Polygamy in Eldorado

(Newser) - Polygamy sect leader Warren Jeffs and three other members of his group have been indicted on fresh felony charges, the Houston Chronicle reports. Jeffs is accused of aggravated sexual assault linked to actions at the Yearning for Zion Texas compound where authorities rounded up hundreds of children earlier this year. He was convicted of a similar charge in Utah, and faces a possible life sentence. Charges against the others include bigamy and conducting an unlawful marriage involving a minor. More »

(Newser) - A Texas judge has ordered a 14-year-old girl allegedly married to polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs at age 12 back into state custody, reports the Salt Lake Tribune . The judge said the parents of the girl, who was first taken into custody when the sect's compound was raided in April, had approved the marriage and refused to protect her in the future. The girl's father has six wives. Six other children will remain in the household. More »

(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 underage marriages, authorities say. Jessop repeatedly took the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions in court yesterday. More »

(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 Yearning for Zion ranch, is charged with failing to report child abuse. More »

(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 to report child abuse. A Texas grand jury handed down the charges today after two days of considering the state’s evidence. More »

(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 Jeffs—and the state was negotiating her release to her mother, the Dallas Morning News reports. More »