| Custody hearing confounded by throngs of children, attorneys | |||||
| CNN | |||||
SAN ANGELO, Texas (CNN) -- A hearing to determine who gets custody of more than 400 children kicked off Thursday amid confusion stemming from the number of children, parents and attorneys, and the process for handling the hearing. The children were removed from a ranch belonging to a polygamist sect after authorities said they received allegations of abuse. State attorneys requested DNA samples to match children to their parents, as well as a psychiatric evaluation of the children -- a request that immediately prompted objections. Judge Barbara Walther told attorneys objections were premature. "It's not going to be perfect, but let's just try to get this started and see how it goes," she said. "This is wasting time." Children and their attorneys are being called in groups designated by color, with each color representing a different age and sex of the child. Some attorneys said they were having to use limited information in representing children, particularly young ones. Lawyer Susan Hays, representing a toddler, said she arrived at the hearing without records and had no access to the child's father. She was using only "what we know from the mothers and what we know from the court file," she said. Because of limited space in the courtroom, several members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) were moved to an overflow room to listen to the proceedings. The FLDS is a Mormon splinter sect that practices polygamy. The children were removed earlier this month from the sect's Yearning For Zion ranch outside Eldorado, Texas, about 40 miles south of San Angelo. The women arrived at the Tom Green County courthouse mostly in groups, wearing traditional high-collared, ankle-length dresses. The state has the burden of demonstrating to Judge Walther why the removals were necessary. Because the case is so large -- 416 children represented by 350 volunteer attorneys, as well as lawyers for the parents -- those involved are spread among multiple locations around town, linked by closed-circuit television to the courthouse. State officials took the children into temporary legal custody after a 16-year-old girl made a series of phone calls to authorities in late March, claiming she had been beaten and forced to become a "spiritual" wife to an adult man. Acting on her calls, authorities raided the ranch. It remains unclear whether the 16-year-old who reportedly made the initial call has been located by authorities. FLDS followers deny any abuse is going on at the ranch. "This, what is happening to them, is the worst abuse that they have ever had," Esther, an FLDS mother said Wednesday. "I just don't understand why you would want to just come right into our community and do this." The often-tearful mothers pleaded for access to their children. "Our children need us," said one of the women, identified only as Sally, "and they have been torn from us illegally with officers with guns." "Some of our children we have not been able to have contact with for 10 days to almost two weeks," she said. Although they appeared on camera, the women used only their first names, because, they said, they worry about the effect that revealing their last names might have on their children in state custody. Rod Parker, an attorney acting as a spokesman for FLDS families, said authorities acted on information not supported by evidence. "They have an unsubstantiated allegation of abuse," Parker said Wednesday night. "And, in response to this unsubstantiated, uncorroborated allegation, they removed not just the children from one home, but every child in the community." The children range in age from infants to teenagers, including teen mothers. As for the alleged report of abuse, Parker said, "The people on the ranch tell me there is no person named Sarah Jessop Barlow, who allegedly made the phone call." However, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Thursday that "the case really doesn't hinge upon that particular 16-year-old." He said that once investigators, in good faith, "go into the compound and determine whether or not there was any kind of wrongdoing, the case is on its own after that." He added, "It's our belief that these children who are under the age of 17 have engaged in sex with older men, which is a violation of Texas law, which is also a potential violation of the bigamy laws. So yes, we do believe we have information that will be substantiated in court that will show there has been sexual assault as well as bigamy." Texas Rangers have questioned Dale Evans Barlow, 50, the man who was accused by the teen of abusing her, but he was released Saturday. His attorney, Bruce Griffen, said the meeting was voluntary. Griffen said he and Barlow are working to gather evidence to show that his client could not have been in Texas when the crimes allegedly happened. FLDS leader Warren Jeffs is serving time in Utah after his 2007 conviction for being an accomplice to rape -- charges related to a marriage he performed in 2001. Jeffs also faces trial in Arizona on eight charges of sexual conduct with a minor, incest and conspiracy. CNN's Ismael Estrada, Ed Lavandera, Sean Callebs and Katherine Wojtecki contributed to this report. | |||||
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CNN.com Originally published Thursday, April 17, 2008 | |||||
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