Jury hears FLDS witnesses

"I can't say a thing," said San Angelo attorney Brad Haralson, who represents several mothers, as he walked to his car. "I don't know if there's really a schedule. They're just doing it. No agenda was sent out to anybody."

Jeffs, who was the last FLDS member to be called inside Wednesday, tried to kill time at one point by climbing one of the large trees on the courthouse square in her dark blue prairie-style dress. She got as high as the third story courthouse window when the sheriff encouraged her to climb down.

Acting on a call from someone claiming to be a 16-year-old girl, Texas child welfare workers and law enforcement went to the FLDS Church's YFZ Ranch on April 3. Once there, authorities said they saw other signs of abuse, prompting a judge to order all of the children removed from the property.

Texas Child Protective Services alleged a pattern of abuse on the YFZ Ranch, with girls groomed to become child brides and boys growing up to become sexual perpetrators. Many of the state's claims have not proved to be true, including allegations of pregnant teenagers and abused children. The original call that sparked the raid is still being investigated as a hoax.

Texas CPS's case imploded when Austin's 3rd Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court ruled the state acted improperly in removing all of the children. The 440 children were returned to their parents after weeks in foster care facilities scattered across the Lone Star state.

The child welfare investigation continues, as does a criminal investigation.

Law enforcement served a series of search warrants and seized nearly 1,000 boxes of evidence from the ranch. Some of that evidence includes lists of families, children and other documents. A now-notorious photograph has also been made public that shows FLDS leader Warren Jeffs kissing a 12-year-old girl in a manner that Texas child welfare lawyers described as "how a husband kisses a wife."

Beyond the Schleicher County grand jury, a federal investigation is under way. Also, a coalition of law enforcement from Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Texas recently met in Las Vegas to discuss crimes within polygamous communities — specifically, the FLDS Church.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com; bwinslow@desnews.com