Posted on 07/29/2008 6:44:21 AM PDT by ricks_place
Five indicted members of a West Texas polygamist sect turned themselves in to authorities Monday to face charges related to allegations of child sexual abuse.
The five men were indicted last week with Warren Jeffs, the already-jailed leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The charges stem from a state investigation into allegations that the sect forced underage girls into marriage and motherhood with much older men.
State authorities raided the FLDS's Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado on April 3, eventually sweeping more than 400 children into foster care until the state Supreme Court said officials had overreached and sent the children home.
Raymond Merrill Jessop, 36, Allan Eugene Keate, 56, Michael George Emack, 57, and Merrill Leroy Jessop, 33, were charged with one count each of sexual assault of a child, a felony punishable by a sentence ranging from five to 99 years or life in prison. Their bond was set at $100,000 each.
Merrill Leroy Jessop also was charged with bigamy, a felony with the same potential penalties as the sexual assault charge.
Lloyd Hammon Barlow, 38, the ranch's onsite physician, was charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison. His bond was set at $5,000.
Attorney General Greg Abbott on Monday declined to provide details of what the men were accused of doing.
Efforts to find the men's attorneys were not immediately successful. A message left for FLDS attorney Rod Parker was not immediately returned.
Abbott said the state would try to have Jeffs extradited to Texas to face a charge of sexual assault of a child.
Last week's charges were the first since the April raid.
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
Of the boys who are not kicked out, all have the opportunity to leave after reaching adulthood and before becoming a biological parent to one or more children. Not saying it would be easy from a psychological standpoint, but a heck of a lot easier than it is for the women. That’s why I think it’s reasonably to apply a different standard to the women. At least a few, however, are NOW in a position to stay out of the cult and keep their children with them, and to the extent that they continue to cooperate in things like child abuse and harboring fugitives and giving false information to authorities, then they should be prosecuted. Though in most cases, I think it would be best to use the legal maneuver where a conviction is obtained, but if the person participates in mandated counseling, education, supervised living situation, community service, etc for a set period of time, and stays out of further trouble, then the conviction is removed from their record.
They’ve got you surrounded, LG. They are not willing to wait for justice. I’m glad these other guys turned themselves in instead of cowardly running and hiding. Face the music.
I agree with you that by rounding up all the kids at gunpoint and terrorizing the entire community, the state of TX authorities showed their ignorance, bias, hatred and incompetence. Over 400 kids were harassed and tortured for two months! That is a crime against humanity.
What’s changed is that the men are being locked up, a few at a time. The women and kids are mostly living away from the cult compound.
Many of those children were *snatched* from their original parents and brought to Texas.
Wonder if they’ve gotten over that shock?
“Over 400 kids were harassed and tortured for two months! That is a crime against humanity.”
My ex-wife was one of the people who oversaw their care. None of what you say ever happened.
Just because you’re running for office doesn’t mean you need to be a liar.
She’s not running for office. She ran many years ago.
In 2000 I believe. I thought I heard she was running again.
Apologies for that mistake but, I can’t sit back and have her lie about the goings on in my state. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
You were the one supporting the States illegal seizure of the women and children and now you are saying that it doesn't matter? Unbelievable.
I'll bet you dollars to donuts that the cases against these guys gets thrown out because the evidence against them was improperly obtained. Fruit of the poisoned tree and all of that.
I agree with you that by rounding up all the kids at gunpoint and terrorizing the entire community, the state of TX authorities showed their ignorance, bias, hatred and incompetence. Over 400 kids were harassed and tortured for two months! That is a crime against humanity.
My question is now that they seem to have some actual evidence why don't they round up the women and children again? They have only taken away 5 of the men, surely the women and children are in imminent danger now, from the rest of the men?
There are still hundreds of these 'men' roaming free and you are now saying that the women and children are safe? Do you know for a fact that these men are going to be arrested anytime soon? Doesn't the State have a responsibility to go round up all the women and children to protect them from all these men?
If it was Ok to round the women and children up before, isn't it even more important to round them up now?
Sandy, Sandy, Sandy.... 
If that is the case, do you think that the snatchers should be charged with kidnapping? I do. I also think that the CPS and officials from the State of Texas should be charged with kidnapping the women and children too. Unlike you, I think that the law should be applied fairly.
You are stuck in an earlier reality, arguing a point that’s been answered by the State courts.
Nevertheless, as I said on another thread, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2052757/posts?page=228
“there are points of decision where the individual’s right to life and liberty — even the right to life and liberty of the unborn or under-18 minor dependent — trumps the usual family limits that we place on government and our concerns about freedom to practice our religion without government intervention.”
When two rights conflict, go back to the basics: life, liberty, pusuit of happiness. And in that order. Threats to life always trump the second. Permanent threats to liberty are weighed against threats to life and temporary restraints on liberty. Pursuit of happiness can never be allowed to cause a threat to another’s life or liberty.
The kids matter..a lot. You having second thoughts about removing them all again doesn’t. Sadly , the SC has said no.
When two rights conflict, go back to the basics: life, liberty, pusuit of happiness. And in that order. Threats to life always trump the second. Permanent threats to liberty are weighed against threats to life and temporary restraints on liberty. Pursuit of happiness can never be allowed to cause a threat to another’s life or liberty.
Are you admitting that the State was wrong to go in and seize the women and children? That is what it sounds like. Do you agree with the Supreme Court or not?
Do you think the State had a right to seize and hold adult women?
So you think that CPS should now go in and remove the women and children? I just want to be clear on this. They now have real evidence and charges.
L
“Barlow, 38, was indicted on three misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse for allegedly overseeing births of children to underage minors on Oct. 14, 2006; Dec. 20, 2006; and May 20, 2007. “
(from a different article)
Can someone please tell me why Planned Parenthood is allowed to get away with this every day? Some pro life folks tried to prosecute Planned Parenthood for the exact same crime but were told to go jump in the lake. PRIVACY PRIVACY PRIVACY!!
This is hypocritical at the very least.
“Unlike you, I think that the law should be applied fairly.”
First of all, you don’t know how I think. There are not just 2 sides to this story.
I’m a Texan and don’t want these people in my state. We’re in the process of getting rid of another cult that flaunts the law of Texas and the US in our faces. Hopefully, the FLDS will pack up and move on.
I don’t like to see the Gov (local, state or Fed) abusing anyone but, these people are implicated in scores of illegal activities. We pay of Govs to take action and protect us in these cases. If they don’t, who will?
As far as the kidnapping, someone need to report it before it’s a crime.
“Can someone please tell me why Planned Parenthood is allowed to get away with this every day?”
On this we agree. Maybe in a perfect future, we can drag all these people to trial together.
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