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tulsad Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:51 pm
Texas ups tally of teen moms from FLDS polygamous sect Article Last Updated: 04/29/2008 09:55:03 AM MDT A Texas child welfare spokesman said Monday that more than half the teenage girls taken from a polygamous sect's ranch are pregnant or mothers - a new tally that includes women whose ages were previously disputed. Child Protective Services spokesman Darrell Azar said 31 of 53 girls ages 14 to 17 have children, are pregnant or both. "This includes that group of girls that once claimed they were 18 or older," he said. "It was determined they were not adults." He said some women acknowledged being younger and the age of others was determined by their attorneys or by looking at the women. "I have seen them myself," he said, "and I don't see any that look like an adult to me." Azar said he did not know how many girls are pregnant, but said it is a small number. CPS has previously said that three teenagers are pregnant. Salt Lake attorney Rod Parker, a spokesman for the FLDS, said that of the three, one teenager refused to take a pregnancy test, one is 18 and the other is 17. He also contends that the state's new count includes 17 adult women who are being classified as minors. "Beyond that I am unable to verify the information because the Texas Rangers took all the records that might be useful in responding to this," Parker said. Two attorneys with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), which represents 48 mothers, challenged the "eyeball" test CPS used to separate minors from adults. "My clients told us they were put in a line and looked at," said Julie Balovich. "So I know that is how some of the numbers happened." The tally of women and children has changed almost daily over the past three weeks, following a raid on the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado. The ranch is owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect traditionally based in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Texas officials removed the children from the sect because of what they describe as a "pervasive pattern" of requiring underage girls to "spiritually" marry much older men and become mothers. Amanda Chisholm, who also works for TRLA, said she would be surprised if the actual number of teenage girls who are pregnant or mothers is "anywhere near that high." "Until we can get numbers of how many of these women dispute the age CPS is attributing to them I wouldn't rely on any of the figures that [the state] gives out," Chisholm said. TRLA attorney Julie Balovich said one woman now deemed to be a teenager is a 24-year-old woman who is pregnant. FLDS member Willie Jessop contends the state's tally also includes a 28-year-old whom the state has listed as being 17. "Do we correct it and get out the girls who are overage when the minute they do that, they forfeit their children?" he asked. "CPS has had a very difficult time being accurate with any of the numbers and this number is the most outrageous yet." Chisholm agreed that some women may be claiming to be minors in order to stay with their children, since CPS is only allowing mothers breast-feeding infants 12 months or younger or who are teenagers to remain in shelters. "I don't know if people are doing that but would understand why they might," she said. Azar rebutted the critics, saying CPS has had to counter many erroneous claims. "The simple truth is there is a steady flow of misinformation, which is often the case when people who may have abused children, and those who never stepped in to protect them, try to discredit those who move to protect [the children]," Azar said. Azar said the state has custody of 463 children, a group that includes minor mothers and their children. In addition, 17 adult mothers have been allowed to stay with infants 12 months or younger who were nursing. The state moved the FLDS children to group homes and shelters throughout Texas last week. Azar said that six children remain in area hospitals, where they are being treated for illnesses such as ear infections. Three other children were treated and released. TRLA praised CPS on Monday for setting up a supervised visiting schedule for parents whose children are being treated at Shannon West Texas Memorial Hospital. Azar said all children are accounted for and caseworkers each have been assigned 15 children to represent. Arrangements also are being made that will allow mothers to visit their children while in foster care, he said. Some attorneys representing children said Monday they were having difficulty getting information about their clients or the caseworkers and guardian ad litems assigned to them. Azar said that will improve now. "The ad litems have been frustrated and that is certainly understandable," he said. Dallas attorney Polly R. O'Toole said she visited two facilities on Monday: Boysville Inc., which has 17 FLDS children; and Baptist Children's Residential Emergency Shelter, which has 71. Staff at the facilities are "generous, caring and concerned" but also complained about the lack of information and direction from CPS, she said. She also said that, contrary to a courtroom pledge by CPS, sibling groups have been split up. Eight children from one monogamous family have been sent to five different shelters, she said. Another little girl is in a shelter an hour away from the group home where her sisters are, O'Toole said. Azar acknowledged the state had broken up sibling groups but said officials were working to reunite at least some of them. He said making placements was difficult given that the "children don't even want to answer you what their name is and where they feel everyone is their brother and sister." During a court hearing two weeks ago, a CPS investigator said the agency had identified one teenager who was pregnant and four others were mothers. She also spoke of a list of 20 minors and young women who conceived their first child between the ages of 13 and 16. According to that CPS document, one woman was 13 when she conceived a child who was born in 1997; another was 14 when she conceived a child born in 2000. But the document also lists a woman who was 23 when she gave birth in 2006. http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_9091635		Sparkly Tree Joined: 19 Aug 2006 Posts: 10139



tulsad Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:53 pm
New Technique To Determine The Age Of Immigrant Minors New Technique To Determine The Age Of Immigrant Minors Through Ribs And Teeth ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2007) — University of Granada (UGR) researchers at the Laboratory of Anthropology have devised a new technique to determine the age of living subjects using chest and dental x-rays. This is of special interest in the case of alleged illegal minors, since this technique will make it possible to determine the age of an individual by analysing the x-rays of their bones, when used in legal medicine. For the study, UGR researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of 123 digital postero-anterior chest x-rays and 742 digital ortopantomographies, using the “Image J” computer programme, which analyzes digital x-rays. In radiology, what is the maturation rate of specific anatomical bone structures? The research carried out at the UGR aimed at answering this question. “In this particular case we have focused on the hyoid bone, the proximal clavicular epiphysis, the costal cartilage of the first rib, degenerative parameters of clavicle joints, certain abnormalities of the clavicle (conoid tubercle and the floor of the fourth ventricle) and cortical calvicular indicators,” stated Pedro Manuel Garamendi González. The study was carried out by Dr. Pedro Manuel Garamendi González and directed by professors Miguel Botella López, and Inmaculada Alemán Aguilera. Better than other techniques The results of the project are of great interest for the legal medical practice, since they show the relative limits of current methods, nonetheless widely used and acknowledged by international study groups, such us the AGFAD (German group on age diagnostics). For instance, the fusion of the proximal epiphysis of the clavicle to diagnose ages of up to 21 years or the fusion of the greater horn of the hyoid to determine ages over 30 years are some of the methods applied by professionals. The conclusions of the research carried out by the UGR suggest that it is impossible to establish the age of a subject by solely looking at the greater horn of the hyoid bone because it may or may not be fused (as part of the normal ageing process). When dealing with autopsy cases of strangulation and hanging (where hyoid bone fractures are likely to appear), it is advisable to always carry out a cervical x-ray in order to avoid errors in the differential diagnosis with pre-mortem and post-mortem fractures and non-fusion states. More criteria for diagnosis In the diagnosis of age in living subjects, the project considers new criteria with a sound scientific base and legal certainty. For instance, the use of the costal cartilage of the first rib has been suggested as a key factor in determining the age of individuals over 21 years. The study opens the door to new research lines on age diagnosis based on the analysis of both the acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular joints using more appropriate image techniques. A general assessment of the research parameters shows that, due to their technical features, the use of digital x-rays is not the most adequate method to be applied in Anthropologic research which will be based on metric measures. “Nevertheless, digital x-rays are appropriate for determining osteologic features of important bone areas in x-ray studies within the field of Physical Anthropology,” conclude the authors of the study. Some of the research results have already been published in the magazine Notes on Forensic Medicine. Adapted from materials provided by Universidad de Granada. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071106101204.htm		Sparkly Tree Joined: 19 Aug 2006 Posts: 10139



