Dear Adoption Maharishi,

Any recent updates on the children removed from the YFZ Ranch in April 2008?

-looking for new news

Dear Looking,

Here is a quick summary of past events. April 2008, Texas Child Protective Services raided the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (FDLS)'s ranch based on a phone call. The caller claimed to be a 16-year old girl. She claimed to be beaten and raped. 475 children were removed from FDLS families.

Then the Texas court ruled that CPS over reached themselves. CPS didn't have evidence that justified removing most of the children. 439 children were returned to their family. CPS had enough proof to keep 36 children in state custody. The raid and foster care for 475 children cost Texas around $14 million.

Now for new news.... Very recently Texas charged 12 FDLS men for various felonies.

11 sect men have been charged with felonies including sexual assault of a child, bigamy, conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor and tampering with evidence. A 12th man, the sect's doctor, has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse.

Warren Jeffs (leader of FDLS) is 52 years old. He was indicted of sexually assaulting a child in Texas. He has already been found guilty and sentenced for "accomplice to rape" in Utah. After that 2007 trial, Utah passed him onto Arizona. Jeffs is waiting for a trial on charges related to "marriages" of under aged girls.

Fredrick Merril Jessop (bishop in FDLS) is 72 years old. He is  charged with "conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor". HE MAY HAVE MARRIED OFF HIS 12 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TO JEFFS. If true, this is wrong on so many levels.

Leroy Johnson Steed is 42 years old. He was "charged with sexual assault of a child, bigamy and tampering with evidence."

Wendell Loy Nielsen is 68 years old. He was charged with bigamy.

I want to rewind to the phone call that started everything. Let's talk about Rozita Swinton.

Some of the phone calls to an abuse hotline in Texas that sparked one of the largest child-custody case in U.S. history came from a cellphone previously used by 33-year-old Rozita Swinton of Colorado Springs, court documents confirmed today.

From: Swinton used phone that helped spark raid

To my knowledge, Rozita was never charged with anything by Texas. She did have a history of making false police reports and strange phone calls. She has claimed to be an abused teenager girl in the past. And she called Flora Jessop. Flora ran away from FDLS in 1986 and has tried to help others leave FDLS.

Recently Warren Jeffs' lawyer tried to depose Flora Jessop about this phone call. Flora showed up with a television news crew. (snicker) The lawyer decided against deposing Flora in front of the local media. 

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