Texas CPS releases FLDS report, claims 12 girls married underage, nearly 2/3 families had abuse/negl

[uppityperson]

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705272588,00.html

Texas CPS releases FLDS report, claims 12 girls married underage

Texas child welfare authorities claim 12 girls from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch are confirmed victims of sexual abuse and neglect because they were married at ages ranging from 12 to 15.

Those are among the conclusions reached in a final investigation into the raid that resulted in hundreds of children from the Utah-based polygamous sect being placed in state protective custody. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services released its long-anticipated report on the raid on the YFZ Ranch early Tuesday after a public records request by the Deseret News.

"There were 43 girls removed from the ranch from the ages of 12 to 17 — which means that more than one out of every four pubescent girls on the ranch was in an underage marriage," the investigation claims. "262 other children were subjected to neglect because parents failed to remove their child from a situation in which the child would be exposed to sexual abuse committed against another child within their families or households."...(more@link)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iIdMpRHjN4hpNKBhfYyAsR4DDo4QD958IDLG0

Nearly two-thirds of the families living at a polygamist group's ranch — targeted in a high-profile raid last spring — had children who were abused or neglected, Texas child welfare officials said in a report released Tuesday.

The Department of Family and Protective Services concluded there was evidence that 12 girls, ages 12 to 15, were "spiritually" married to adult men in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which runs the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. Seven of them had one or more children, the report says.

Another 262 children were listed as neglected because the agency said their parents knew there was sexual abuse in the household but did not move to protect their children from possible abuse.

The report, which summarizes the investigations done on all 439 children at the West Texas ranch, was issued at the request of the Health and Human Services executive commissioner, a gubernatorial appointee who oversees the protective services agency. "We received what we believed was a bona fide abuse/neglect report. We were required by law to investigate," said DFPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins....(more@link)

[musette_sf]

1. K&R

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. DFPS doing its job

appears to have been quite thorough. Any litigation pending in this matter, by the state or by the cult leaders?

[uppityperson]

3. A few more article bits fromd desertnews...

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705271699,00.html
A trial for a woman connected to the hoax call that sparked the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch has been delayed.


Dec 16
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705271025,00.html

As a rural Texas grand jury finished its term without issuing any indictments, more children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch were dropped from the nation's largest custody case.

Only 19 children remain under court jurisdiction, Texas Child Protective Services confirmed to the Deseret News on Tuesday. Seventeen children were "nonsuited" by a judge in San Angelo last week. It brings the total number of children dropped from court oversight to 420, excluding 26 "disputed minors," whom CPS initially believed were underage but were later proven to be adults.

The reasons for nonsuiting vary, agency officials said, from no evidence of abuse being found to parents taking appropriate steps to prevent abuse. As the case whittles down, some of those still under court jurisdiction may be linked to ongoing criminal probes into underage marriages. Earlier this year, CPS sought to place eight children in foster care. Their parents struck deals with the child welfare agency to keep them home.

"The remaining cases include three cases in which the department has temporary managing conservatorship of one or more children in the family," agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. "We are continuing to provide services to these families and to work with the families to address safety concerns. Once services are completed and it is it determined by CPS that the children's safety can be assured, we will move to nonsuit."

Dec 9 http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705269223,00.html

Prosecutors have taken DNA samples from a baby born to a teen from a polygamous sect who had refused to reveal the infant's whereabouts.

The state attorney general's office said investigators took swabs and photos Monday of the baby girl born in mid-June.

The newborn's mother is 17 and a member of the Fundamentalist LDS Church.

Child welfare authorities have been trying to get DNA through court proceedings to identify the father. State officials believe the girl was married to a man in the sect when she was 14.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Marriage is wrong for who again!?

Good work from a government-funded agency--for once.

Kick and rec.

[uppityperson]

5. Pedophilia is fine. Gay sex is icky.

:sarcasm:

I know.

I am glad they ended up releasing this report.

[ColbertWatcher]

6. "I am glad they ended up releasing this report." I am too.

But, like all other follow-ups to the initial story it will get less coverage.

[pnwmom]

7. Thanks, uppityperson! K & R. n/t

[Disturbed]

8. Will any of the men in this Cult be prosecuted?

I doubt it.

[pnwmom]

10. Several of them are being prosecuted right now.

Whether they will serve time is anyone's guess.

[Hydra]

9. This is a good step

But I'm surprised the numbers aren't higher- when they took the kids in originally, they reported signs of physical abuse such as badly healed broken bones and such. No mention of that here...and only 12 married off early? Then again, that may be the only ones they can conclusively prove.

[pnwmom]

11. It was a lot more than 12 when you include 16 year olds -- who are

still too young to have been involved in these relationships.