tulsad Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:55 pm
Age determination by magnetic resonance imaging of the wrist in adolescent male football players British Journal of Sports Medicine 2007 Background: In football there are established age-related tournaments for males and females to guarantee equal chances within the game for all the different age groups. To prevent participation in the incorrect age group, and owing to the fact that in some Asian and African countries registration at birth is not compulsory, other methods of age determination need to be available. Standard radiographs of the left wrist have been used for assessment of skeletal age for many years. This is, however, not ethical in the sporting environment. Aim: To study the possible use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which has no radiation risk, in estimating the age of healthy adolescent football players. Methods: The examination protocol was applied in four countries using, their respective MRI equipment using a 1-T or 1.5-T magnet and a wrist coil. 496 healthy male adolescent football players between the ages of 14 and 19 years from Switzerland, Malaysia, Algeria and Argentina were selected for the study. The degree of fusion of the left distal radial physis was determined by three independent raters by a newly developed grading system which can be used in future MRI epiphysial fusion grading studies. Results: The inter-rater reliability for grading was high (r = 0.91 and 0.92); all correlations were highly significant (p<0.001). The average age increased with a higher grading of fusion, and the correlation between age and grade of fusion was highly significant (r = 0.69, p<0.001). Only one player (0.8%) in the 16-year-old age group was graded as completely fused. Conclusion: MRI of the wrist offers an alternative as a non-invasive method of age determination in 14–19-year-old male adolescents. The grading system presented here clearly identifies the skeletal maturity by complete fusion in all MRI slices, which eliminates any risk associated with standard radiographic rating as determined by the International Atomic Energy Agency. http://bjsm.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/1/45		Sparkly Tree Joined: 19 Aug 2006 Posts: 10139



PerryPeabody Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:30 pm
CPS: 41 children taken from sect compound had bone fractures By JOHN MORITZjmoritz@star-telegram.com AUSTIN -- At least 41 children taken from the polygamist compound in West Texas had suffered bone fractures, some of them multiple times, which suggested a pattern of child abuse, the head of the state’s Child Protective Services told a legislative panel Wednesday morning. Carey Cockerell, commissioner of the agency that oversees the agency tasked with providing emergency care for youngsters at risk of abuse, said that the monthlong inquiry that followed the seizure of more than 460 children from the Yearning For Zion Ranch near Eldorado has been hampered by a lack of cooperation from both children and adults at the compound. "This is the largest removal of children in Texas history by Child Protective Services," Cockerell told the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. Since the state took custody of the children, many of whom had children of their own or were pregnant, officials have encountered difficulty determining their parentage. Court-ordered DNA testing is ongoing to assist in that effort. But Cockerell told the committee chaired by Lewisville Republican Jane Nelson that both the younger children and those who might be mothers of those children have systematically attempted to mislead investigators and caregivers. Wristbands used to identify children have been tampered with, several women have claimed to be the mother of the same children and women have shared in the breast-feeding duties of the same children, Cockerell said. To avoid jeopardizing the complex investigation into the allegations of widespread abuse at the ranch operated by the breakaway Mormon sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, or FDLS, Nelson instructed committee members to withhold public questions. Cockerell, who said he has made on-site inspections of the children while they were housed in an arena in San Angelo, attempted to assure the panel that children have received topflight care while in state custody. Many have since been reassigned to licensed foster care facilities. The children have been given ample facilities for recreation, clothing and food that conform with their religious beliefs and access to some educational materials. Cockerell complimented the sensitivity of the range of officials who have been assigned to the case. "It was interesting to see DPS troopers in uniform playing kickball and pitch with these children," he said. Child Protective Services is beefing up its caseworker staff to handle the influx of children from the compound as well as its legal staff to handle the ongoing challenge by the sect for the long-term custody of the children, Cockerell said. http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/614024.html		Joined: 24 Mar 2006 Posts: 1137



