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No offense, dude, but you obviously have not been keeping up with what has been going on in this compound or what the real moral and legal issues are with regard to this polygamist sect.

Probably not aware as I do not watch TV. Dont really trust it. Especially since WACO.

I hope people are not miscontruing what I am saying. I certainly dont support underage fornication or marriage. Certainly if people are being forced into relationships or just sex then it of course is wrong and illegal. Ultimately the state is treading on dangerous ground when via a bogus phone call they storm a compund. The Same thing was done in WACO. I was only pointing out that teens who have sex willingly are not really abused they are not raped even though the state likes to define it as Statutory rape.

It makes me very worried that the state has the power to take children then say an anonymous phone call is what spurred them into action. From what I understand no grand Jury was assembled to investigate if a crime had been committed was there?

I for example am a Baptist Fundamentalist and we for example believe in spanking our children if they misbehave. But you better not let DFACS in Georgia find that out, because they will take your children claiming abuse. You better not spank in public either. The State has very dangerous powers and I fear that if the children especially the young ones are taken from their mother it may do more harm than good.

It makes me very worried that the state has the power to take children then say an anonymous phone call is what spurred them into action.

That's all it ever takes for them to investigate a call. They THEN determine if there's a reason to remove the kids. They don't just walk in and take them without questioning and investigating first, as far as I've ever heard.

In this case they got a call for help from someone who claimed to be in the compound herself and said she herself was being abused. Considering the long history of the cult and the fact that their leader,Warren Jeffs, is currently serving two terms for arranging marriages of underage girls, her call had a lot of credibility. In every case where there's a call for help, they have to take it seriously and they had all the more reason to in this particular case. They got a warrant as required and went in to look for her.

Once they were in looking for the girl, they saw other things that led them to get another warrant over concerns for child abuse.

From what I understand no grand Jury was assembled to investigate if a crime had been committed was there?

In cases like this, there isn't time for a grand jury investigation. Besides, I believe a grand jury is primarily for determining what evidence will be admissible for a trial and that this sort of thing is not what a grand jury is for.

The state is the only entity that I can see that has the legal authority to deal with criminal activity. Yes, they could have dangerous power and sometimes things get out of control, but there are also checks on it. They followed procedures this time with getting warrants and all. Even after the second warrant was issued, I understand they were in there for much of the night and part of the day interviewing people before they decided to remove the children.

This was not a Waco style swat team bust down the door with guns blazing situation, much as some people would like us to believe.

I'm as concerned about the government overreaching it's authority as anyone. We homeschooled for 12 years and know people who have been investigated and have always been very aware of the possibility of having social services called on us. You live with that all the time as a homeschooler.

I really believe that the state of Texas is making sure that everything is done properly. This group has gotten away with too much for too long and they, if anyone, would know the consequences to blowing it and I doubt they'd be willing to take that risk..

Not according to state law.

Georgia statutory law expressly permits “physical forms of
discipline...as long as there is no physical injury to the child.”
Ga. Code Ann. § 19-7-5(b)(3)(A).
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=19-7-5

In addition, Georgia law includes “the reasonable discipline of a
minor” as a defense of justification. Ga. Code Ann. Section 16-3-20.
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=16-3-20

Finally, Georgia law permits schools to impose corporal punishment, as
long as it is not “excessive or unduly severe.” Ga. Code. Ann.
Section 20-2-731.
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=20-2-731

From the GA State CPS manual:

“Corporal Punishment-This is any physical punishment of a child to inflict pain as a deterrent to wrong doing. It may produce transitory pain and potential bruising. If pain and bruising are not excessive or unduly severe and result only in short-term discomfort, this is not considered maltreatment.”