Seized children returning to polygamist sect
The children have begun returning to their parents
Monday, 02, Jun 2008 04:29
A Texas district judge has ordered the return of over 400 children taken from a polygamist sect.
Parents began picking up their children from officials this morning.
Last week, a court declared that state child welfare officials had overstepped their authority by removing the 468 children.
The court ruled the officials had failed to prove that the children were in immediate danger when they were taken from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Welfare officials along with Texas police officers raided the sect's compound near Eldorado in April after reports of sexual and physical abuse.
It was alleged that the girls in the sect were being "groomed" to accept sex with their middle-aged husbands.
Upon collecting their children today, the parents are not allowed to leave Texas without court permission and must participate in parenting classes, the Associated Press news agency reports.
The judge also ordered them not to interfere in any aspect of the child abuse investigation and to allow the children to receive medical and psychiatric examinations if needed.