Texas officials take DNA from FLDS leader Warren Jeffs

Published: Friday, May 30 2008 9:52 a.m. MDT

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Texas authorities have collected DNA swabs from jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs for an ongoing criminal investigation.

A spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's office, Jerry Strickland, says the samples were taken Thursday at an Arizona jail where Jeffs awaits trial on abuse charges.

A search warrant for the DNA alleges that Jeffs had so-called "spiritual" marriages with four girls, ages 12 to 15.

The criminal investigation is separate from the custody case in which the Supreme Court ruled child welfare authorities acted too broadly in rounding up all the children from a ranch in west Texas.

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