Cases Begin, Attorneys Speak & a Victorious Mom

The emphasis seems to now be on getting the kids back to their moms if these moms can somehow figure out how to raise them w/o exposing them to abuse. I think all people watching this case would like for the kids to be with their parents, but the skeptical ones would like to know that the kids are out of harms way for sure - even if that means families leaving the FLDS.



Individual cases begin Monday for polygamist sect
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iIdMpRHjN4hpNKBhfYyAsR4DDo4QD90ON9A00

Excerpt

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The more than 400 children, from newborns to teens, forced from a polygamist sect's sprawling ranch during a raid six weeks ago and into foster care have been treated as a single group of abused and at-risk kids.

Starting Monday, judges will filter the unruly, chaotic custody dispute into hundreds of individual cases to determine what the parents must do to get their children back or whether their parental rights will be permanently severed.

This is standard operating procedure for family court, but these are hardly standard cases.
First, these families are comprised of at least 168 mothers and 69 fathers, reflecting the polygamy in the renegade Mormon sect.

And even as the hearings begin, the state hasn't matched more than 100 of the children with mothers. The first of court-ordered DNA test results won't be back for two to four weeks.

Two dozen of the children may actually be adults; authorities are still trying to sort out whether nearly half the teen girls they've had in foster care facilities are actually adults. Last week, they conceded two women who gave birth since the raid are actually 18 and 22.


Attorneys want FLDS children treated as individuals in court
http://www.sltrib.com/lds/ci_9295315

Excerpt

"They are still relying on the 'one household' theory," objects Laura Shockley, a Dallas attorney who represents a minor of disputed age and several other children.

The plans describe physical, sexual and emotional abuse the state says children taken from the sect's YFZ Ranch experienced.

That evidence: a "large number" of girls ages 14 to 17 who have children or are pregnant; "several" instances of broken bones that are suspicious for physical abuse or neglect; "possible" sexual abuse of young boys; apparent exclusion of older boys from the ranch; a "pattern of deception" in disclosing family relationships; and concerns about the children's homeschooling.

The department has said that 31 of 53 girls ages 14 to 17 are pregnant or mothers but has not released specifics. The group includes five teenagers and 26 women whose ages are in dispute -- two of whom the state now agrees are adults.

Pamela Jessop, who gave birth April 29 to her second child, was listed as "15 or 16" in a May filing related to taking custody of her newborn. A different document, filed in April, had said she was 18, as officials now acknowledge.

They also agree Louisa Jessop, who gave birth last Monday to her third child, is 22 years old.

Both women are in monogamous marriages and their attorneys say none of the state's allegations fit their situations.

But the state, as laid out in the service plans, maintains that the couples and other FLDS parents "have chosen to be members of a community that appears to support systemic abuse of children." And CPS workers have the backing of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who praised them last week for handling the complex case "professionally and compassionately."


FLDS mother victorious in court
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700226749,00.html

Excerpt

Pamela Jeffs Jessop's eyes sparkled and she smiled as she walked out of the Tom Green County Courthouse Friday."I love to be with my children," she said meekly.

The 18-year-old has secured a few more rights over her newborn baby than other members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church have over their children, her attorneys said Friday.

Jessop was in court for a hearing over the custody of her baby boy, born April 29. It was to be an adversarial hearing, where Texas child welfare officials entered evidence of abuse and sought to retain sole custody of her baby.

"We have reached an agreement," said Eric Tai, a lawyer for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He announced in court, "The department will be a temporary conservator of baby boy Jeffs. Since the mom is under 21, she will be placed with both of her children in a place to be determined."

Jessop also was named a possessor and a conservator over her child, said her attorney, Natalie Malonis.