Mariah Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:36 pm
Texas officials looking at possible abuse among FLDS boys AUSTIN, Texas - Texas officials told legislators Wednesday that they're investigating the possible sexual abuse of some young boys taken from a polygamist sect's ranch, as well as broken bones among other children. ADVERTISEMENT The disclosures are the first suggestions that anyone other than teenage girls may have been sexually or physically abused at the ranch run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a renegade Mormon sect. In written and oral testimony provided to lawmakers Wednesday, officials with the state Department of Family and Protective Services said interviews and journal entries suggested that boys may have been sexually abused. Earlier, the department's commissioner, Carey Cockerell, told lawmakers that at least 41 children, some of them "very young," have evidence of broken bones. The state has custody of 464 children from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in the west Texas prairie town of Eldorado, including a baby born to a teen mother Tuesday. Although Cockerell didn't elaborate on the broken bones, a report by his department's Child Protective Services division said medical exams and interviews indicated "that at least 41 children have had broken bones in the past." "We do not have X-rays or complete medical information on many children so it is too early to draw any conclusions based on this information, but it is cause for concern and something we'll continue to examine," the CPS report said. The state Senate Health and Human Services Committee's hearing on Texas' foster care system had been planned for Wednesday before the April 3 raid on the ranch. But for the morning part of the hearing, the polygamous sect took center stage. The state has been criticized for taking all the children from the ranch, including infants and boys, on the theory that the girls may be abused when they are teens. State authorities raided the ranch in search of evidence of underage girls being forced into polygamous marriages. Since then, the state won temporary custody of the children, now scattered around the state in group foster-care facilities. FLDS spokesman Rod Parker called Cockerell's testimony "a deliberate effort to mislead the public." Although the ranch has a small medical facility, Parker said any broken bones would have been treated away from the ranch and that doctors are required to report suspected abuse. Parker said state officials were "trying to politically inoculate themselves from the consequences of this horrible tragedy." Cockerell told a legislative committee the investigation has been difficult because members of the church have refused to cooperate. Mothers who stayed with their children for two weeks after the raid launched a coordinated effort to stymie investigators, coaching their children to not answer questions, Cockerell said. He said the women and children would gather into apparent family units, with the children referring to several women as their mother, then the "women switched children in these family units ... making it difficult." "When asked, women and children would change their names and ages," he said. The CPS report also said authorities "tried to use bracelets to identify children, but the women and children removed the bracelets or rubbed the wording off them." The report also said mothers at first refused to let the children undergo basic health screenings and that "many" teen girls declined to take pregnancy tests. On Monday, CPS announced that almost 60 percent of the underage girls living on the Eldorado ranch are pregnant or already have children. 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 none of the sect's girls is believed to have had a legal marriage under state law. Church officials have denied that any children were abused at the ranch and say the state's actions are a form of religious persecution. They also dispute the count of teen mothers, saying at least some are likely adults. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_on_re_us/polygamist_retreat		Joined: 24 Mar 2006 Posts: 1150



Tonk Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:57 pm
DFPS Provides Senate Committee With Eldorado Update The Department of Family and Protective Services provided the Senate Health and Human Services Committee with an update Wednesday, April 30, 2008 on the children removed from an Eldorado ranch. The update included information about some of the key challenges for investigators, the findings to date, and the care of the children. Challenge in determining family relationships One of the many challenges that makes these cases unique is that we don’t have any degree of certainty about the identities of the parents of children in our care. * The women who left the ranch with the children have given multiple names and ages for themselves and the children. In addition, information provided by the women about which children were theirs and other family relationships changed frequently. * The stories about family relationships continued to change as we loaded buses to move children around the state. We placed the children according to the latest information the women had provided about sibling groups and mother-child relationships. As the buses were loaded, there were instances where women came forward with different information. In one case, a minor who previously had said she didn’t have children begged not to be separated from her baby. We were able to place the girl with her child. * Cultural issues have made it difficult for children to provide information about their biological parents. The women share parenting duties. They care for, console, discipline and breast feed each other’s children. When we ask a child who his mother is, he will tell us several names because the children think of all the women in a house as their mothers and all the children are considered their siblings * Based on interviews with the children, we have reason to believe that some of the children in our care do not have parents at the Eldorado ranch. * Court-ordered DNA tests will be used to determine the family relationships. Challenge in getting information These children have been taught to fear those outside their community, and that complicates the investigation and interview process. * In both San Angelo shelters, we tried to use bracelets to identify children, but the women and children removed the bracelets or rubbed the wording off them. * Women initially refused to let the children undergo basic health screenings, and many teen girls declined to take pregnancy tests. * When children tried to talk, women and older children often told them not to speak or coached them on what to say. Cause for concern The very first interviews with underage girls at the ranch revealed a pattern of underage girls being “spiritually united” with adult men and having children with the men. Investigators also observed a pattern of deception in those first interviews. Women and children frequently said they could not answer questions about the ages of girls or family relationships. Children were moved from location to location in an apparent attempt to prevent investigators from talking to them. Investigators observed numerous girls who had small children, and girls told us that marriages could occur at any age. When an investigator asked one girl how old she was, she looked at her husband. “You’re 18,” he said. She then answered that she was 18. Other school-aged children and teens would provide only first names and said they didn’t know their birthdates or had been told by their parents not to answer questions. The investigation is still in its early phases, but we have gathered additional information that is cause for concern: * There are 27 girls who have indicated that they are 14 to 17 years old. There are an additional 26 girls who have provided conflicting information about their ages, at some points indicating they are minors and at other times saying they are adults. Of these 53 girls, more than 30 have children, are pregnant, or both. Six of these girls have two children, and two have three children. * Medical exams and reports by the children indicate that at least 41 children have had broken bones in the past. We do not have X-rays or complete medical information on many children so it is too early to draw any conclusions based on this information, but it is cause for concern and something we’ll continue to examine. * Based on interviews with the children and journal entries found at the ranch, we are continuing to look into the possible sexual abuse of some young boys. Care of the children DFPS has moved all of the children into licensed residential foster care. Minor mothers and their children are being kept together, and other girls are staying in groups with their sisters. We have provided caregivers with information about the lifestyles of the children, including their dietary needs and the clothing they wear. Adult women have been allowed to stay with children who are 12 months old or younger. We found placements for 17 mothers and their infant children. All other adult women who left the ranch with the children were given the option of returning to the ranch or going to a women’s shelter. Boys ages 8 and older are being kept together. Two boys have turned 18 while in the state’s custody and have chosen to remain in the state’s care. http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-30_Eldorado_Senate.asp		Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 922 Location: pray for rain



