I am completely shocked at the number of kids and babies that are living at this compound in Texas.
On Friday, more than 50 young girls, some of them pregnant, were removed from the compound after state authorities raided the property.
Child welfare officials also allege in court documents released Tuesday that sexual abuse was rampant at the 700-hectare compound in the small town of Eldorado, about 300 kilometres northwest of San Antonio.
Officials on Monday announced that 133 women and 401 children — more than twice as many as had been earlier reported — were removed from a polygamist compound and that all 401 children have been placed in state custody because a judge deemed them in imminent danger of physical abuse.
AP reports say that teenage girls were forced to marry as soon as they hit puberty and then procreate. When interviewed, many could not spell their last names or state their birth date.
The compound, that was built by leaders of the sect, was rife with sexual abuse, with girls spiritually married to much older men and boys groomed to perpetuate the cycle.
PHOTOCREDIT:AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez VIA YAHOO.COM
