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(AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)
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After two months of separation, the first FLDS child is returned to her parents. It's a big victory for the parents of the polygamous sect.
All of the more than 400 FLDS children taken from their Texas ranch will reunite with their parents, with restrictions.
Also, FLDS Church leadership responded with what sounds like a change in policy. Late Monday, an elder in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) said church policy going forward will be to forbid any girl to marry who is not old enough to legally consent in the state where she lives.
Willie Jessop said the church has been widely misunderstood. But he says the church will not sanction marriages of underage girls and will counsel members against such unions.
Jessop, a church leader, insists marriages within the church have always been consensual.
Meanwhile, hundreds of FLDS children are now free to return to their parents. Those parents in Texas are criss-crossing the state retrieving their children.
James and Nancy Dockstader clutched their daughter after they picked her up in San Antonio. Nancy said, "We have four other children to go pick up still, in Corpus Christi and Amarillo. So we have a jaunt."
"It's a great day! It's a great day! It's been a long time," Nancy said.
Parents picked up children at shelter homes, but it may take a few days to reunite all families.
The last legal hurdle was cleared Monday morning when Judge Barbara Walther vacated her orders that held the children in state custody for almost two months. It caps a legal battle that went to the Texas Supreme Court, which ordered Judge Walther to release the children.
Many parents are not planning to take their children back to the ranch in the short-term in order to appease state social workers.
In releasing the children, the judge imposed conditions that are not welcome by parents: Parents must sign documentation swearing to their relationship with the children; they have to name everyone living in each home; and they have to provide photos and fingerprints.
The judge is also requiring FLDS parents to take parenting classes, and they must allow possible mental exams to be performed on the children. State investigators must be allowed to make unannounced home visits, and no child can travel more than 100 miles without prior approval.
All that, and the fact that children are scattered at shelters all across Texas may slow down reunions of families. Parents will have to visit each location and process them out.
"They've been through an awful lot over this, and the toll on the children is certainly showing. But we are grateful that the court at least allowed the mothers and children to come back, even if we, we wished it was a better order. But, hey, it gets the mothers and the children back, so we'll take it," Jessop said.
Texas Child Protective Services (CPS) spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said it may take until Friday before all the children are returned.
Andrea Sloan, attorney ad Litem for the children, said, "We don't want parents rushing the doors of the shelter demanding their children today, because it will be quicker in the long run if they work with CPS over the next 24 hours."
"My clients are not going back to the ranch because, at this time, that's not where they believe they need to be," said Laura Shockley, attorney ad Litem for the children.
The attorneys said those individual decisions not to go back to the ranch shouldn't be over-interpreted. Parents are not renouncing the FLDS faith, they say; it just reflects a desire to reassure state officials and maximize their chances of holding onto their own children.
Despite the planned return of the children, the CPS investigation continues. The state of Texas still insists the children are at risk of sex abuse. "We have concerns about the safety of these children. We've had concerns since April 3, and we continue to have concerns. We certainly are going to comply with the judge's order in this case, and we're going to continue our investigation," Meisner said.
The lone exception to Monday's court order is a child with the last name of Jeffs who has given birth to a child. At the request of her attorney ad Litem, the judge issued an emergency order keeping her in custody because her alleged abuser might have a chance to harm her again.
Given the independent nature of the FLDS sect, some wonder how likely is it that the group will actually follow the judge's orders and rules. Some members of the group have shown over the years a propensity to violate laws they don't agree with. In fact, their own leader that they revere, Warren Jeffs, was a fugitive from justice for two years. But for now, they seem to be willing to follow the rules to get their children back.
E-mail: jhollenhorst@ksl.com
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
(The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
