Texas officials conclude abuse rampant in FLDS

Chronicle Staff

Published: Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

According to a Dec. 23 article in the Salt Lake Tribune, nearly two-thirds of the families living at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) Yearning for Zion (YFZ) Ranch in Texas had children who were abused or neglected,  reported Texas child welfare officials. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services concluded there was evidence that 12 girls, ages 12 to 15, were "spiritually" married to adult men at the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. Seven of them had one or more children, according to the report. The Salt Lake Tribune also reported that another 262 children were listed as neglected because the agency said their parents knew there was sexual abuse in the household but did not move to protect their children from possible abuse. There were 439 children removed from the YFZ Ranch after a raid early last spring. These findings are separate from the ongoing criminal cases against some of the men at the ranch. The individual investigations, which covered 146 families, concluded that 91 families had children who were abused or neglected.  This conclusion, according to the Department of Family and Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins, confirmed what investigators initially suspected —that girls were being forced into underage marriages and other children were exposed to that harm. A dozen FLDS men now face charges including sexual abuse and bigamy based on documents and evidence seized at the ranch. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that most of the 200 parents have been through parenting classes and signed agreements promising to protect their children from alleged abusers.  All but 19 of the children's cases have been dropped from court oversight because the agency believes they can be kept safe.