Largest Child Abuse Case in U.S. History?
by Molly McCallApril 8, 2008 03:59:23 PM
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Things aren't looking good for the followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Their polygamous prophet, Warren Jeffs, is serving time for rape-related charges involving a 14-year-old girl. Over the weekend, Texas authorities raided their sprawling, west Texas compound. When the officers pulled out, they took 401 children and 133 women with them.
News of the raid created a stir in Search, boosting everything from "warren jeffs" to "what is polygamy." Searchers showed particular interest in the religious chief's wives, the women's pictures, and Merril Jessop, the functioning leader of the group. Lookups also flared for "polygamist compound," "mormon polygamy," "texas polygamy," and "polygamist families."
In Buzz, the Huffington Post examined the process of prosecuting polygamy in the Lone Star State. A brief post from Shine expressed outrage over the hundreds of children allowed to live on the isolated compound. Over the past days, dozens of articles on Jeffs and the raid have surfaced.
According to ABC, this could be the "largest child abuse case in the nation's history." Already, sect leaders have asserted that the authorities' sweeping infiltration violated their constitutional rights. Whether the case moves forward or stalls, buzz will surely follow.
