I am not convinced these problems are rampant among the FLDS, but I am convinced that they are rampant in the slums of Dallas and Houston. No need to look at newcomers to the state. A culture which produces generation after generation of perpetrators and victims, an environment generally unhealthy to any child living in it, has been under your nose all along.

If requiring probable cause constitutes “cherry-picking the obvious cases”, why is every other allegation of child abuse in Texas being handled on a case-by case basis, while otherwise life goes on as usual?

Mr. Davis has chosen to ignore the tens of thousands of Texas teenagers in his state's public schools who are or have 'become' pregnant. He has chosen to ignore the fact that Texas has the highest teenage birth rate in the nation. He has failed to demand that the same methods be used to 'protect' all of the children of the state.

Might does not make right. Just because he believes that some of those FLDS children might have sexual relations while still teenagers, he has totally ignored the tens of thousands of teenagers in Texas who are having sexual relations.

Regardless of what 'might' happen within that small group of people, what IS happening all across that state is just as vile, just as demeaning, just as destructive to the lives of Texas teenagers as anything that he can imagine.

Texas needs to realize that all government is subject to law and that all people are entitled to equal protection under the law. To systematically attack one small segment of society, while ignoring the greater problem, is total tyranny. As someone who should have the Constitution memorized, Mr. Davis seems to have trouble knowing its contents.

They don't live like us! Get'em!

It seems to me that the due process question comes down to two opposing views. Under one view, the state has to do what the state has to do, and if it doesn't have the resources to do it right, then too bad. Under the other view, the state can only act if it follows certain rules, and if the state isn't willing to commit the resources to follow the rules, then it shouldn't act at all.

I'm in the latter camp.

Retired, right? So should it be "is" general counsel, or "was"?

Regardless, Texas' CPS should not have the authority to do what it did. The entire fiasco is an incredible human rights abuse against the people of the FLDS faith.

As for 16 and 17 year olds being married, let me quote from Texas' Marriage Law: "Under 18:
If you are between 16 and 17 years old, you may apply for a marriage license in Texas only if you have written parental consent on an official form in the presence of the county clerk or if you have received an order from the Texas district court authorizing your marriage."

It seems to me that under that very law, it is entirely legally possible for women of that age to be married. If there is actual abuse going on then the state is absolutely justified in removing those children from abusive situations. But if not, some CPS heads need to roll.

I'm definitely no defender of the FLDS faith, and there are many things I disagree with in their lifestyle. But disagreement should not be grounds for religious persecution.

Quoting pertinent parts of Article 1 to the Bill of Rights to the US Constitution:

"Congress shall make NO (repeat, NO) law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

What part of NO does the author not understand?

If the author wants to do something about the situation in Texas he needs to take his complaints and suggestions to the US Congress, the only body with the authority to change, modify, cancel, etc., the provisions dealing with religion and the free exercise thereof, carefully crafted and spelled out in the First Amendment.

The article points out many suspicions, but not a single criminal charge or indictment has been issued and the men involved are free to disappear back in to society elsewhere

Legal counsel (retired) and chief apologist (current). It is a difficult morass to sort out, and there are some troubling issues that need correction, but the way in which this "raid" has been handled does indeed raise questions of due process. Mr. Davis feels compelled to defend the Texas CPC, which would not be such a problem if this agency operasted under any reasonable oversight beyond their own apologists. Much of their spin doctoring reminds of a police brutality event wherein the accused needs to be cleaned up before he can be seen by the public lest the blood, bruises and abrasions be seen in the light of day. In spite of the child abuse allegations and the statutory rape charges, some of which may bear out, constitutional protections have been over run in this debacle. CPS sounds like a vet saying, "This won't hurt a bit," right before he euthanizes a patient. Where he might have brought healing, he kills the patient. To those who will, ad nauseum, scream that this is only about child abuse, I say ever still that your screaming will not hide the underlying religious cleansing agenda that is ALSO part of this case.

wow, the first paragraph was one sentence. The second paragraph had 2 sentences. The 3rd paragraph had 3 sentences and the 4th paragraph had 4 sentences.

The reason the State had to step in is because these people are brainwashed and threatened with hellfire and damnation by their leaders. They don't have a say in the situation.

