Growing up in the communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, Jessop said the standard age for a girl to be married was 18. That standard was raised to 21, she said, but Jeffs lowered it back to 18, then even lower.

"Then he took it down to 15, and the community didn't like that," she said. "Warren just took this thing apart from the inside out."

Jessop recalls being appalled at Jeffs' alleged actions involving alcohol, which she said is allowed by many in the church but not in excess. She described some of his pregnant wives "self-medicating" with alcohol at his encouragement.

"They had happy little drunk babies very often," Jessop said. "In my opinion, that was child abuse."

Strict and unusual mandates involving the elimination of the color red and pets and historical literature from the community were also extremely troubling for Jessop, and she lost all respect for him.

"If the society had not changed in such a severe way, although I wasn't happy in my marriage, it wasn't severe enough that I would have escaped," she said.

Jessop is angry that so many mothers refused to cooperate with authorities and identify their children. "They're accountable for their kids being in the system right now," she said.

Her biggest fear now is that the group will band together to protect their leaders at the cost of losing the children.

Price said that given the sheer numbers of children and the difficult behaviors of the parents, she's amazed that Texas officials have stepped to the plate to protect the children.

"This is a huge expense and undertaking to them," she said. "But it's not unlike it was with (Hurricane) Katrina. You see the devastation, and you have to go in and do something about it."

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E-mail: bwest@desnews.com