http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6197746.html
Excerpts
A fight for the custody of the 14-year-old bride of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs could be heating up, according to a document filed in West Texas over the holidays.
The girl is the only child still in foster care who was among the 439 children taken by CPS last spring from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado.
And the teen could remain in foster care permanently, her parents' rights severed, which could free her up for adoption, if her mother does not assure the agency that she can provide a safe home, one where the girl is not married to another man.
A Texas Child Protective Services progress report on the case, filed Dec. 22, reveals the agency's frustrated attempts to persuade the teen's mother, Barbara Jessop, to cooperate with them by assuring them her daughter would not be involved in other marriages.
The agency indicated it now wants permanent custody of the girl.
State seeks reunited family
"Ms. Jessop has not been able to identify how she will be able to protect (her daughter) from future abuse," the progress report, filed in San Angelo, reads.
-----------------------------------
In previous filings, CPS officials have presented records, including excerpts from Jeffs' journals, that indicate the girl was married to Jeffs when she was 12 years old. Jeffs is the jailed leader of the FLDS, a breakaway Mormon sect that practices polygamy.
Those records indicated that the marriage ceremony was performed by the teen's father, Frederick Merril Jessop, considered Jeffs' second-in-command, and witnessed by the girl's mother, the third of Jessop's six wives.
A status hearing, allowing all parties to meet on the teen's case, is scheduled for Thursday in San Angelo.
Showing posts with label Barbara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbara. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Friday, September 19, 2008
FLDS girl, mom may reunite
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700259752,00.html
Excerpt
A 14-year-old girl from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch ordered back into foster care may be reunited with her mother by next year.
That's according to a progress report recently compiled by Texas Child Protective Services and obtained Wednesday by the Desert News. The report is being presented to a judge in San Angelo, Texas, handling the massive custody case involving children from the Utah-based polygamous sect. The girl's case is scheduled for a permanency hearing on Sept. 25.
"The permanency goal for the child is family reunification," the report said, setting an April 13 reunion deadline.
The report concerns a girl whom child welfare authorities allege was married at age 12 to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. She was ordered back into foster care last month after the judge ruled her mother, Barbara Jessop, was unable to protect her from abuse.
Since the girl has been in state custody, CPS caseworkers wrote she has been "doing well" and is able to cook and garden in her foster home. She is in therapy and will participate in home schooling, but CPS is refusing to allow another FLDS member to tutor her, the report said.
Barbara Jessop also is required to undergo psychological evaluations, attend parenting classes and have a social study. But caseworkers say no progress has been made.
"Due to his lack of contact with the Department, Mr. Jessop too has not made any progress in mitigating the circumstances of his daughter's removal," the report said.
The girl's father is YFZ Ranch leader Merril Jessop, who has been absent from custody hearings. He is believed to be under investigation in the ongoing criminal probe involving church members.
"Ms. Jessop has not provided any locating information on Mr. Jessop, although she has been asked on multiple occasions," the report said.
Barbara Jessop first visited her daughter on Aug. 26. Since then, CPS caseworkers indicated Jessop has pushed the boundaries of her supervised visits, including bringing unapproved people with her and making unmonitored phone calls. The girl was not allowed to keep her cell phone while in foster placement, the CPS report said.
"After this visit, it was discovered that (the girl) had at least 21 unsupervised phone calls with her mother in a period of one week," the report said. "Both presented as though they had been adhering to the monitored phone contact only. Many of the phone calls occurred in the middle of the night and some lasted in duration of longer than 30 minutes."
While the report recommends family reunification, it threatens that if the girl's parents don't comply with a CPS family service plan, the agency will pursue restricting or terminating their parental rights.
The girl is one of 439 children initially taken into state custody in the April raid on the YFZ Ranch. She is the only one to be ordered back into foster care. Six other children whom CPS sought to retake custody of are under family service plans pursuant to agreements their parents reached with the agency.
