Jeffs is currently incarcerated in Arizona where he is facing trial on charges related to performing underage marriages. He was convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. He is also facing a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, stemming from his time on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

The YFZ Ranch was raided in April, and hundreds of children living there were removed after officials received phone calls alleging the abuse of a pregnant teenage girl in a polygamous marriage to an older man. The call is believed to be a hoax, but at the scene Texas authorities and child welfare workers say they saw other signs of abuse.

The children were returned to their parents two months later when a pair of Texas courts ruled the state acted improperly and the children were not in immediate danger of abuse. Swinton, 33, is considered a "person of interest" by Texas authorities in the hoax calls.

Only 36 children remain under court supervision in what was the nation's largest child custody case. The rest have been "nonsuited" after Texas Child Protective Services investigators either determined there was no evidence of abuse or their parents took steps to protect them.

"We're grateful to have the children back, and we'll be grateful to have the state of Texas leave us alone," Willie Jessop said.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com