FLDS: 5 arrested in West Texas polygamist sect case

5 arrested in West Texas polygamist sect case

AUSTIN — Texas authorities on Monday arrested five men from a West Texas polygamist sect on charges ranging from sexual assault of a child to bigamy, an individual close to the investigation has told The Dallas Morning News.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who announced the indictments against the members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Tuesday, is expected to announce the arrests and identify the suspects at a 3:30 p.m. press conference.

The West Texas grand jury that indicted the men also charged sect leader Warren Jeffs with sexual assault. Mr. Jeffs is currently in jail in Arizona awaiting trial for similar charges.

The source who spoke to The News indicated all the men were apprehended by authorities in Schleicher County, home of the sect’s Yearning For Zion ranch.

Willie Jessop, who has been speaking for the sect in Mr. Jeffs’ absence, has said since last week that the men would turn themselves in when they were identified. But law enforcement officials had been hesitant to identify the suspects, fearing they would flee.
[...]

Last week the attorney general’s office presented evidence against several sect members to a Schleicher County grand jury for the second time in two months – and left 10 hours later with charges against six men.

Five men, including Mr. Jeffs, were charged with felony sexual assault of a child, and one of those men was also charged with felony bigamy. A sixth man was charged with a misdemeanor: failing to report child abuse.

Investigators had long struggled to link men to their wives and children – the result, they said, of sect members giving them various names and ages. But DNA evidence was available for last week’s grand jury.

Mr. Abbott has said that he plans to extradite Mr. Jeffs, 52, to Texas. Even if he is convicted in Texas, Mr. Jeffs would have to return to Utah to finish his sentence there.

Read Another Article

Parent killers claim to have been under spell of God’s ‘third son’
Police: Man shot churchgoers over liberal views

Related News Articles Topic(s): FLDS • Polygamy Related Tags / Keywords: FLDS • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints • fundamentalist mormons • mormon fundamentalists • Polygamy • warren jeffs • warren s. jeffs Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com FLDS Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Former FLDS sect leader Wendell Nielsen challenges Texas bigamy law FLDS member still fighting Texas search warrant Police help plural wife of Warren Jeffs flee polygamous community Life in a polygamist town after Warren Jeffs Warrant issued for former Warren Jeffs bodyguard Polygamist communities sent teens to work long hours for low pay Cult leader Warren Jeffs out of hospital, heads to another prison Trial of former FLDS Frederick Merril Jessop bishop moved Warren Jeffs files handwritten motion for new trial Warren Jeffs expected to survive; coma medically induced

Search Religion News Blog