Texas seizes polygamist group's ranch

The secluded Texas ranch where followers of imprisoned polygamist Warren Jeffs lived in near isolation has been seized by state agents, nearly six years after the FBI raided the property and removed hundreds of children amid child sex allegations.

Texas seizes polygamist group's ranch

The secluded Texas ranch where followers of imprisoned polygamist Warren Jeffs lived in near isolation has been seized by state agents, nearly six years after the FBI raided the property and removed hundreds of children amid child sex allegations.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said its agents took possession of the Yearning For Zion Ranch near Eldorado.

In a statement, DPS said only eight adults were still living on the west Texas property and agreed to leave after meeting agents. DPS said authorities helped them vacate the ranch and take an inventory.

Jeffs is serving life in prison after being convicted in 2011 of sexually assaulting two girls he took as child brides.

The ranch was owned by his Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism whose roughly 10,000 followers believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.

They see Jeffs as God’s spokesman on Earth.

The state asked a judge to allow the forfeiture, alleging that FLDS leaders financed a $1.1m purchase of the land in 2003 through money laundering. It also cited sexual assaults committed on the property.

Under Texas law, authorities can seize property that was used to commit or facilitate certain criminal conduct. A judge granted the state’s request in January.

The FBI and police stormed the compound in April 2008, amid allegations that under-age girls were being forced into bigamist marriages.

In addition to temporarily taking the 439 children into protective custody, authorities seized mountains of documents, including Jeffs’ personal journals. Images of church women in prairie dress and men in largely identical, long-sleeved shirts flooded national TV airwaves.

All of the children were eventually returned but about a dozen men, including Jeffs and other high-ranking FLDS lieutenants, were arrested on charges of sexual assault or bigamy and later convicted.

During Jeffs’ trial, prosecutors used DNA evidence to show he fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl and played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

They also played tapes in which Jeffs was heard instructing young women on how to sexually please him and, thus, please God.

Jeffs also once faced criminal charges in Arizona and was convicted of accessory to rape in Utah in 2007. The church’s traditional headquarters is along the Utah-Arizona border, but it established the Texas compound in 2004.

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

Andrew Flintoff File Photos Andrew Flintoff’s BBC return confirmed following Top Gear crash
Glastonbury Festival 2007 - Worthy Farm - Pilton, Somerset Song lyrics have become angrier since the 80s, study shows
Samuel Bankman-Fried FTX founder Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for crypto fraud
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited