US authorities remove 52 girls from Mormon camp

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US authorities have removed 52 girls from a polygamous sect's compound in western Texas on Friday, and have questioned the remaining members of the breakaway Mormon church, officials said.

Those removed were aged from six months to 17 years old, according to the Child Protective Services in Schleicher County.

The girls were being held at an undisclosed location in San Angelo, north of the compound, officials said.

"The caseworkers need to have an opportunity to assess their needs and try to find out what the appropriate action will be," said CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins.

The girls lived at the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) led by Warren Jeffs, an avowed polygamist who is now...