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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: polygamists

polygamists stories: 20 news summaries

Polygamist Sect Member Guilty of Sex Assault

Texas court convicts FLDS man married
to underage girl

Nov 5, 09 7:14 PM CST
(AP) - Jurors in the first criminal trial following the raid of a polygamist group's Texas ranch today convicted a member of sexual assault of a child. Raymond Jessop, 38, was found guilty of the charge that stemmed from his alleged marriage to an underage girl. He's the first group member to... More »

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polygamy • sexual assault • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • polygamists • underage marriage • Raymond Jessop

Interview

Ex-FLDS Member Wants Hard Time for Polygamists

Author: Texas hung Eldorado kids out to dry

Jun 23, 09 1:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Former FLDS member Flora Jessop is “hoping against hope” that the men charged with child abuse at the polygamist compound in Eldorado get harder time than those convicted  in similar crimes elsewhere, she told the Houston Chronicle. “Thirteen days, 45 days, nine months,” says Jessop,... More »

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Texas • Arizona • child abuse • polygamy • Utah • FLDS • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Eldorado • polygamists • child marriage

 Polygamy Sect Struggling for Funds to Battle Charges

Church loses funds as it fights legal battles

May 11, 09 3:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Members of a cash-strapped Texas polygamous sect plan to argue this week that key evidence against them should be thrown out because it was illegally obtained, the Wall Street Journal reports. Authorities say the diaries, photos, and documents they seized prove that underage marriages took place on the FLDS ranch,... More »

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Texas • crime • sexual abuse • polygamy • FLDS • polygamists • criminal trial

South Africa Asks: Who Will Be First Lady?

Zuma has two wives and a fiancée, but only one can have the title

Apr 30, 09 7:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - In a few days Jacob Zuma will become president of South Africa—but who will become the country's first lady is less certain. The African National Congress leader, who has two wives and a fiancée, will be the first avowed polygamist to serve as the country's head of state.... More »

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South Africa • polygamy • president • Jacob Zuma • first lady • polygamists

South Africa's Jacob Zuma to Marry 3rd Wife

Wedding bells yet again for polygamous president-to-be

Jan 7, 09 8:00 AM CST
(Newser) - Jacob Zuma, the leader of the African National Congress and presumed next president of South Africa, is preparing to marry for a fifth time, reports the Telegraph. Zuma has never hidden his polygamous status, which is traditional for elite Zulus, and his new bride will be his third simultaneous spouse.... More »

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marriage • South Africa • polygamy • wife • Jacob Zuma • African National Congress • polygamists

Mom Fights to Keep Child
She Let Wed Jeffs at 12

Daughter married Texas sect leader two years ago

Aug 19, 08 8:10 AM CDT
(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 »

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Texas • child abuse • custody battle • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • polygamists





5 More Jailed in Sect Child Abuse

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

Jul 29, 08 4:15 AM CDT
(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 »

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Texas • polygamy • Warren Jeffs • FLDS • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • polygamists

Jeffs, Sect Members Face Sex Charges

Polygamist leader,
4 others accused of assaulting young girls

Jul 22, 08 9:27 PM CDT
(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 »

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child abuse • sexual abuse • polygamy • Warren Jeffs • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Eldorado • polygamists

Sect Leader's Daughter Still in State Custody

As other kids return home, 16-year-old remains in foster care

Jun 3, 08 4:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The hundreds of kids returned to their FLDS-member parents over the past 2 days did not include one high-profile child: the 16-year-old daughter of sect leader Warren Jeffs. The girl's lawyer pushed to keep her in state custody because she has been sexually abused by an adult sect member—not... More »

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Warren Jeffs • FLDS • Eldorado • sect • polygamists

updated

Sect Parents Reuniting With Kids in Texas

Meanwhile, church elder forbids all underage unions

Jun 2, 08 6:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - As polygamist parents reunited with their kids in Texas today, a sect elder said the church will no longer allow underage marriages. But Willie Jessop called the sect misunderstood and insisted that past unions have all been mutual. Meanwhile, tearful parents held their children outside Texas foster sites after a... More »

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Texas • polygamy • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints • FLDS • sect • polygamists

Judge Sends Kids Back to Polygamist Parents

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

Jun 2, 08 10:45 AM CDT
(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 »

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polygamy • child custody • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • social work • polygamists

 Sect Moms Say Kids Scarred 

State blasted ahead of ruling on whether it had right to take custody

May 29, 08 12:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Taking young children away from their parents has harmful effects, say mothers from the polygamist sect in Texas, and numerous studies agree—which is why federal and state guidelines require a “reasonable effort” to keep children with their parents before removing them. Texas authorities don't appear to have done... More »

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parenting • Texas • polygamy • social services • child custody • FLDS • Yearning for Zion ranch • polygamists

Commentary

Jeffs Photos Used to Bolster Custody Case

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

May 29, 08 7:41 AM CDT
(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 »

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

Texas Appeals to Keep
Sect Kids in Custody

Challenge of ruling means case may go to state supreme court

May 23, 08 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Texas officials today appealed yesterday’s ruling that the state acted incorrectly when it took custody of 460 FLDS children, the San Antonio Express-News reports. The ruling could have meant family reunions within weeks, but today's emergency filing means the children could remain in foster care pending state supreme court... More »

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Texas • FLDS • Child Protective Services • Eldorado • polygamists

Polygamy Kids Could Be Back Home in 10 Days

Texas must appeal surprise ruling or
send children back

May 23, 08 4:57 AM CDT
(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 »

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Texas • US Appeals court • polygamy • child custody • FLDS • Child Protective Services • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • polygamists

UPDATED

 Texas Court: Return Kids
to Polygamy Sect 

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

May 22, 08 3:27 PM CDT
(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 »

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Texas • US Appeals court • polygamy • judicial • child custody • Child Protective Services • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • Barbara Walther • polygamists

10 of Sect's 'Child Brides'
Are Adults

But state may return
to ranch to look for more children

May 21, 08 3:00 PM CDT
(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 »

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Texas • FLDS • Child Protective Services • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • Eldorado • polygamists

Sect Parents Slam 'Vague' Custody Plans

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

May 20, 08 5:53 AM CDT
(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 »

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Texas • polygamy • custody • Mormonism • child custody • FLDS • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • polygamists

Hard Choice
for Polygamy Moms: Your Cult or Your Kids

Women may have to leave ranch

May 15, 08 4:30 AM CDT
(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 »

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child abuse • polygamy • child custody • Child Protective Services • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • polygamists

 Polygamist 'Teen' Gives Birth 

Sect member has her third child in state custody

May 13, 08 4:09 AM CDT
(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 »

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polygamy • FLDS • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • Yearning for Zion ranch • Department of Family and Protective Services • Louisa Bradshaw Jessop • Rulan Danial Jessop • Rod Parker • polygamists

20 Stories


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