FLDS custody case whittled to 19

As a rural Texas grand jury finished its term without issuing any indictments, more children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch were dropped from the nation's largest custody case.

Only 19 children remain under court jurisdiction, Texas Child Protective Services confirmed to the Deseret News on Tuesday. Seventeen children were "nonsuited" by a judge in San Angelo last week. It brings the total number of children dropped from court oversight to 420, excluding 26 "disputed minors," whom CPS initially believed were underage but were later proven to be adults.

The reasons for nonsuiting vary, agency officials said, from no evidence of abuse being found to parents taking appropriate steps to prevent abuse.

As the case whittles down, some of those still under court jurisdiction may be linked to ongoing criminal probes into underage marriages. Earlier this year, CPS sought to place eight children in foster care. Their parents struck deals with the child welfare agency to keep them home.

"The remaining cases include three cases in which the department has temporary managing conservatorship of one or more children in the family," agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. "We are continuing to provide services to these families and to work with the families to address safety concerns. Once services are completed and it is it determined by CPS that the children's safety can be assured, we will move to nonsuit."

Only one child is back in foster care — a 14-year-old girl alleged to have been married at age 12 to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. A judge ruled her mother failed to protect her from abuse. A status hearing is set for next month.

A dozen men, including Jeffs, have been indicted by a grand jury in Eldorado, Texas, on multiple criminal charges.

The grand jury met for a final time on Tuesday without issuing any indictments, the Schleicher County clerk's office said. Some of the FLDS defendants are due in court Jan 12.

The Schleicher County Sheriff and one of his deputies are scheduled to be deposed by one of Jeffs' criminal defense attorneys in Arizona, who is seeking to learn how much information was shared with law enforcement there. He is scheduled to question a Texas Ranger later this week.BR>

Jeffs, 53, is facing sexual misconduct charges in Arizona accusing him of performing underage marriages. He is already serving two 5-to-life prison terms after being convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.

Hundreds of children were removed from the Yearning For Zion Ranch outside Eldorado in April when child welfare workers and law enforcement responded to a phone call alleging abuse.

The call is believed to be a hoax, but authorities claim to have found other signs of abuse on site.

That prompted a judge to order the removal of all of the children. They were returned to their families two months later when an appeals court in Austin and the Texas Supreme Court ruled the state acted improperly and the children were not at immediate risk of any abuse.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com