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Officials: 31 of 53 Teen Girls Taken From Polygamist Sect Have Been Pregnant
Monday, April 28, 2008
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AP
April 22: Children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are transported from the San Angelo Coliseum to various places.
April 22: Children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are transported from the San Angelo Coliseum to various places.
SAN ANTONIO — Texas child welfare officials say more than half the teen girls swept into state custody from a polygamist sect's ranch have been pregnant.
Child Protective Services spokesman Darrell Azar says 53 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were living on the ranch in Eldorado. Of that group, 31 already have children or are pregnant.
State officials took custody of all 463 children at the Yearning For Zion Ranch more than three weeks ago after a raid prompted by calls to a domestic violence hotline.
Child welfare officials say there was a pattern of underage girls forced into "spiritual marriages" with much older men at the ranch.
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