On Wednesday, four more children were "nonsuited," bringing the total number of people dropped from court oversight in the nation's largest child custody case to 295. The Deseret News tally includes 26 FLDS women that CPS initially believed were minors, but later conceded were adults.
Excerpt
A 14-year-old girl from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch ordered back into foster care may be reunited with her mother by next year.
That's according to a progress report recently compiled by Texas Child Protective Services and obtained Wednesday by the Desert News. The report is being presented to a judge in San Angelo, Texas, handling the massive custody case involving children from the Utah-based polygamous sect. The girl's case is scheduled for a permanency hearing on Sept. 25.
"The permanency goal for the child is family reunification," the report said, setting an April 13 reunion deadline.
The report concerns a girl whom child welfare authorities allege was married at age 12 to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. She was ordered back into foster care last month after the judge ruled her mother, Barbara Jessop, was unable to protect her from abuse.
Since the girl has been in state custody, CPS caseworkers wrote she has been "doing well" and is able to cook and garden in her foster home. She is in therapy and will participate in home schooling, but CPS is refusing to allow another FLDS member to tutor her, the report said.
Barbara Jessop also is required to undergo psychological evaluations, attend parenting classes and have a social study. But caseworkers say no progress has been made.
"Due to his lack of contact with the Department, Mr. Jessop too has not made any progress in mitigating the circumstances of his daughter's removal," the report said.
The girl's father is YFZ Ranch leader Merril Jessop, who has been absent from custody hearings. He is believed to be under investigation in the ongoing criminal probe involving church members.
"Ms. Jessop has not provided any locating information on Mr. Jessop, although she has been asked on multiple occasions," the report said.
Barbara Jessop first visited her daughter on Aug. 26. Since then, CPS caseworkers indicated Jessop has pushed the boundaries of her supervised visits, including bringing unapproved people with her and making unmonitored phone calls. The girl was not allowed to keep her cell phone while in foster placement, the CPS report said.
"After this visit, it was discovered that (the girl) had at least 21 unsupervised phone calls with her mother in a period of one week," the report said. "Both presented as though they had been adhering to the monitored phone contact only. Many of the phone calls occurred in the middle of the night and some lasted in duration of longer than 30 minutes."
While the report recommends family reunification, it threatens that if the girl's parents don't comply with a CPS family service plan, the agency will pursue restricting or terminating their parental rights.
The girl is one of 439 children initially taken into state custody in the April raid on the YFZ Ranch. She is the only one to be ordered back into foster care. Six other children whom CPS sought to retake custody of are under family service plans pursuant to agreements their parents reached with the agency.
On Wednesday, four more children were "nonsuited," bringing the total number of people dropped from court oversight in the nation's largest child custody case to 295. The Deseret News tally includes 26 FLDS women that CPS initially believed were minors, but later conceded were adults.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Great new blog
Dunno why I didn't find it earlier, but this is a fantastic blog by the FLDS reporter from the Salt Lake Tribune, Brooke Adams.
http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/
And a fascinating recent piece by her. Hey Escape readers, recognize these ladies?
Barbara, Carolyn and their two daughters
http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/2008/08/barbara-carolyn-and-their-two-daughters.htm
http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/
And a fascinating recent piece by her. Hey Escape readers, recognize these ladies?
Barbara, Carolyn and their two daughters
http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/2008/08/barbara-carolyn-and-their-two-daughters.htm
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Warren's Bride Back in Foster Care
Girl from polygamist group ordered into state care
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5954167.html
Excerpts
SAN ANGELO, Texas — A 14-year-old girl allegedly married to jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs with her parents' blessing at age 12 was ordered back into foster care Tuesday by a Texas judge.
District Judge Barbara Walther said that there was "uncontroverted evidence of the underage marriage" and that the girl's mother, Barbara Jessop, refused to guarantee the girl's safety. The girl, shown in photographs submitted to the court kissing Jeffs, must immediately enter foster care.
