Sex Abuse 'Rampant' at Polygamist Ranch

Pubescent girls forced to 'marry' older men, say investigators
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 9, 2008 9:34 AM CDT
Sex Abuse 'Rampant' at Polygamist Ranch
Residential structures are seen along a road that leads to the main temple, top rear, on the grounds of the "Yearning For Zion" Ranch.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Young girls at a polygamous compound were readied for "spiritual marriages" to much older men as soon as they hit puberty, the AP reports. Papers submitted to a Texas court detail a "pattern of abuse" at the ranch, where young boys were forced to marry underage girls and girls in their early teens were required to bear children.

The compound was raided last week after a hushed phone call from a 16-year-old girl pleading for help after she had been beaten and raped by her 50-year-old husband. She was his seventh wife. The state has won custody of 419 young people removed from the ranch. Some of the teenage girls are pregnant and officials say all were in danger of "emotional, physical, or sexual abuse." (More Texas stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X