Tonk Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:38 pm
Sect's doctor mum about ranch clinic By TRISH CHOATE, Staff writer Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Eldorado FLDS Here's what's known about Dr. Lloyd H. Barlow: * He's licensed to practice medicine in Utah, in Arizona and - since June 2005 - in Texas. * He has no disciplinary actions against him in the states in which he's licensed to practice. * He operates a medical clinic at the YFZ Ranch of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. What's not yet known is whether he has any knowledge that could deny or confirm allegations of widespread forced marriage and sexual abuse of children at the ranch. "There are certainly many allegations that are floating around," the family practice physician said in a recent phone interview. "And we're reaching out to let the truth be known, but it needs to come through the appropriate channels." The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners lists Barlow's address as the compound where authorities removed more than 450 children in a dayslong raid beginning April 3. Texas Rangers, other law-enforcement officers and Child Protective Services launched investigations after allegations arose of forced underage "marriages" and child sexual abuse at the ranch. Barlow operates a medical clinic there, according to an affidavit submitted by Texas Ranger Sgt. Leslie Brooks Long. "It is nothing more than what you would expect in a rural town," Barlow said. Barlow, a sect member, declined to go into detail about medical facilities on the ranch or respond directly to other questions without a lawyer present, such as whether he witnessed child abuse. University of Texas family law professor John Sampson said he thinks what's at stake is that a number of young women may have been sexually abused. "The people who stand by and allow that are also guilty of offenses," Sampson said. A physician has a heightened duty to report suspected child abuse under Texas law, he said. Professionals must report it to authorities within 48 hours. Anyone who suspects but doesn't report child abuse can be held liable for a Class B misdemeanor, according to the Department of Family and Protective Services. A Class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine up to $2,000. Barlow has no disciplinary actions listed against him in any of the three states in which he's licensed. The question of whether complaints are filed against a physician with the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, or whether the physician was investigated in the past or is the subject of an open investigation isn't public record, said Jill Wiggins, agency spokeswoman. Complaints only become public when the state takes action against a physician as a result of a complaint. Likewise, Barlow said, public records would show whether births have taken place at the ranch. He also did not want to elaborate about that issue without a lawyer present. Births are supposed to be registered in the county in which an infant is born, and, basically, whoever delivers the baby is responsible for the registration, state and local officials said. Two births from a ranch mother or mothers are registered in Schleicher County, according to the Schleicher County Clerk's Office. The Tom Green County Clerk's Office declined to comment on whether its rolls reflect births from sect mothers. By late last week, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services had not requested the Department of State Health Services check for birth certificates for children removed from the ranch, said Doug McBride, a health services department spokesman. All the ranch children weren't born in Texas, and officials felt there would be no official birth records for those who were born in the state, McBride said. "Early indications are that there were no birth records," he said. In May 1995, Barlow graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine at Salt Lake City. Then he completed an internship in internal medicine June 23, 1996. Barlow also served a three-year residency in family-practice medicine at the University of Utah, completed in 1999. He is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. Healthgrades.com, a commercial physician-credentialing firm, lists a Hildale, Utah, address for Barlow. He has practiced in Utah, he said. The FLDS home base is the "Short Creek" area, including the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Authorities have thoroughly questioned the FLDS community at the ranch, Barlow said when asked whether Texas Rangers have interviewed him. "You can know that they came in with a blanket and threw it over everyone," he said. "We just don't know what their true allegations are on an individual basis." Whatever the accusations are, they don't apply to every sect member, Barlow said. Child Protective Services officials said they suspect a persistent pattern of child sexual abuse that puts even the youngest YFZ Ranch children in danger of eventually becoming victims or perpetrators. "It's been a struggle where we're guilty until proven innocent," Barlow said. The last bus carrying FLDS children to foster care facilities across Texas left the San Angelo Coliseum on Friday. Barlow said he has "met many kind and courteous people" who feel that what the state is doing is wrong, but they can't go against an order from above. After a massive two-day hearing involving hundreds of lawyers, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther determined the sect children should stay in state custody. She is to conduct individual follow-up hearings regarding custody that must be completed by June 5. "It's been kind of a struggle to get court time for our lawyers to be heard," Barlow said. But sect members understand the logistics of the court proceedings, he said. Barlow expressed gratitude toward doctors, nurses, technicians and other members of the medical community in Eldorado, San Angelo and elsewhere whom he has encountered. "I have been touched with their kindness long before this issue," he said. "Medical care is not just what they do to you but how they approach it." A weeklong raid began on the ranch after a San Angelo domestic violence shelter received calls from a person who said she was 16, and also the mother of an 8-month old child and the victim of abuse from the man who was her "husband." Authorities have not been able to find the girl among the hundreds of children taken from the ranch. Scripps Howard News Service reporter Lee Bowman contributed to this report. http://gosanangelo.com/news/2008/apr/30/sects-doctor-mum-about-ranch-clinic/		Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 922 Location: pray for rain



Myra Manes Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 3:44 pm
April 30, 2008, 12:28AM Teen from polygamist sect gives birth to a boy By TERRI LANGFORD and LISA SANDBERG One of the teenage mothers taken from a polygamist group's compound earlier this month gave birth on Tuesday to a boy at a San Marcos hospital while state police stood guard outside the maternity ward. The girl was taken to Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos, according to Rod Parker, spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Texas Child Protective Services confirmed that the girl gave birth to the boy at about noon. "The boy is healthy and the mother is doing well," agency spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said. She added that the teen would remain in CPS custody together with her infant. "In some instances, CPS will place a newborn with the mother in cases in which a pregnant teen is removed during an investigation of alleged sexual abuse. This ensures the safety of both mother and child," Meisner said. Parker contends the girl is 18, but state officials have her on a list of the 463 minors seized three weeks ago from the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado in West Texas. The children were taken amid allegations that underage girls were being "spiritually" married to older men and sexually abused. Meanwhile, Parker and attorneys for the some of the parents went on the offensive again Tuesday, disputing the state's contention that they have in custody 31 underage girls who are pregnant, have children or both. "I don't have any confidence in that number at all," Parker said. "I think CPS is misleading the state to make it appear that the issue of underage mothers is more prevalent than it actually is because it helps them in their PR (public relations) campaign." Parker said he could not rule out that underage sex occurred at the ranch, but he believed it was not commonplace. He said he knew of numerous instances in which CPS labeled adults minors, blatantly ignoring birth certificates. "They decided by looking at people that they're minors rather than looking at birth certificates," he said. On Monday, a spokesman for the state's Department of Family and Protective Services said 31 of the 53 girls taken from the ranch who were ages 14 to 17 had given birth, were pregnant, or both. Spokesman Darrell Azar said agency investigators used a variety of methods to conclude that the 31 females were sexually abused teens: interviews with the girls, information provided by their attorneys, caseworker observation, and documentation. When birth certificates were provided, investigators could not always take them at face value; few were official, Azar said. Azar said 26 of the 31 teens originally told authorities they were adults, then acknowledged they were minors. Cynthia Martinez, a spokeswoman for Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, which is representing 48 of the sect's mothers, said the state gave adult moms a terrible choice: Tell the truth, or lose temporary custody of your children. "CPS has said if you're a minor and had children, you'll be allowed to remain with them. So there's an incentive to go ahead and say, 'I'm a minor,' even when they're not," she said. The FLDS is a breakaway Mormon sect which believes polygamy brings heavenly rewards. On May 19, judges will began hearing the children's individual cases and determine whether CPS will continue to keep them in foster care. It wasn't clear Tuesday where the new mom and her infant would be placed once they left the hospital. The girl's attorney, Natalie Malonis, said she could not offer any details. "As far as her health is concerned, I can't comment," Malonis said. The girl has another child who is in CPS custody. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/5739983.html		Banned Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 5742 Location: Puckered Up AssHole



