russ | 4:31 p.m. April 28, 2008
The question is not pregnancy, but age. Then it is DNA time, and bring in the males.

The wheels of justice are slow, but they do eventually move down the road.
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G | 4:36 p.m. April 28, 2008
"On Monday, CPS also revised its total count of children in state custody to 463, up one from Friday. Azar said the change resulted from finally getting the children out of the San Angelo Coliseum and into foster facilities around the state, where they were able to get a more accurate count."


CPS still can't count? I know that gives me confidence in them.
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DNA testing | 4:41 p.m. April 28, 2008
DNA testing will expose the systemic abuse that has been taking place.
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DNA | 4:48 p.m. April 28, 2008
I wonder if they could tract the DNA back to Brigham Young or even Joseph Smith?
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Sarah | 4:55 p.m. April 28, 2008
DNA:

This is the FLDS not the RLDS. I seriously doubt you'd get any links to Joseph Smith. Maybe to Brigham young, but you'd get as much of a chance with anyone else in Utah.

to me it's even more painfully obvious now why they needed to take all the kids. Those parents and husband are going to end up in prison. Where they belong.
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Red | 4:56 p.m. April 28, 2008
I hope that Texas hasn't shot itself in the foot. Removing kids from possible danger doesn't require the same high standard of evidence that a criminal prosecution does.

The flawed warrant; DNA evidence coerced under threat of imprisonment; interviewing people (many of whom are minors) without lawyers (or parents) present; etc. -- all may interfere with prosecutions.

On the other hand, frightened, isolated kids should easily be "coaxed" by "friendly strangers" into saying basically whatever CPS wants them to, and the moms can be threatened with permanent loss of their children if they don't "play ball," so Texas may be able to manufacture enough "evidence" to overcome any pesky facts or legal standards that threaten to derail their "railroad." And "weirdos" don't have a good record of getting the kind of judicial rigor our government is supposed to provide.

All in all, Texas may be able to pull off successful prosecutions.
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John | 4:59 p.m. April 28, 2008
We have not heard about any solid evidence justifying invasion of private property yet - an anonymous phone call from another state is rather tenuous, don't you think?

If they are so concerned about young girls being pregnant they could close down most urban high schools.
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Rich | 5:03 p.m. April 28, 2008
Mr. DNA, they might not be able to trace the DNA back to Brigham and Joseph, but they surely could trace it back to the apostates who refused to accept the words of Wilford Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith when they told their followers not to enter into polygamous relationships.

It took awhile for even some good Mormons to accept the change, and some refused to do so. A few were disfellowshipped and excommunicating, including an apostle, and the word eventually got out that the LDS Church was serious about stamping out polygamy.

Some still refused to believe that the Lord would command an end to the practice, and so they picked out some new "prophets" whose word they could accept. And this is where that apostacy has led us.

I for one do not question the Lord in first requiring plural marriage and later in prohibiting it. My feeling is that this issue is a test of faith that truly separates the wheat from the tares. If it weren't for polygamy, it would be a lot easier to accept the restored gospel of the LDS Church. As it is, it takes much more study, prayer and faith.
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Ken Baguley | 5:15 p.m. April 28, 2008
I think we'll all have to admit that law enforcement was right in taking those children into protective custody. The evidence of abuse is apparent what with all those underage having children or presently pregnant. One father said he didn't know it was against the law to have relations with a girl 17yrs of age...Ignorance of the law is no excuse...
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evidence of abuse | 5:16 p.m. April 28, 2008
The phone got them out there to look for "Sarah".
The warrant was issued AFTER the workers saw (with their own eyes) evidence of abuse.

To: John | 4:59 p.m. April 28, 2008
If 45 year old "men" are at the urban high schools having sex (while others stand by and/or encourage it) with teenage girls, they will "close down" those as well.
It is wrong for an adult male to force himself on a young girl! Even girls who are infatuated with an older man need to be protected. The mothers in this case chose not to protect their little girls. The mothers are just as sick as the husbands.
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G | 5:34 p.m. April 28, 2008
"
If 45 year old "men" are at the urban high schools having sex (while others stand by and/or encourage it) with teenage girls, they will "close down" those as well."

I fail to understand why so many seem to misunderstand consent laws. A teenage girl younger than a certain age (determined by the state) is unable to give consent, whether that is to an old man or to a peer the same age. Rape is rape regardless of the age of the perpetrator.

