Texas grand jury indicts polygamist sect leader, 4 members, on child sex charges
ELDORADO, Texas - A Texas grand jury indicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs and four of his followers Tuesday on charges of felony sexual assault of a child. Another was indicted for failing to report child abuse.
Attorney General Greg Abbott said the five men are charged with one count of sexually assaulting girls under age 17. One of them, but not the 52-year-old Jeffs, faces an additional charge of bigamy.
. . . .
Among the hundreds of boxes of photos, papers and family Bibles, investigators found photos of Jeffs in intimate embraces and kissing several apparently underage girls.
A journal entry purportedly from Jeffs attached to a report by a child advocate indicates he married his daughter to a 34-year-old man the day after she turned 15. The girl turns 17 on Saturday and has denied being married, though the child advocate report indicates intimate notes between the girl and man were also found in the raid.
In addition to discussions of the girl's marriage, the Jeffs journal entry also indicates he blessed marriages of two other underage sect members to himself and another member.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I recall on some of the last threads about the polygamist raids, the majority of people were saying it was wrong to claim the polygamists were forcing underage girls into these marriages.
Fifteen years old IS underage, they did force them into marriages, and it is obscene.
I do sincerely, and with a heavy heart, regret the obviously traumatic consequences to those who are not guilty of any of these offenses. And I admit I have no idea what the answer to this is.
However, when some of us said they were forcing young girls into these marriages, we weren't just making it up.
The child abuse in these corrupt compounds is palpable for those who care enough about the children to see it. I still applaud the state of Texas for doing what the state of Utah never would.
Elphaba