Tonk Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 8:05 pm
udge orders FLDS newborn into state custody BY MICHELLE ROBERTS ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERS 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 and based on a bishop's record used during the custody hearing two weeks ago, she would be 18 now. 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 claiming to be 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. According to bishop's records filled out in March 2007 by heads of household at the ranch, there were eight wives under the age of 18 listed in 35 households. Several entries omitted ages of wives, however. 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 sect are not believed to have legal marriages. FLDS spokesman Rod Parker did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Thursday. The bishop's records released Thursday were used by CPS to demonstrate a pattern of abuse justifying the removal of all FLDS children in a hearing two weeks ago. The records indicate that about two-thirds of the ranch's households were polygamous while the others were young couples or traditional nuclear families. Several family lists included dozens of wives and children, including one that listed 21 wives ranging in age from 24 to 79 for a 67-year-old man. FLDS is a breakaway sect of the mainline Mormon church, which disavowed polygamy more than a century ago. http://www.star-telegram.com/448/story/618283.html		Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 922 Location: pray for rain



SavannahStar Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 4:38 pm
LKL interview with Dr. Phil on the subject of this case: King: Let's turn to the polygamy matter. If the allegations of abuse are true, do you see any problem with all of these children in foster care? McGraw: I see huge problems with it, Larry. I think we're in a situation here that there is not necessarily a good option. Now, think about this: there are only a certain number of these children that were believed to be at risk. But, yet, all of the children were taken out and put into foster care. Now, I've said this before, the statistics tell us that 73 percent of all children that go into foster care wind up on the street or in jail. So, that means that if you apply those numbers to these 416 children, 304 of them would be predicted to wind up on the street or in jail. Is that a good alternative? And I don't think it is. And I don't think that it makes sense to take all of the children out of this situation without doing a case-by-case study, to see which one of these children are at risk and which ones are not. Now, clearly, the principles that seem to govern the FLDS would be imminent danger for these children. But somehow or another, you have to figure a way to train these people, create an open door policy, get monitoring, get access and try to get these children back with their biological mothers, but with protection, and monitoring. King: What do you think of the adult mothers? McGraw: Well, at this point, so many of these mothers, Larry, grew up in this religious sect. So, they know nothing else. I mean, people say they look strange, because they walk around in kind of "Little House on the Prairie" type garb. They have unusual hair. They speak in very monotonic, scripted ways. This is all these women know. So many of them were born in this sect. All they have been exposed to are the forces, values and treatment that is indigenous to this sect. So, they don't know anything else. And they have been told that you, me, everybody on the outside world constitutes evil threats. So, at this point, I'm sure they're in a state of confusion. But it doesn't mean that they can't learn, that they can't be willing to adhere to some other guidelines. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But some dialogue has to take place here. http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/02/lkl.dr.phil/index.html?iref=mpstoryview		SuperStar Joined: 24 Mar 2006 Posts: 21301 Location: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil



tulsad Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 8:35 pm
What is Brittle Bone Disease? Brittle bone disease is more commonly known as osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). It is a rare, usually inherited disorder that causes bones to break easily due to the body’s low production of collagen. There are six different types of brittle bone disease. The last two types, Type V and Type VI have been recently identified, and many articles refer to only four different types. The type of brittle bone disease indicates the degree to which the condition may impact one’s life. While some people are severely affected by brittle bone disease, others are able to live a relatively normal life. Low levels of collagen characterize Type I brittle bone disease. This type is the most frequently occurring and the least severe. Bones are likely to break easily before the onset of puberty. As well, those with Type I are prone to scoliosis, extreme curvature of the spine, and may need to wear a brace as teenagers to correct the curve. Those with Type I brittle bone disease may also have poor muscle tone, be subject to early loss of hearing, and may show discoloration in the whites of their eyes. Joints may be loosened, causing some lack of coordination, resulting in easier breakage. Type II brittle bone disease is extremely severe, with most affected children dying before age one. The bones are usually severely deformed and lung development is not normal. Respiratory infections are the primary cause of death in this type. Type III, conversely, allows the body to produce enough collagen, but the collagen is of poorer quality. This type of brittle bone disease is progressive, with few symptoms shown in babies. As the child ages however, symptoms like those of Type I begin to emerge. Generally, severity increases with age creating significant deformity and disability. People with Type III may have a normal lifespan, but their life will be significantly impacted by progression of the disease. Type IV brittle bone disease is also characterized by poor quality collagen but tends to be a milder form. Bone breakage is common before adolescence, like in Type I. In fact the disease follows an almost identical course to Type I. The differentiation is that Type I is caused by insufficient collagen, while Type IV is caused by sufficient collagen of poor quality. Type V and Type VI are used to describe the way the bones develop, and are both basically subsets of Type IV. Type V brittle bone disease usually causes the bones to resemble meshing or webs. These imperfections result in easier breakage. In Type VI brittle bone disease, the bones appear to be scaled. Brittle bone disease has no cure, so treatment aims toward reducing breakages and deformation. In Type I and Type IV, the bones appear to be more vulnerable to breakage during growth spurts, and breakages occur with even the simplest of injuries. Physical therapists work with children to help them build muscle tone to protect bones. Some patients undergo surgery to fuse the spine, which may help with posture and reduce curvature. However, bones are often so fragile that this surgery is quite risky. Children with brittle bone disease often are afraid of trying new things because of the fear of painful breaks and injuries. Frequently, psychotherapy is used to address this fear. Physical therapists may also work with children to help them try out new positions in a safe environment. The condition can be difficult for all members of the family, and support groups can be of great help. There are OI Foundations in Europe, the US and Australia that can help guide families toward support and information regarding this challenging illness. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-brittle-bone-disease.htm		Sparkly Tree Joined: 19 Aug 2006 Posts: 10139



Tonk Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 8:56 pm
Trial Exhibit: Bishops Records (handwritten records listing household members and ages) http://web.gosanangelo.com/pdf/BishopsList.pdf		Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 922 Location: pray for rain



Tonk Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 9:45 pm
		Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 922 Location: pray for rain



