Posted on 04/17/2008 11:35:53 PM PDT by Bushwacker777
"Texas Rangers participated in the arrest of a Colorado woman who allegedly pretended to be a girl locked in a basement. The Rangers were in the state as part of their investigation into the Texas polygamy custody battle, local police told ABC News.
It was unclear if the arrest was related to the phone call from a woman who claimed to be a 16-year-old girl, a phone call that sparked what has become one of the largest child custody cases in U.S. history. "
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I’d like to hear some lawyers, but I believe as long as they had probable cause and the crimes of this group are as extensive and deep and obvious as they appear to be...
Shouldn’t have much impact whether this woman was the reason they went in or not.
It sure seems to be the case.
Tell me, if this was so serious, why would law enforcement not quickly have determined the call was made from another state, by someone claiming to he held against their will, in a state where they were not even located?
So you understand, if you call a police department from out of state, or long distance, reporting a call as serious as this, kidnapping, rape violence etc, they can quickly trace the call.
So, 400 families’ lives have been disrupted because of a series of crank calls. And these were from a woman who is known for filing false charges! The Texas Rangers acted like a Longhorn in a china shop! Shoot first and ask questions later about sums it up. Yup.
When I read she had priors for the same offense, I about fell out of my chair laughing.
We’re not sure of any of this, whether this woman is “Sara” or not. This part of probable cause is unknown.
Personally, I think they had probable cause long before, without the call.
Here’s one who escaped speaking recently:
“Jessop arrived on-site Sunday, April 6, in hopes of reuniting two of her daughters with their half-siblings. She stated her opinion that the action in Texas was unlike the 1953 Short Creek raid in Arizona.[14] On April 8 she was interviewed by the NBC Today Show regarding the event, and described life at a FLDS community. Jessop had also been in Texas the prior month at a speaking engagement, where she said, “[i]n Eldorado, the crimes went to a whole new level. They thought they could get away with more” but “Texas is not going to be a state that’s as tolerant of these crimes as Arizona and Utah have been.”
You may also remember the leader of this group, though I only barely did until reading up recently:
“On May 7, 2006, the FBI named Warren Jeffs to their Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on charges of sexual misconduct with minors.”
He was caught and convicted and is believed to run the place from prison.
There’s six to ten thousand, mostly women and children held by this group, they’re worth an estimated hundred million, much of it from welfare and social security fraud, government grant fraud etc.
There’s lots more out there from credible investigators on them.
Utah tangled with them and their A.G. visited the Texas Legislature in warning. This is a big and ongoing cruel criminal enterprise.
I wouldn’t see the problem with raiding the place without the call, myself, but I’m not a lawyer.
Whoa, I’m from Texas, watch what you say about our Rangers.
:)
I think you’ll discover these were not 400 families, but a few dozen men and their human chattel.
If this is in fact true, and if this was deemed so serious, why would law enforcement not quickly have determined the call was made from another state, by someone claiming to he held against their will, in a state where the caller was not even located?
Some of the questions surrounding this case are begging for answers.
I really think I did answer it. From the article:
“It was unclear if the arrest was related to the phone call from a woman who claimed to be a 16-year-old girl”
The reporter doesn’t know if this applies or not. We don’t know what tracing of the call was done or not done. I read reports of the hearing today and didn’t see this either. So, we don’t know.
They are trying to locate who they think made the call. At first they were told “No Sara, here”
Then they began interviewing and reading documents and finding “Saras” and pregnant young girls and young girls on their third child and girls and “mothers” giving different names at different times, not knowing their birthdates, quite possibly not knowing their mothers, being raised communally, etc.
So, to answer, we don’t the specifics of the call or the investigation and evidence of the call. We do know there’s a plethora of evidence of very wrong doing in the past and the same or worse showing up here.
I hope this is responsive to your point.
I understand concern over CPS, I’m no fan. And I’m not real confident in their competency in general.
However, I think this is one evil bunch that’s done horrible things to children for a long, long time.
And, as the other poster pointed out - the Rangers are on it.
:)
I should add the hearing today was about whether the children were in danger and their situation.
Each child has a lawyer, so it’s quite a mess.
I believe the criminal aspects will be a different judicial proceeding and maybe there the evidence on the call will be presented.
Again, I’m not a lawyer.
Here’s a couple of links I’ve been perusing in case others may wish to:
http://www.freshfilm.com/damnedtoheaven/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24009286/
“So, 400 families’ lives have been disrupted because of a series of crank calls.”
No, from all appearances there are far fewer families than that. There are 416 children that seem to have three last names: Barlowe, Jessop, and Jeffs. There are men with several wives, though Texas outlaws polygamy, and some of the wives are under 16, when the law in Texas sets 18 as the age for marriage.
There is plenty of evidence that this cult was breaking Texas law. Padlock the compound and bar them from being on Texas soil. Let Utah and Arizona continue to shelter this cult.
To us it's polygamy. To the law. there is one valid marriage between two people, with many single women choosing to live as they wish and to become state-supported single mothers. Their "marriages" to the cult leaders are not valid.If they were, they would not be entitled to Aid to Dependent Children, or other benefits.
Texas laws allows marriage at 16. Law does not allow relations with with single women under 18. That is statutory rape, regardless of consent. That is definitely one possible charge that could be used to break up these compounds.
Although us'n use that phrase, the specific Brit/Oz for this situation is "It's all going pear-shaped"
Tell me, if this was so serious, why would law enforcement not quickly have determined the call was made from another state, by someone claiming to he held against their will, in a state where they were not even located?
The only partial answer I can give you is that the call wasn’t made to a law enforcement group but to a hot line group. So I don’t know what info they could get immediately, if they got a number, caller ID or such, etc. If they had a number then I agree it would look like the LE would have checked the phone registration location. Then again we don’t know all the details as of yet as the hearings are just beginning. I bet some of the lawyers for the children will bring this up in court.
The whole thing is based on “probable cause”.... I kept wondering why no one could find “Sarah” who made the complaint and suspected it might have been a hoax by someone as a pretense for getting into the compound. I am glad to hear that is looks like it could be a hoax now not related to law enforcement. If true, this creates all kinds of legal complications for moving the whole process forward.
What a mess...
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