Texas county doesn't want FLDS raid costs

Still, Schleicher County could be on the hook for the bills, unless the state picks up the tab. In one YFZ-related expense statement provided to the Deseret News under a government records request, Schleicher County's treasurer said she has received nearly $69,000 in invoices. The money has gone for things like travel, food, office supplies, and "expert witness" fees for ex-FLDS members and others who consulted on the raid.

Attorneys' fees alone are nearly $8 million, Griffin said.

"Nobody with the state has conferred with me about anything that's taken place," he said Monday. "We get bills from people we didn't authorize. The state has paid for those. The statute in Texas requires us to pay for attorneys' ad litem, guardian ad litems in any CPS proceedings. We're asking the state to indemnify those."

The state has verbally agreed to pick up the tab, but Griffin said the county would like to see it in writing. Nearby Kerr County adopted a resolution last week supporting Schleicher County's request for indemnification.

"As of early last week, we've paid all the bills we received from the county," said Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, in an e-mail to the Deseret News on Monday.

Court costs will go to Texas' Office of Court Administration. The April 3 raid has reportedly cost the state more than $14 million in costs.

The raid was prompted by a phone call from someone claiming to be a 16-year-old girl, pregnant and in an abusive polygamous marriage to an older man. When state authorities went to the YFZ Ranch, they said they found other signs of abuse, prompting a judge to order the removal of all of the children.

The hundreds of children taken in the raid were ultimately returned when a pair of Texas courts ruled that the state acted improperly and that there was no imminent danger to the children. Texas child welfare officials have alleged a pattern of abuse, with girls groomed to become child brides and boys growing up to be sexual perpetrators.

A child abuse investigation as well as a criminal investigation are ongoing. The original call that sparked the raid is still being investigated as a hoax.

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Contributing: Leigh Dethman

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com