Tonk Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 9:48 pm
Model for Care for Children from YFZ http://tinyurl.com/4xjr8m		Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 922 Location: pray for rain



Tonk Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 9:54 pm
Overview of the Investigation – Eldorado, Texas As of April 28, 2008 Chronology and Status Report March 29-31 Over the weekend, a 16 year-old girl called a domestic violence shelter and reported that she had been sexually and physically abused in the past by her 49-year old “husband.” The girl reported living at the YFZ (Yearn for Zion) Ranch, an outpost of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in Eldorado, Texas. The shelter called in a report to SWI (Statewide Intake), the CPS Hotline, and CPS investigators were assigned to the case. CPS contacted law enforcement and began working closely with the Department of Public Safety (DPS), the sheriff’s office, the courts and other local officials. Thursday, April 3 The Texas Rangers determined the timing of entering the compound, and late Thursday afternoon, law enforcement entered the compound. Once it was secured CPS investigators entered and began interviewing residents and children. CPS investigators were at the compound all night and into Friday. Friday, April 4 CPS took temporary legal custody of 18 girls (ages 6 months to 17 years) after investigators concluded they had been abused or were in imminent risk of future abuse. Thirty-four other girls were transported from the compound to a civic center in Eldorado for further questioning to determine if they had been abused or were at risk of abuse. That evening, another 85 children, and 46 adult women who wanted to accompany the children, were transported to the civic center. Saturday, April 5 CPS continued interviewing the children at the civic center and the compound. CPS called upon 15 more special investigators from around the state to assist. The Governor’s Division of Emergency Management dispatched its Regional Incident Coordinator to the scene, activated the mass care plan, and began arranging for a larger shelter in San Angelo. Sunday, April 6 All children and adults at shelters in Eldorado were moved to a centralized shelter in at the Ft. Concho complex in San Angelo. Including new arrivals from the FLDS compound there were 246 children and 93 women in DFPS care. CPS continued to work with law enforcement to locate children at the compound and bring them to the shelters in San Angelo. Monday, April 7 District Judge Barbara Walthers granted DFPS temporary legal custody of all 401 the children in the shelter in San Angelo, after it was concluded that some of these children had been sexually and physically abused and the rest are at risk of abuse if returned to their homes at this time. An adversarial hearing was set for April 17, 2008 to determine if the children should remain in DFPS conservatorship. The HHSC, DFPS, and STAR Health program have been working to provide for all the medical and psychological needs of these children. Arrangements were being made for medical evaluations, counseling, and whatever treatment is appropriate. DFPS began working to locate longer term foster care living arrangements to provide the children more structure and stability. The temporary shelter at the Fort Concho complex in San Angelo is near capacity. Tuesday, April 8, 2008 CPS involvement in the operation at the compound itself is over. All the children who were living on the FLDS compound are now in CPS care. 15 more children were transported to the shelter last night, bringing the total number of children in state custody to 416 children. 139 women are at the shelters. DFPS has now moved into the legal stage of this case. Another shelter was opened in San Angelo and more than 100 children were moved into it in order to better meet their needs. Wednesday, April 9, 2008 DFPS and other state agencies continued to work to supervise and provide for the needs of 416 children who removed from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints compound and placed in state custody. All the children, and 139 adult women, were housed in several shelters in San Angelo. The Department of State Health Services is coordinating medical and mental health services for the children. Health clinics and screenings are being held. 12 cases of chicken pox were identified and those children and their families were isolated. They contracted the virus before arriving in state custody. So far the screenings indicate that the physical and mental health of the children is generally good. Friday, April 11, 2008 Judge Barbara Walther ordered DFPS to keep all 416 children removed from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints compound in the San Angelo area until a hearing on April 17, 2008. Therefore, no children will be placed into foster care before the hearing and all will remain in shelters. A number of state agencies are working together to make all the children as comfortable as possible, and to meet all their physical, medical and psychology needs while they are in San Angelo. Including 139 women who are companying the children, the state is providing for 555 people in shelters at this time. APRIL 12-13 Judge Barbara Walther ordered DFPS to confiscate the cell phones of the 139 women to prevent witnesses tampering and interference with the legal process. The women and children are being housed in a collection of nearby shelters. They are all being provided wholesome food, a place to sleep, personal items they need, and medical care by a team of doctors and mental health professionals. A number of the children arrived at the shelters already suffering from a variety of illnesses including chicken pox, upper respiratory infections, ear infections, etc. Each is receiving the appropriate medical care. MONDAY, APRIL 14 The children have been moved to a single large shelter at the San Angelo Coliseum, which provides more room and facilities for guests. With permission from Judge Barbara Walther, DFPS moved about two dozen teenage boys to a facility outside the area. Adult women with very young children were provided the opportunity to remain at the shelter. The other women were given the choice to return to the Eldorado compound or to a safe place. This decision to separate the children was not made by CPS alone. DFPS sought counsel from the attorneys of the children, mental health professionals and others. The judge concurred that a partial separation is in the best interest of the children at this time. TUESDAY, APRIL 15 Every step taken by CPS and the court has been done with the goal of doing what is best for the children, getting to the truth, and stopping abuse. Children in the Coliseum and pavilion are adapting well to their new surroundings. About 400 women and children under the age of 5 are housed in the San Angelo Coliseum. About 100 older children are in the adjacent Wells Fargo Pavilion. About two dozen teenage boys are being housed in a licensed foster care facility outside the immediate area. Wednesday, April 16 Several hundred attorneys were on-site visiting with the women and children in preparation for the adversary hearing tomorrow morning. Space was provided for attorney ad litems to meet with children and for the women’s lawyers to meet with their clients. In addition to the busy day of attorney meetings, recreational and educational opportunities were added for the children. A recreational program has been developed that includes a train to take the children to play inside the football stadium on the coliseum grounds. In addition, the San Angelo ISD sent teachers to offer educational projects including music and physical education. Dozens of provider staff voluntarily traveled to San Angelo to assist with staffing the shelters. DFPS is grateful for the expertise and assistance provider staff have been giving. Thursday, April 17 At 9:00 a.m. this morning, the court case hearing began under the jurisdiction of Judge Barbara Walther at the San Angelo Courthouse. The hearing concluded at approximately 9 p.m., with proceedings set to resume at 9:30 a.m. the next morning. Friday, April 18 Judge Barbara Walther ordered the children removed from the Eldorado FLDS ranch to remain in the temporary custody of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. She also ordered maternity and paternity testing for each child and stated that individual status hearings for children will begin on June 5, 2008. As CPS moves forward with placing these children temporarily in licensed residential child care, staff are continuing to keep the health and safety of the children as the top priority. CPS staff will aim to complete thorough investigations and DSHS staff will continue to provide the physical and mental health services they need. Per court order, DFPS will begin coordinating efforts to identify the biological mother and father of each child. This isn’t the end of the legal process or a final determination on the custody of the children. Throughout this process, each child will have several people who are looking out for his or her best interests. The children will have court-appointed special advocates and attorneys who will monitor their child’s care and progress and report back to the court. DFPS will work with them, the parents, and the judge to make the best decisions for the long-term health and safety of the children. April 19-20 The Texas Attorney General’s Office is arranging for DNA testing for all the children. On Monday, teams will begin collecting DNA swabs to comply with court-ordered paternity and maternity testing, including testing children and women in the shelters, men and women at the compound, and boys already residing at a residential facility. It will take several days to collect all the samples. Once the samples are collected DFPS will begin placing children in foster care. Monday, April 21, 2008 DNA testing began today with children in the pavilion and then the women and children in the coliseum later in the afternoon. CPS explained the process to the children and phones were made available for children and women to contact their attorneys if they wanted to discuss the testing or any other issue prior to consenting. The testing went very well. Tuesday, April 22, 2008 Today a team of DNA testers were in Eldorado to collect samples from anyone who claimed to be a parent of any of the children. In coordination with the Department of Public Safety, DFPS began moving additional children into foster placements as DNA testing was completed and placements were finalized. To ease the transition from the shelters to licensed placements, DFPS has made considerable effort to ensure teenage girls will be placed together, pregnant minors and minors with young children will be placed together, and as much as possible sibling groups will be placed together. So far, DFPS has placed 138 children in foster care (ages 5 to 17), including the children transported from San Angelo today and the teenage boys who were previously relocated last week. After they are settled in their new placements, DFPS will begin evaluating the individual educational, healthcare and counseling needs of each child and create a service plan for each child. No FLDS child will go to a public school at this time. As with all children in foster care, these children will receive psychiatric evaluations and whatever services they need to adjust to their new situation. In addition, all foster care providers who may be caring for these children received information about how to accommodate their unique needs. Wednesday, April 23, 2008 Today DFPS briefed Judge Barbara Walther on the health and status of all the FLDS children since she ruled last week that they should remain in temporary state custody. The judge issued no new orders but prefers children younger than 12 months are kept with their adult mothers. DFPS will make arrangements to accommodate the judge’s request as well as keep siblings together in foster care. Minors with children will also be kept together. While most of the mothers who have been staying in the shelters must be separated from children as they go into foster care, plans are being devised to allow and encourage visitation. Thursday, April 24, 2008 Today 64 women and 63 children left the shelter at the San Angelo Coliseum. Seventeen women who each have a child under 12 months of age were taken to a placement where they can stay with their children. The remaining children, including children who had previously claimed to be over 18, were placed in licensed residential child care facilities. The other women who left the coliseum were offered the choice to return to the YFZ ranch or be taken to a safe location. The children, both in the coliseum and being moved to placements, are doing very well. DFPS continues to work with the hundreds of attorney ad litems in an effort to coordinate plans and facilitate communication with their clients. The agency has created an e-mail distribution list to easily communicate with ad litems, installed phones in the coliseum complex to make it easier for attorneys to consult with their clients, and set up a dedicated toll free number to allow attorneys to leave messages for clients. The caseworkers assigned to the children in residential child care placements will also help to coordinate ad litem/child communication. Friday, April 25, 2008 Today, the last of the FLDS children were moved from the shelter at the San Angelo coliseum into foster care settings across Texas. One child was transported to a hospital with dehydration as a precaution. The mass shelter is now being closed. Moving 462 children into foster care allows the children to live in safe, stable environments while the CPS investigation continues into sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at the FLDS compound near Eldorado, Texas. While in the temporary custody of the state, all the children will be protected and safe. Caseworkers will be assigned to each child to make sure each receives the medical, psychological, and educational services needed. No long term decisions or recommendations have been made about where the children will live. Judge Barbara Walther ruled that all the children would remain in state conservatorship for now. Status hearings will begin for each child starting in mid-May. http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/News/2008/2008-04-28_chronology.asp		Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 922 Location: pray for rain



