Posted by:
steve benson
(
)
Date: January 16, 2011 03:57AM
"Were Beds In Temple Used for Teen Sex?"
10 April 2008
by Brian West
"Deseret News"
"SAN ANGELO, Texas — A Texas Ranger serving a search warrant at a polygamist ranch says there are beds inside the FLDS Church's only temple.
"And those beds, according to newly relased documents that support the reasons for a police raid on the compound owned by the sect, are in a part of the temple where "males over the age of 17 engage in sexual activity" with underage girls. . . .
"Inside the large limestone temple, ranger Leslie Brooks Long said she observed several locked safes, locked desk drawers, locked vaults, multiple computers and beds.
"'On one of the beds within the temple, (I) observed that the bed linens were disturbed as if the bed had been used,' she wrote. The officer said she also noticed a strand of hair believed to come from the head of a female, the court document states.
"An unidentified former FLDS Church member, who has been advising Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran over the past several years, told the sheriff about the beds.
"The warrant specifically identifies several girls and women who were interviewed at the ranch by child welfare workers during the first two days of the search. The examples either identified underage girls who were pregnant or 'spiritually married' to older men, or young adult women who had children when they were underage.
"Anyone under 17 is prohibited from marrying in Texas without parental approval.
"During an interview Friday with a child who appeared to be 16, the girl was asked how old she was. The girl's husband, who is approximately 33 and was nearby during the interview, looked at his wife and said, 'You are 18,' the affidavit states. The girl, who has a 10-month-old baby, then replied that she was 18.
"Long said she discovered a document indicating one man had more than 20 wives — 'all of whom resided in the same residence.'
"It was this information, together with other details, that prompted a judge to issue a second search warrant authorizing authorities to search for any and all records regarding the births of children to mothers under 17, parental information; photographs, especially family portraits; family Bibles or books showing marriages and birth information; fingerprints and hair and blood samples of men and women; plus any device capable of storing images."
(from Deseret News archives, at:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695269096/Search-Were-beds-in-temple-used-for-teen-sex.html)
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"Informant Says FLDS Temple Used for Sex with Underage Girls"
9 April 2008
by John Hollenhorst
KSL News
"The FLDS faithful call it their most sacred and holy place, but now there's startling new information about what really went on inside their Texas temple. A court document released Wednesday provides evidence that FLDS men regularly used the temple as a place for sex with underage girls.
"Based on what searchers saw with their own eyes and the statements of a confidential informant, last Saturday night's tense encounter at the temple may be seen in a new light. Were FLDS men trying to keep searchers out because the temple is sacred, or was it to protect one of their darkest secrets?
"During the police raid last weekend, a confidential informant told a disturbing story to Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran. His claim was so shocking that Doran might not have believed him, except that he's provided reliable information on more than 20 past occasions. The informant was a former member of the FLDS church, which built its temple in Schleicher County three years ago.
"The informant told the sheriff that when adult FLDS men marry, 'the bride is often under the age of 16 years; and that the temple . . . contains an area where there is a bed where males over the age of 17 engage in sexual activity with female children under the age of 17.'
"When searchers went to the huge limestone edifice last Saturday, FLDS members tried to keep them out. Officers ended the tense confrontation by making what they call a 'dynamic entry.' And one officer found something that partially substantiates the informant's story. According to the affidavit, there were multiple beds in the temple, and one of them had "disturbed bed linens and a strand of hair that appears to be from a female head."
"On New Year's Day of 2005, freelance writer Jon Krakuer captured aerial photos of a man believed to be Warren Jeffs delivering a dedicatory prayer on the site of the future temple. If the informant's story is true, the temple's true purpose was something far different than what most outsiders supposed at the time.
"In a court hearing Wednesday, FLDS lawyers abandoned their effort to stop the ongoing search, and lawyers revealed that another warrant has been issued, this time a federal warrant, suggesting that the investigation is getting broader or deeper."
(from KSL news archives, at:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3048907)
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2011 04:04AM by steve benson.