Affidavit: Girl says she was beaten, raped at polygamist ranch Affidavit: Girl reports beatings, rape at polygamist ranch

SAN ANGELO — The 16-year-old girl whose call prompted a raid on a West Texas polygamist compound said she had been repeatedly beaten and sexually assaulted by her husband, according to documents released today by the state.

The girl first called a local family violence shelter on March 29, saying she had been spiritually married to a 49-year-old man when she was 15, that she had an 8-month-old baby fathered by him and that she was pregnant again.

She said she was being held against her will at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' Yearning For Zion Ranch in nearby Schleicher County

According to the documents, the girl said the man had last beaten her on Easter, and that on one occasion, he had beaten her so severely that several of her ribs were broken and she was taken to the hospital. She said he would force himself on her sexually.

A day later, on March 30, the girl called with similar comments, but then, the document said, "She began crying and then stated that she was happy and fine and does not want to get into trouble and everything she previously said should be forgotten."

As they have previously, child welfare officials today said they don't know if the 16-year-old is among children they have removed from the ranch, who now total 416.

Her statement is part of an affidavit that child welfare officials plan to file in court Wednesday alleging a "pervasive pattern" of activity resulted in sexual abuse of minor girls at the polygamist compound.

The affidavit will be filed in support of the state's decision to take temporary custody of the children, an action it took earlier with oral agreement from state District Judge Barbara Walther.

Many of the mothers of the children chose to stay with them, resulting in 139 adults also leaving the compound.

"There is a pervasive pattern and practice of indoctrinating and grooming minor female children to accept spiritual marriages to adult male members of the YFZ Ranch resulting in them being sexually abused," said the affidavit.

"Similarly, minor boys residing on the YFZ Ranch after they become adults are spiritually married to minor female children and engage in sexual relationships with them resulting in them becoming sexually perpetrators. This pattern and practice places all of the children located at the YFZ Ranch, both male and female, to risks of emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse," said the affidavit.

Since authorities began their raid of the Schleicher County compound in Texas last Thursday, two men have been arrested.

Leroy Johnson Steed, 41, was charged Monday night with tampering with physical evidence, a third-degree felony, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Levi Barlow Jeffs, 19, was charged with interfering with the duties of a public servant, a class B misdemeanor.

Authorities, who on Monday revealed one arrest had occurred, wouldn't say whether the teenager is related to Warren Jeffs, the now-imprisoned leader of the polygamist sect.

"In my opinion, this is the largest endeavor we've ever been involved with in the state of Texas," Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for Child Protective Services, said as the number of children in temporary custody grew Monday from an initial 18.

Walther gave authority to CPS to take temporary custody of the children. The agency is preparing affidavits on each child detailing abuse allegations.

Authorities continued to search for more children at the Yearn For Zion Ranch, although the effort was winding down. Any additional children found will be removed, and the state will seek temporary custody, Meisner said.

Meisner said the women who left with the children are free to return to the compound, but none has chosen to do so. Their quiet demeanor has made it difficult for the more than 200 child welfare workers who have come from across the state to obtain information from them.

However, an unknown number of men living at the ranch are not free to leave until police end their search, which began late Thursday. Law officers have been moving slowly to search dozens of buildings out of sensitivity to the sect members, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said.

"We're just trying to make sure that we get done what we need to do while at the same time make sure everybody is safe and things don't escalate," Mange said. She declined to comment on whether weapons have been found at the compound.

Teen mom still missing

Still missing is the 16-year-old whose phone call complaining of having an 8-month-old baby fathered by a 50-year-old man sparked the massive raid.

The alleged father, identified by a search warrant as Dale Barlow, has been interviewed by deputies with the Mohave County Sheriff's Office at his northwest Arizona home, department spokeswoman Trish Carter confirmed on Monday.

Carter would not elaborate on the encounter, but, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, deputies collected a sample of Barlow's DNA and a list of people living at his house.

"'At this time, our contact with Mr. Barlow is complete," Carter said. "We have not been informed of a warrant or any more information being sought."

Barlow was one of several men that Mohave County prosecutors accused of committing sex crimes with underage girls in 2005.

Last year, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to have sexual contact with a minor in one of those cases, according to court records. Prosecutors dropped a second charge of sexual conduct with a minor.

Meisner declined to give details about the abuse or conditions at the compound founded by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She said court papers would soon be filed detailing the allegations.

The FLDS went to court over the weekend in an effort to stop police from entering their temple. Walther set a hearing Wednesday afternoon on the motions, even though the lawsuits said once a temple is desecrated by a nonmember, it would be irreparable.

Officers entered the massive white temple late Saturday after a tense hours-long standoff.

The removal of the children from the isolated compound threatens to overwhelm the local court and foster care system.

"We had a critical shortage (of foster homes) before last week. So certainly that's a little bit overwhelming," Meisner said.

Already the children and mothers are living in crowded buildings at Fort Concho, the historic military site where they have been sleeping on cots since Sunday. Meisner said the children could soon be taken to other facilities around the state while awaiting foster homes.

Within the next two weeks, each child will be appointed a guardian ad litem and an attorney ad litem to represent their interests. A "full adversarial hearing" on the state custody has been set for April 17.

The raid came more than four years after members of the FLDS, long based on the Arizona-Utah border, began arriving at this rural agricultural community. The sect was led by Jeffs and believes in plural, arranged marriages that often involved teenage girls and older men.

Although there was widespread belief that underage girls were involved in sexual activity at the ranch, Meisner said authorities were unable to take action until there was a complaint or report of abuse.

Mainstream Mormons disavowed polygamy more than a century ago.

In September, Jeffs was convicted in Utah of being an accomplice in the rape of a 14-year-old girl. He faces additional charges of sexual conduct with a minor, incest and conspiracy in Arizona.

In 2005, the sect's relocation to his district prompted Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, to push for changes in the marriage law, including increasing the minimum age at which teenagers can marry to 16, if they get parental consent or a court order. Previous law allowed someone as young as 14 to get married with parental consent.

"Had this bill not passed, there would have been quite a few of them that were married and were pregnant for instance or married with kids that were under 16 that they could not have done much about," Hilderbran said. "I've got some pride in it. It's one of those things I knew it was the right thing to do."

Chronicle reporter Roma Khanna and Austin reporter Peggy Fikac contributed to this report.

lsandberg@express-news.net

janet.elliott@chron.com