Tonk Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 11:27 pm
An arrest warrant has apparently been dropped for the man fingered as an abusive husband in a phone call that triggered the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch. "The warrant is no longer active," Tom Vinger with the Texas Department of Public Safety said Friday. The warrant, for 50-year-old Dale Barlow of Colorado City, Ariz., accused him of being married to a 16-year-old "Sarah," whose phone call triggered the raid that resulted in more than 450 children being taken from the YFZ Ranch and placed in foster care. Authorities said a phone call from someone claiming to be a girl named "Sarah," who was pregnant and in an abusive marriage. "I do not know this girl that they keep asking about," Barlow told the Deseret News last month. "And I have not been to Texas since I was a young man back in 1977." Texas Rangers traveled to St. George to question him, and ultimately did not arrest him. Vinger said investigators are continuing to scrutinize the phone call and have named a Colorado woman as a "person of interest." Rozita Swinton, 33, is facing charges accusing her of making a phony abuse call to Colorado Springs police. Texas Rangers were there when she was arrested last month and seized evidence from her apartment they acknowledged were related to calls regarding the FLDS compounds in Eldorado, Texas and Colorado City. "That investigation is ongoing. We still have quite a bit of evidence to process," Vinger said Friday. "At this point she has not been charged." Authorities have said they are investigating if Swinton made similar hoax calls purporting to be "Sarah" or "Laurie" to Utah and Arizona child welfare workers. Attorneys representing the children have said that even if the original call that prompted the raid is a hoax, it doesn't affect their case. It is what child protective services workers found when they responded to the ranch that is at issue. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said its workers found evidence of abuse involving teenage mothers at the YFZ Ranch. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695275935,00.html		Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 922 Location: pray for rain



