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.
It is rather shameful that this specific subject got me banned.
For the last two months, I have reviewed everything that I posted. I am not ashamed of anything that I have said.
Sometimes words can be interpreted by people in different ways than intended.
When that happens, simply ask!
Your Grandmother was still living in the same house with your children.
That was a time when a new mother had support from everyone in her family. They may not like what she did, but they were always there to help with her new child.
All true. Sorry you’re still having trouble with him.
Good riddance, TROLL!
WTF is wrong with you, crash?
Its just spooky to see he looks for my posts when he is banned & has the nerve to email me after sending me the filthy video saying it was a family movie. I have learned a good lesson. Never give my email to someone I don’t know! I just wish he would stop & find another hobby then stalking me as I am not interested in being friends with him at all. I don’t wish him ill, I just wish he would go away.
Wait a minute... I thought we were all allowed to marry whoever we wanted in this country???
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