FLDS women, children transferred
"Right now we are focusing on the actions by the Department of Child and Family Services who are seeking protection of the children," said Judge Barbara Walther of the Texas 51st District Court at the Tom Green Courthouse.
The judge wanted attorneys to help determine the most expedient and judicious way to handle the massive number of cases scheduled to be heard in her courtroom on Thursday.
"We want your input on how to handle the hearing," she said. "I want to ensure that any adults that need an attorney — and they have an absolute right to have an attorney — have one or they can apply for one."
Texas Rangers, law enforcement officers from two counties and other authorities raided the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado in Schleicher County 10 days ago. Two deputies providing security at Monday's hearing said they participated in the raid, which netted 416 children. Another 139 women elected to accompany the children when they were bused from the ranch.
"They are out of their element and are frightened," said Parker, a Salt Lake attorney who has represented the FLDS church for more than a decade. "There is a big concern about not being able to have their voices heard."
Among the dozens of attorneys who showed up for the hearing, which is required within 14 days of the state's decision to place the children into temporary custody, were lawyers who said they represented the children and their mothers and fathers. Attorneys for the FLDS Church also attended the three-hour hearing.
An attorney for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said the state wants to hold one hearing for all 416 children rounded up at the YFZ Ranch. Determining which child belongs to which mother has been a logistical nightmare for child welfare workers and others trying to determine the parentage of each child, the attorney said.
Following Monday's hearing, Texas authorities loaded children and mothers onto buses for transfer from the cramped conditions they have endured at Fort Concho to the San Angelo Coliseum.
The Deseret News reported Sunday that the women and children being housed in the historic fort were complaining that illness was sweeping through the group and that there was no privacy. Following that report, authorities carried out a court order to confiscate the women's cell phones and other electronic communication devices found among those housed at the two shelters.
Nearly a dozen large charter buses loaded with women and children left with police escorts mid-afternoon Monday, followed by reporters and photographers in their own vehicles. Some of the children waved at reporters as they were driven away.
But this apparent move to improved surroundings took a major detour after the caravan of women and children reached the Coliseum. Inside, authorities segregated most of the women and presented them with the choice of returning alone to the YFZ Ranch or being taken to a domestic violence shelter. Mothers with children 5 years old or younger were permitted to stay. Meanwhile, a similar scene was playing out at the nearby Wells Fargo Pavilion, where mothers and children also were separated.
In response, FLDS leaders opened the YFZ Ranch to the media several hours later. Many women who had been housed at the shelters pleaded though tears to reporters, asking for their help to regain custody of their children. The women uniformly accused the state of lying and tricking them into leaving their children behind.
In a related matter, Texas Gov. Rick Perry's spokeswoman, Allison Castle, told the Deseret News that the office has yet to receive a letter sent Saturday by three FLDS women who were not at the YFZ Ranch at the time of the raid and say they have been prevented from visiting their children in the shelters. In the letter, the women asked Perry for help with their situation and invited him to visit the temporary shelters so he could assess the conditions firsthand.
"We're not going to comment on what may or may not be in the letter until we actually see it," Castle said, declining to speculate "right now" on whether the Texas governor will meet with the women or visit the shelters.
"The governor is being briefed daily on this, but he trusts the agencies in charge are making the appropriate decisions," Castle said, calling Monday's move to the larger quarters "a strategic decision" that was made as soon as the San Angelo Coliseum became available.
She said Perry "supports ensuring the safety and welfare of these children. I think the governor is confident the appropriate steps are being taken, and policies and procedures are being followed."
Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche
E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com
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