Texas authorities raid controversial church's premises
The raid on the church's ranch took place in the state of Texas
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Sunday, 06, Apr 2008 12:17
Authorities in Texas have raided a ranch belonging to a controversial church as part of a probe into an alleged child abuse scandal.
A spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective Services, Marleigh Masner, said 183 people, including 137 children and 36 women, had been removed from the premises as searches for more children at the compound continue.
It comes following reports that an underage child had been married to a 50-year-old man and had given birth.
The whereabouts of the girl at the centre of the reported scandal are yet to be confirmed. The land on which the raids have taken place belongs to The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a breakaway Mormon church whose leader Warren Jeffs is facing charges related to arranging the marriages of underage children.
Mr Jeffs has previously been convicted to 10 years in prison for being an accomplice to rape for forcing a 14-year-old to marry her cousin.
Polygamy is banned in the US and followers of the church are reportedly in favour of a man's marriage to more than one woman.