch

Bare dramatic details of raid

(Newser) - Law enforcement authorities yesterday released dramatic details of the police raid that rescued children suspected of abuse at a polygamist ranch—and countered complaints that the action was too late. Some 60 men surrounded the ranch temple, weeping and praying, in the last day of the operation that seized 416... More »

Texas Polygamists: Sect or Cult?

Sociologist explores such groups and what keeps people there

(Newser) - While much of the media is calling the polygamous group raided in Texas a “sect,” some experts say it’s better defined as a cult, LiveScience reports. One scientist points out that the word “cult” is often avoided in academia for its negative connotations. But “if... More »

'Sex Bed' for Girls Found in Polygamist Temple

Temple used for sex with underage brides, tipster tells cops

(Newser) - Members of a polygamous cult had sex with underage girls inside the group's temple immediately after "spiritual weddings," according to court documents. Investigators found the bed, described by a tipster, in the temple of the Texas ranch. Men had sex with "brides" as young as 13, reports... More »

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