Her 11-year-old brother, whom Texas child welfare authorities also wanted placed in foster care, will be allowed to stay with his mother but will have to undergo psychological evaluation in the next month.
-------------------------------
Lawyers reached settlements Tuesday before hearings were held on the other children they had sought to return to foster care. The five girls in those cases can stay with their mothers, provided the women restrict contact with men accused of being involved in underage marriages and comply with other, more routine custody-related court orders.
The agreements technically put the children in state custody, but the state has agreed to let them stay with their mothers as long as they comply with the agreements.
In the case of the 14-year-old allegedly married to Jeffs, Walther said she felt she had to place the girl in foster care because Jessop "was unable to provide assurances that she'd be able to protect the child in the future."
On Monday, Jessop, 55, refused to answer about 50 questions asked by attorneys for Child Protective Services, including what constituted abuse, the names of her children, her relationship with their father and whether a parent had an obligation to protect her children.
"I stand on the Fifth (Amendment)," she said repeatedly.
Her attorney Gonzalo Rios said she was exercising her right against self-incrimination because of the continuing criminal investigation. Two of her husband's sons have been indicted on charges of sexual assault of a child, as has Jeffs.
Invoking the Fifth Amendment can protect Jessop in a criminal case. But previous court rulings have found that negative inferences can be made in civil cases, like the child custody case, if she refuses to answer.
Rios said after the hearing that Jessop's decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment probably hurt her custody case, but he plans to argue on appeal that the welfare agency didn't make a reasonable effort to keep the family together, as required under Texas law.
--------------------------------------------------------
After some thought, I believe this is the girl they are talking about:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0527081flds3.html
Merrianne (Jessop) Jeffs
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5954167.html
Excerpts
SAN ANGELO, Texas — A 14-year-old girl allegedly married to jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs with her parents' blessing at age 12 was ordered back into foster care Tuesday by a Texas judge.
District Judge Barbara Walther said that there was "uncontroverted evidence of the underage marriage" and that the girl's mother, Barbara Jessop, refused to guarantee the girl's safety. The girl, shown in photographs submitted to the court kissing Jeffs, must immediately enter foster care.
Her 11-year-old brother, whom Texas child welfare authorities also wanted placed in foster care, will be allowed to stay with his mother but will have to undergo psychological evaluation in the next month.
-------------------------------
Lawyers reached settlements Tuesday before hearings were held on the other children they had sought to return to foster care. The five girls in those cases can stay with their mothers, provided the women restrict contact with men accused of being involved in underage marriages and comply with other, more routine custody-related court orders.
The agreements technically put the children in state custody, but the state has agreed to let them stay with their mothers as long as they comply with the agreements.
In the case of the 14-year-old allegedly married to Jeffs, Walther said she felt she had to place the girl in foster care because Jessop "was unable to provide assurances that she'd be able to protect the child in the future."
On Monday, Jessop, 55, refused to answer about 50 questions asked by attorneys for Child Protective Services, including what constituted abuse, the names of her children, her relationship with their father and whether a parent had an obligation to protect her children.
"I stand on the Fifth (Amendment)," she said repeatedly.
Her attorney Gonzalo Rios said she was exercising her right against self-incrimination because of the continuing criminal investigation. Two of her husband's sons have been indicted on charges of sexual assault of a child, as has Jeffs.
Invoking the Fifth Amendment can protect Jessop in a criminal case. But previous court rulings have found that negative inferences can be made in civil cases, like the child custody case, if she refuses to answer.
Rios said after the hearing that Jessop's decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment probably hurt her custody case, but he plans to argue on appeal that the welfare agency didn't make a reasonable effort to keep the family together, as required under Texas law.
--------------------------------------------------------
After some thought, I believe this is the girl they are talking about:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0527081flds3.html
Merrianne (Jessop) Jeffs
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