-
-
On April 4, 2008, officials from the Texas department of Child Protective Services, escorted by state troopers, raided a compound of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, removing 400 children and 133 women.
The Yearning For Zion Ranch, in the town of Eldorado, was built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, who was sentenced in 2007 to a ten-year prison term for arranging marriages with underage girls. At least one resident, Dale Barlow, is wanted by authorities.
The raid took place after after a sixteen-year-old girl living in the compound complained of physical abuse. The search is continuing for the girl, and authorities aren't sure if she is among the children already taken into custody.
A ruffled bed was found inside the temple that, according to a confidential informant, was used for sex between young girls and adult men at the polygamist compound.
On April 23, 2008, Police named Rozita Swinton as a person they wanted to talk to in relation to the initial phone call that led police to believe underage girls were being abused on the ranch. Swinton is 33 years old and has a history of making false claims.
-
- Warrant has been issued for leader Dale Barlow
- Warren Jeffs, FLDS "prophet", was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year
- Compound size: 1,700-acres
- Sect was the subject of the book, Under The Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer
