Texas had no right to take polygamist sect kids: court
The state of Texas had no right to remove hundreds of children from a polygamist sect because it has not proven they were in imminent danger, an appeals court ruled Thursday.
Officials raided the sprawling compound of the reclusive sect on April 3 and took 250 girls and 213 boys into state custody amid allegations of systemic sexual and physical abuse.
Officials said girls were being "groomed" to accept sex with their middle-aged "spiritual husbands" as soon as they hit puberty and boys were being indoctrinated to perpetuate the cycle of abuse by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).
But the Texas Court of Appeals ruled that the state's Child Protective Services agency overstepped its authority by removing children who were not in "immediate" danger of harm....