Secondly, most teenage pregnancies in the US are caused by adult men. According to the Wiki entry for teenage pregnancy, about 2/3s of the teenage girls giving birth in the US are in that situation because of men aged 20 or older, and a high percentage of those girls were "forced" by the older men.

Folks, that took about 20 seconds of research.


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Hugh McBryde | 6:01 p.m. April 28, 2008
I for one am not going to "admit Law Enforcement" was right. There is a consistent pattern of lying and exaggeration on the part of Texas.

Things we DO not know that Texas has not chosen to tell us.

Who among the "have been pregnant" girls are 14 or 15?

How many are "pregnant now?" Some say there only one or two.

Which girls that HAVE been pregnant COULD have been pregnant when the law said the age of consent WAS 14. Texas law HAS recently changed. When was the effective date of the new law in other words?

Also I will continue to assert that they do not know where or by whom these girls became pregnant. This could destroy any case they have.

The girls also have to testify in some way that the father's were underage. It cannot just be assumed that the fathers were too old. 14 and 15 year old action, so to speak, is not a criminal offense.
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MD | 6:08 p.m. April 28, 2008
Hope this shuts up the polygamists that have taken over these boards the last few weeks. Gives the rest of us in Utah a bad reputation. I�m sick of the same invalid arguments attempting to divert from the real issue. Abuse is abuse no matter how you try and spin it. The constant lying is finally catching up with the FLDS. Looking forward to seeing the perpetrators as well as those who acted as contributors, be sentenced to prison for these outrageous crimes.


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transplant | 6:09 p.m. April 28, 2008
31 underage now. How many of the older teens and young adults were spirited off to spiritual marriages and impregnated when they were 13? Likely just as many as are now. They won't testify against their rapist/husbands but it would go a long way to proving systematic sexual abuse of minors. It would also prove an abusive environment for the boys who would be expected to follow in their role models footsteps. The women will have a hard job convincing the authorities that they didn't know about it. It will take some convincing to the state that they can change their convictions and will report such abuse in the future.
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G | 6:10 p.m. April 28, 2008
You are wrong. An underage girl cannot consent to sexual behavior under a certain age, but it is not rape if the boy is within a certain number of years (also determined by the state). Usually the number of years is 3. If a girl is 14 and the boy is 15, then it is not rape, it is "same age sexual experimentation" that produced inappropriate behaviors, but it is not rape. Unless the boy forced himself upon her.
And it's good to know that your sources for information is the ever-so-reliable wiki-entry. My source is my years of experience with law enforcement and the court system.
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Red Texan | 6:14 p.m. April 28, 2008
Texas will indeed successfully prosecute the guilty here, and they don't need any untoward help as you suggest, Red. We are barely into the case and already the evidence is tumbling out big time. Hope Warren Jeffs has room for all the company, except, oh yeah, they have to go to prison here in Texas, where even the criminals don't have much stomach for this kind of nonsense--child rape under the guise of religion. Indeed. Go Texas.
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Doug S | 6:14 p.m. April 28, 2008
Anyone else find it ironic that this news comes out the same day we learn of fifteen-year-old Miley Cyrus' (aka "Hannah Montana")'s mostly-nude photo shoot for Vanity Fair?

Wonder if she'll be taken into custody and put in foster care at her next concert in Texas?
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RE: Hugh McBryde | 6:01 p.m. | 6:19 p.m. April 28, 2008
Hugh McBryde: "There is a consistent pattern of lying and exaggeration on the part of Texas."

Oh, Hugh you are so right....and those FLDS polygamists NEVER lied to anybody!

Spin it any way you want, dude. But be warned. If Texas succeeds, then Arizona and Utah will follow with mass raids.

Prison awaits those who think it's okay to commit statutory rape under the guise of religion.



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Justice | 6:28 p.m. April 28, 2008
This is not Justice
They are building a case to save them selves now
You will never know
Justice is dead in the USA
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Duh | 6:35 p.m. April 28, 2008
Thanks G, good to see someone who actually knows what they are talking about. Oh yeah, its because "John" took a whopping 20 seconds to get his info. Next time, please get your facts straight. Older men teaching younger women that they must comply with their sexual demands is not the same as a teenager who has an affair with a fellow student. This all has nothing to do with religion, they are only using religion as a pretext to do whatever they want to. Just like Al-queida, interpreting the Koran to justify their deeds. Oh yeah, if you spend more then 20 seconds of research, you would figure that one out too.

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In News Across Site

No. Utah sees a major earthquake every 350 years. Last one? 350 years ago.