Posted on 05/01/2008 4:44:54 PM PDT by Politicalmom
SAN ANTONIO A judge ordered that the baby boy born to a girl taken from a polygamist sect's ranch in West Texas be placed in state custody, according to documents released Thursday.
Texas District Judge Barbara Walther signed the order Wednesday giving the state custody of the 1-day-old infant born to a teen believed to be 15 or 16 years old.
The girl has claimed to be 18, according to an affidavit signed by Ruby Gutierrez, a Child Protective Services caseworker, but officials believe she is younger and placed her in foster care with other children taken from the ranch.
The newborn is the teen's second child; the first is a 20-month-old boy. The father of both children was identified as Jackson Jessop, 22, but state officials say they don't know his whereabouts.
Child welfare officials now have 464 children in their custody, swept from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado because authorities believe underage girls were forced into marriages and sex with older men. Authorities are also now investigating possible sexual abuse of boys.
Church members have vehemently denied there was any abuse, and civil liberties groups have raised concerns at the sweeping nature of the removals.
Individual custody hearings are set to be completed by June 5.
CPS and law enforcement raided the ranch on April 3 after a girl who was purportedly 16 called a domestic abuse hotline to complain of abuse at the hands her much older husband. Authorities are investigating whether the calls were a hoax.
Regardless, child welfare authorities say 31 of the 53 girls aged 14-17 have children or are pregnant.
Under Texas law, children under the age of 17 generally cannot consent to sex with an adult. A girl can get married with parental permission at 16, but the girls who belong to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are not believed to have legal marriages.
FLDS is a breakaway sect of the mainline Mormon church, which disavowed polygamy a century ago.
NEVER EVER POST TO ME AGAIN. I MEAN IT!
So excuse me for my next few posts to Pandy.
NEVER EVER POST TO ME AGAIN. I MEAN IT!
So excuse me for my next few posts to Pandy.
ALLEGED!
Once individuals have been convicted in a court of law, then I will agree with you.
However, only with those specific individuals that were convicted.
Do different Amish communities have different “rules”? The ones here ask that they not be photographed. (I think it has something to do with a photo being a graven image or something?)
I’m talking about those in prison now for what they’ve done. The FLDS has a bad record with the law.
I’m not even talking about Texas, as a group, as a whole, and simply put-— polygamy and slavery are standard practices in the sects AND against the law.
Easy peasy.
Since they live "different" from the rest of Americans, I can understand why they would not like to be photographed.
That would be an individual choice, which I would respect.
I wasn’t sent an inappropriate Freepmail.
I was just making a joke.
You and I both agree on so many things. I am rather surprised that this has become a rather heated debate.
Sorry, but I will never classify a "group" of people as being criminals because of their religious beliefs.
Individuals which have been convicted in a court of law, are criminals!
Thanks, greyfoxx39.
I should have been more clear in that post regarding email troubles.
The offending emailer in question is sending things to my private email address, not my Freepmail address.
I was just looking for friendly advice as to how to rid myself of the offending emailer.
They have a distant family connection to me and believe that their sense of humor is appropriate. They don’t understand subtlety. And even if they do catch the hint that I am disgusted by the contents of the emails, it would only hurt their feelings and cause a rift.
I’ve been trying to ignore it for years. What was always most hurtful to me was when this emailer would send such content to my dear mother, upsetting her.
Thanks for understanding & yes that is how it was back then...When it got bad we had family thankfully that took us. My brother took most of it so I didn’t get beaten as much as he did. I was lucky I got out of all of it & went on to help others. It has been a tough road at times but I never came here to cry about it. I was trying to explain it. And why children seem to seek the love of their abusers.
I was raised in an environment where women and children must always be protected. If a man knew about abuse, it was his responsibility to gather a few friends and deal with the situation.
In older times, even a Duel would be the correct method of choice, when men must deal with an abuser. Perhaps, we have forgotten the wisdom of our previous generations.
Don’t believe her or the government. The government hasn’t definitively stated her age. They are investigating further. The case is in its infancy.
Most Amish do not want their pictures taken. But there are some that don’t have the sense to abide by that & snap away. There isn’t too much they can do about it. Seems when you are in public you have little rights. Anyone can take your child’s picture or yours..
cousins?
This is about what has been done, is being done, and what will continue to be done, as is on record by the witness of the mouths of the members of this cult, from their speeches, sermons, and writings.
If Texas contiuned to ignore this, they Texas would be accessories to the crimes ongoing.
Texas is doing what God set up governments to do. Texas is doing their god-given duty as is also outlined in our constitution.
Or....
Your call.
Thank you very much. I am sorry for the trouble. Pandoraou812
They do. Some are more restrictive regarding modernity than others.
Thanks for the warning....
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