a VERY thorough and a VERY good article on the flds in the la times

there is NOT a doubt in my mind this is all going on and has been for YEARS. there's not a doubt in my mind that no one has done anything about it either. i read somewhere NO ONE has actually been prosecuted for polygamy (in the fundamentalist morman church that is) for over 50 years. i don't care so much how many wives a man has. i DO care if they are underage AND i DO CARE about child sex abuse. as far as i'm concerned take on 100 wives. DO NOT TOUCH A CHILD for marriage OR for abuse. let's find those that do (in the flds AND anywhere else they exist and they DO exist elsewhere) and punish them to the FULL extent of the law. i am not a violent woman but my hackles rise when i even THINK about this type of thing. i also found out about the 'lost boys'. something i never knew. young boys, early teens 13 or so, tossed out of the sect so they won't be competition - so there are enough women to marry to the more senior men.



polygamy faq

When was the last anti-polygamy prosecution? About 1953, the state of Arizona National Guard raided a polygamous colony called Short Creek on the Utah/Arizona border, and separated the kids from their mothers, and threw the men in jail. The people of the nation were so outraged by it, that there have not been polygamy prosecutions since. (Unless you want to consider Waco to be an anti-polygamous raid.) So while polygamy is not legal, the laws against it are not enforced.

THE ENCLAVE
Blind Eye to Culture of Abuse
Children of a polygamous sect have been exploited, molested for years.
By David Kelly and Gary Cohn, Times Staff Writers May 12, 2006
COLORADO CITY, Ariz. For half a century, while polygamous members of this remote enclave engaged in widespread sexual abuse and child exploitation, government authorities on all levels did little to intervene or protect generations of victims.
Here in the sparsely populated canyon lands straddling Arizona and Utah, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or FLDS an offshoot of Mormonism live by their own rules.The religious sect of about 10,000 portrays itself as an industrious commune of the faithful, choosing to live apart from a hostile world. But their simple lifestyle and self-imposed isolation have concealed troubling secrets that are only beginning to emerge..........

...........Sam Round polygamist and former Colorado City police chief, moonlighted as a church security officer. He told investigators from the police standards boards of Arizona and Utah who were evaluating his training that between 20 and 25 times he failed to report child sex abuse cases as required by law.As a result, state child welfare agencies were often unaware of molestation allegations and unable to help or intervene on behalf of possible victims. Another result was the reluctance of victims to call police in the first place."I never once considered going to the police," said Sara Hammon, 30, who told of enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of her father and brothers. ..........

and THIS (same article). how COULD they allow THIS to happen? thirteen days for REPEATED INCESTUOUS ABUSE of his five daughters?

......In 2001, Dan Barlow Jr., son of the Colorado City mayor, was charged with 14 counts of sexual abuse, accused of repeatedly molesting his five daughters, ages 12 to 19, over several years. According to the police report, Barlow confessed to the crimes.Letters begging for mercy poured into Ekstrom's office in Kingman, Ariz. The daughters expressed love for their father and asked that he not get any prison time. They also asked that they not be required to testify against him. FLDS member LeRoy Fischer said Barlow shouldn't be jailed because he was the only locksmith in town and "a prison sentence would only add an additional burden to society."Floyd Barlow, the defendant's son, said his abused sisters "look happy" and could get emotional help from their mother if necessary.Barlow was allowed to plead guilty to a single, lesser charge of sexual abuse, and was sentenced to 120 days in jail most of which was suspended. He served 13 days...................