| Authorities release some details as raid on FLDS compound ends | |
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John Hollenhorst and Randall Jeppesen reporting KSL 5 TV | |
The week-long raid at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) compound in Texas is finally over. The roadblocks came down last night, and investigators left the YFZ Ranch. Some of the officers who spearheaded the operation are beginning to reveal details. It was clear from comments today by the lawmen that they felt they were walking through a cultural minefield in a community vastly different than the rest of America. Considering the high emotions and tense situation, it's remarkable it didn't turn out worse. When Texas Rangers and state police surrounded the compound and started looking for children, it took days instead of hours. The parents didn't want them found. "They were shuffled around houses as we were searching the houses. They were kind of like the old eggshell game, and we were trying to, we had issues with that," explained Texas Ranger Capt. Barry Caver. They couldn't find the pregnant 16-year-old mother who triggered the raid with her phone calls alleging abuse. That led to the most serious confrontation: Rangers closed in to search for her in the FLDS temple, and 57 believers formed a circle to protect their sacred site. "Several of them would just set down and kneel down and pray, some of them were sobbing. But again, we had only one person that attempted any resistance at all," Caver said. That man was arrested. Rangers brought in a locksmith, but he couldn't get the door open. "So we had to breach it physically, and breach every other door inside physically," Caver said. No one was in the temple, but the searchers found beds on the top floor, lending credence to a story told by an informant that FLDS men routinely had sex in the temple following their spiritual marriages to underage girls. "I have a good informant that's given me great information over the past four years, but I will go into no detail other than that on my informant," said Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran. Authorities suspected abuse in the compound for years but didn't mount a raid until the girl complained. "We are aware that this group is capable of it, but there again, this is the United States; We are going to respect them, and we're not going to violate their civil rights until we get an outcry, complaint, and I've said that from day one," Doran said. Even after a week of investigation, authorities aren't sure if the girl who called is among the 416 children removed from the compound. "You know when you're dealing with a culture like this, they are taught from very young that they do not answer questions to the point when you ask them, like a dialogue between you and I; and you know, we may very well have her," Doran said. A torrent of legal processes is getting under way. Criminal charges are under investigation, although officials revealed no details of what they are looking into, and the courts will have to decide the future of 416 children now in state custody and whether they should ever return to their families. E-mail: hollenhorst@ksl.com E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com | |
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KSL.com Originally broadcast April 10, 2008 | |
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