It is like women that are beaten on a regular basis that won't press charges against their spouse or boyfriend. They can't think for themselves, so the state has to do the thinking for them.

"The reason the State had to step in is because these people are brainwashed and threatened with hellfire and damnation by their leaders. They don't have a say in the situation."

Good heavens! I would say that most all religions and religious leaders threaten their adherents with hellfire and damnation. That's what religions do. What you seem to be suggesting is that religions be stopped from such practices. No?

There is a big difference between 1) an adult man secretly having sex with an underage girl and 2) an entire society openly promoting sex between adult men and underage girls. Using "teen sex is everywhere, go arrest all of THEM" as a pity ploy ignores the shame and secrecy that makes the typical teen sex participants difficult to prosecute. The Texas bunch, on the other hand, proudly enters the illegal union in their official ledger! How can the cops ignore that?

If you say "Religious belief trumps all" then are you going to defend the right men to marry men? Laws prohibiting gay marriage are based in religious belief and thus, should be stricken.

Gay marriage and polygamy... both should be legal. Who are you or me or them over there to condemn someone's religious beliefs... or lack of. I don't know about underage people being able to give informed consent about sex, however. Some people need protection. It used to legal to marry 11 year old girls. And to have sex with a woman too drunk to say NO. Doesn't mean it was right.

I have to agree with BikerVal. So long as the participants are fully informed, freely consenting ADULTS (note the emphasis on ADULTS), who or how many are involved in a marriage is not the business of anyone outside the marriage. The problem with the FLDS groups is that these circumstances aren't met by the women. They are forced into "spiritual" (read 'illegal) plural marriages with men who are far older, and quite often are also blood relations. Anyone acquainted with basic high school biology will know why this is a bad idea. As far as the comment by UncannyGunman is concerned, it is rather disturbing to me that you are advocating ignoring an abusive situation if the "proper" resources aren't available. How many women and children have been severly injured or killed because the 'state didn't have the resources to follow the rules' and so nothing was done at all?

Looks like the FLDS Online Comment Crew is at it again, albeit incognito (I'm only half-kidding here).

Yet more posts in the theme of "how dare you go after us look at how bad YOU are!"

That is very easy to completely bury & put to bed. The teen pregnancy rate of Texas is 59 per 1,000, or 5.9% of minor teens. NOt a very good rate, to be sure, and worse than the national average.

Minor FLDS girls suffer from a rate of 585 per 1000. That's 58.5% of ALL MINOR FLDS FEMALES getting pregnant before they're adults.

Something very, very sinister is going on out there around that Big White Spacious Building in El Dorado, and I'd admonish any FLDS reading this right now to very seriously consider what they are practicing.

By their fruits ye shall know them.

To: bikerval

Texas went in to the Ranch and took all those people and their kids captive because of what they teach as a religion. That is contrary to the provisions of the US Constitution Bill of Rights. Which, if you have not looked at it lately says, in part: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion OR THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF." They can teach whatever they choose. If there are people having sex with girls under the legal age, those people and only those people should be arrested. Instead, Texas arrested the innocents. The women and children.

Fred,
Texas did not enter the YFZ Ranch because of the religion they practiced. They entered the ranch because there was a pattern of rampant sexual abuse of minors, specifically underage girls.

Your argument of "only go after the children proven to be abused" would normally apply with normal teen pregnancy rates of around 5%. But when WELL OVER HALF of all minor females have been or are pregnant (10x the national rate), in a community that PREACHES underage "marriage" (it isn't & can't be legal marriage), then that is MORE than enough evidence to logically conclude that ALL minor girls are at risk. And ALL need to be removed from that chronic abuse situation immediately until the State sorts it all out.

It worries me how people automatically take what is printed to be the truth.

It may surprise some folks, but what CPS prints as truths doesn't necessarily mean that it is.

CPS seams to be very good at distorting the facts to cover up their actions. For example, I was surprised when I first read that they found thirty something pregnant minors. Then attorney's for the FLDS came back and said their were only two. To determine ages of women CPS did the "eye-ball" test, so rather than go on any sort of evidence they used their own biased eye-balls. Keep in mind CPS would not accept birth certificates or the women's word as evidence about age. Also keep in mind women were threatened that those over 18 would have their children taken away and were coerced into saying they were under 18.

My advice is to research the evidence before believing allegations as truths.