37 kids left in FLDS custody case

Only 37 children remain in the ongoing custody case involving members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, Texas child welfare authorities told the Deseret News.

Texas Child Protective Services officials confirmed on Wednesday that 402 children have now been dropped from court oversight, bringing the total number of people nonsuited in the case to 428. The Deseret News' ongoing tally includes 26 "disputed minors," FLDS women whom CPS originally believed were minors but were nonsuited when the agency confirmed they were adults.

That leaves only 37 children left with pending lawsuits, agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins said in an e-mail.

"We're delighted. It's about time," said Mark Ticer, a court-appointed attorney for four children ranging in age from 5 to 10. "And the department lived up to the representations that they made about doing it."

CPS has said the reasons for nonsuiting a child vary from no evidence of abuse being found to parents taking adequate steps to protect their children from abuse. Nonsuiting does not necessarily end CPS's role in the families' lives. Many parents agreed to attend classes or get therapy for their children.

Ticer said one of his child clients still has a class to attend. As the Deseret News first reported earlier this month, CPS has required 63 girls from the polygamous sect to attend seminars on sexual abuse, underage marriage and Texas law.

The custody case involving children from the Utah-based church, which mushroomed to the largest in U.S. history, has been rapidly winding down.

Authorities raided the FLDS Church's YFZ Ranch in April on a report alleging abuse on the Eldorado compound. The call is believed to be a hoax, but authorities said they found other evidence of abuse on scene, prompting a judge to order the removal of all of the children from the ranch.

The 439 children were returned to their parents two months later when an Austin appeals court and the Texas Supreme Court ruled the state acted improperly.

Since then, CPS investigators appear to have narrowed their focus to at least 10 cases of alleged underage marriages.

Only one child, a 14-year-old girl allegedly married at age 12 to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, has been returned to foster care. A judge ruled her mother was unable to protect her from abuse. Six other children also remain under CPS authority after their parents signed deals with the agency.

A criminal probe also continues. Nine FLDS men, including Jeffs, have been indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges that include sexual assault of a child, bigamy and failure to report child abuse.

The grand jury meets again in November and December.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com