Free Republic

Small, child-like fingers had been spotted poking out of an enclosed wooden trailer being towed in Arizona. When police pulled over the driver, they found three girls aged between 11 and 14 hidden in the back amid squalid conditions. There was no ventilation, and pictures released by the Coconino County Superior Court later revealed a toilet in the corner made of a bucket, trash bag and plastic seat. There was also a dingy brown couch, camping chairs, stroller and other junk crammed inside. The driver was Samuel Bateman - a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day...

<p>PHOENIX (AP) — A businessman pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring with the leader of an offshoot polygamous sect near the Arizona-Utah border to transport underage girls across state lines, making him the first man to be convicted in what authorities say was a scheme to orchestrate sexual acts involving children.</p>