tulsad Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 1:20 am
Is FLDS a legitimate church? Is it a cult, sect or recognized religious institution? By Isaac Wolf and Trish Choate Scripps Howard News Service Thursday, April 17, 2008 WASHINGTON — As new details emerge about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a central question about the polygamous religious group remains unclear: Is it a legitimate church? The answer is clearer to the IRS and tax officials in Schleicher County, location of the Yearning For Zion Ranch. But it's still in debate within the Mormon community, including as many as 70 churches spawned from the movement Joseph Smith founded 150 years ago. "It's nothing more than a cult," said Benjamin Bistline, who spent years as a devoted FLDS member in Short Creek, Ariz. "A cult is controlled by one person. ... What he says goes, or you get booted." But neither the FLDS nor the YFZ Ranch -- scene of suspected child sexual and physical abuse -- have filed for status as a nonprofit organization with the IRS, an IRS spokesman said. In Schleicher County, records reflect the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado has not requested an exemption from property taxes as a religious organization, an option for qualifying property. Indeed, the YFZ Ranch's property tax tab adds up to $1 million from 2004, when the sect first began paying property taxes, through 2007, according to the Schleicher County Appraisal District. Whatever the taxman's viewpoint, an expert on Mormon splinter groups considers FLDS a church. To meet the definition, a church needs only a small group of people meeting to share religion and some sort of chain of command, said Steven Shields, who teaches at the Community of Christ Church in Independence, Mo. The Greek word for church, "ecclesia," simply means a gathering of people doing something together, said Shields, who wrote "Divergent Paths of the Restoration." The book explores some 400 "expressions" of Mormonism developed from Joseph Smith's prophecies during the mid-1800s. A constitutional law professor agreed FLDS is a church. But Douglas Laycock of the University of Michigan didn't think FLDS's status as a church would make any difference in court or in determining whether the raid on the sect in Schleicher County was lawful. "If there's probable cause, the government can search churches like anyplace else," Laycock said. After a tip, Child Protective Services removed 416 children from the 1,700-acre compound this month, and 139 women left with them -- although some women now claim state officials separated their children from them. The children are living in San Angelo as authorities sort through handling their cases. The FLDS practices a form of plural marriage in which the men take several "spiritual wives" that are not intended to be officially recognized by the law. The sect split from the Mormon church decades ago when the latter renounced polygamy. Brian Hales, who has written extensively about polygamy, said the FLDS "for many years, they wanted to not call themselves a church." Being a church implied responsibilities such as missionary work, a pillar of Mormonism, he said. The FLDS was not interested in missionary work, he said. "They just wanted to live their own little lives and practice polygamy," he said. Alonzo Gaskill, an assistant professor of world religions at Brigham Young University, refused to label the sect as illegitimate. "One first has to define what is meant by 'legitimate,'" he said. "In the end, legitimacy must be defined by the believer. An onlooker might claim a faith is somehow 'illegitimate,' but that doesn't make it such to the practitioner." And just because FLDS is a church doesn't mean its practices are acceptable, Shields said. "As an American, I don't think there's any place for that kind of thing -- legally or psychologically -- for permitting 14-year-old girls to be married to their 38-year-old uncles. That's wrong," Shields said. After 40 years in the group, Bistline left in 1987 because leaders of the religious community, formerly "Priesthood Group," refused to give him a second wife. "The women and kids aren't criminals," Bistline said. "But the men, they need to suffer." Scripps Howard News Service investigative reporter Gavin Off contributed to this report. http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/apr/17/a-legitimate-church-is-the-flds-a-cult-sect-or/		Sparkly Tree Joined: 19 Aug 2006 Posts: 10139



tulsad Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 3:08 am
Child welfare official testifies about YFZ Ranch kids at Texas Senate hearing 10:54 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 The Dallas Morning News AUSTIN – Dozens of youngsters swept by the state from a polygamist sect suffered broken or fractured bones in the past, some when children were "very young," Texas' top protective services official said today. Carey Cockerell, head of the Department of Family and Protective Services, the parent agency of Child Protective Services, told a Senate panel that medical exams of the 463 youngsters removed from the sect discovered that 41 had previous bone breaks or fractures. "Several of these fractures have been found in very young children," Mr. Cockerell testified before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. He did not specify their ages. Mr. Cockerell said some individual youngsters experienced more than one bone break or fracture. He did not elaborate. At least initially, senators heeded Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson's request they not ask questions about the April 4 raid and child removals so as not to jeopardize the ongoing legal investigation. It was not clear whether the youngsters' rustic lifestyle at the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado might include work or recreational activity that could cause broken bones. Willie Jessop, a defacto spokesman for the YFZ ranch, called the broken bones testimony outrageous, and said it's "propaganda to make a case that cannot be proved." Of course there are children who have had a broken arm or a broken leg, he said. "But to this magnitude – the picture they’re painting is very misleading," Mr. Jessop said. "It will never be able to be backed up with any facts." * According to the Web site of the Seattle Children’s Hospital, about half of all boys and a quarter of all girls break a bone sometime during childhood. Mr. Cockerell also disclosed new details about difficulties the state had in keeping track of the children at makeshift shelters it set up in San Angelo this month. He said it tried three different times to have each youngster and mother wear a wristband but some were tampered with. Also, he said some mothers switched children, and some exchanged clothes with one another, changing their own and the children's appearances. He said the sect’s mothers are use to "sharing motherly duties, including breast feeding." Mr. Cockerell said CPS continues to investigate underage pregnancies among the 463 children removed from ranch owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He said a 464th child was born to a minor girl on Tuesday. The state says more than half of the 53 girls ages 14 to 17 are pregnant or already have children. The sect says CPS is incorrectly including in that count 26 females who are actually 18 or older. Mr. Cockerell acknowledged there are "disputed minors." But he said CPS has been presented with "no proof any … will ultimately be determined to be an adult." CPS said it had to remove the children because the sect had a "pervasive" practice of arranging "spiritual marriages" between underage girls and older men, who are encouraged to have multiple wives. The sect's leaders, mothers of the children and some of their court-appointed lawyers have accused the state of overstepping its bounds. Mr. Cockerell said the sect's children are "doing remarkably well" in state care, despite an earlier outbreak of chicken pox. Most are being kept in shelters and other group home-like settings. A few have been placed with traditional foster families. "I want to assure you that every decision that I made … was predicated on ensuring the safety of these children," Mr. Cockerell said. "That was foremost in our minds every step of the way." Ms. Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said all Texans worry about the children. "Every child removed from that compound is now our responsibility," she said. http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/043008kvuecpspoly-cb.b51640de.html ======== * No mention of brittle bone disease.		Sparkly Tree Joined: 19 Aug 2006 Posts: 10139



tulsad Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 3:23 am