This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7355779.stm

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Texan sect 'indoctrinated girls' DNA tests on Texas sect children
(about 5 hours later)
Underage girls at a polygamist sect were led into marriages due to a "culture" of obedience, a massive custody hearing in Texas has heard. A Texas judge has ordered that 416 children, removed from a polygamous Christian sect in police raids, remain in state custody for genetic testing.
A US judge is deciding the fate of 416 children seized from a breakaway Mormon sect at a secluded ranch in Texas. Welfare officers had told the judge they had been unable to determine which parents the children were related to.
A child welfare worker told the court that the girls were in danger of being sexually abused by older men. The ruling comes after officials said some of the girls may have had babies when they were just 13-years-old.
Lawyers for the sect say the state went too far in taking all the children from the ranch into protective custody. The closed community was first raided amid reports that a 16-year-old girl was physically and sexually abused.
Police raided the ranch last week after receiving reports that a 16-year-old girl had been beaten and raped by her 50-year-old husband and was pregnant again eight months after giving birth to her first child. Detectives are looking for evidence of a marriage between the girl and a 50-year-old man.
The girl has not yet been identified but all children on the ranch aged between six months and 17 years of age were placed in emergency state custody. She is reported to have been beaten and raped by her older husband and to be pregnant again eight months after giving birth to her first child when she was 15.
Officials said a number of girls were either pregnant or already had children. The legal age of sexual consent in Texas is 17.
'Authoritarian culture' The girl has not yet been identified, but all children living on the isolated Yearning for Zion ranch aged between six months and 17 years of age were placed in emergency state custody.
Judge Barbara Walther has said her primary task is to establish whether the children should be returned to their parents or remain in the care of the Texan authorities. 'Persecution'
The adults in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) group, which broke away from the mainstream Mormon Church more than a century ago when polygamy was banned, say they are being persecuted for their religious beliefs.
The sect has built a large church at the Yearning For Zion ranchThe sect has built a large church at the Yearning For Zion ranch
Child Protective Services supervisor Angie Voss told the court there was a "culture of young girls being pregnant by older men" at the Yearn For Zion (YFZ) Ranch. Members believe a man must marry at least three wives in order to ascend to heaven. Women are taught that their path to heaven depends on being subservient to their husband.
Group members live in large extended families, and the sect has been accused of forcing young girls into polygamous marriages, a claim it denies.
Child protection officials said group members were evasive when questioned, making it hard to determine exact parenthood, and that DNA testing was necessary.
'Indoctrination'
Child Protective Services supervisor Angie Voss, testifying in Friday's custody hearing, told the court there was a "culture of young girls being pregnant by older men" at the YFZ ranch.
Ms Voss said the girls were in danger of sexual abuse and the boys were being "groomed" to become perpetrators, AFP news agency reports.Ms Voss said the girls were in danger of sexual abuse and the boys were being "groomed" to become perpetrators, AFP news agency reports.
An expert on children in cults told the court that the girls may have believed that marrying much older men was their free choice because they had been raised in that belief.An expert on children in cults told the court that the girls may have believed that marrying much older men was their free choice because they had been raised in that belief.
"Obedience is a very important part of their belief system," said Bruce Perry."Obedience is a very important part of their belief system," said Bruce Perry.
Although many of the adults and children at the YFZ ranch seemed emotionally healthy, the sect's belief system was "abusive", he added.Although many of the adults and children at the YFZ ranch seemed emotionally healthy, the sect's belief system was "abusive", he added.
"The culture is very authoritarian.""The culture is very authoritarian."
Self-proclaimed prophet Polygamy is illegal in the US, but the authorities have reportedly been reluctant to confront the FLDS for fear of sparking a tragedy similar to the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian sect in Waco, Texas, which led to the deaths of about 80 members.
There were chaotic scenes at the courthouse in San Angelo on Thursday at the first day of custody hearings as hundreds of lawyers shouted objections and lined up to cross-examine witnesses.
It is reportedly the largest child welfare case in US history.
The Yearning for Zion ranch belongs to a sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which broke away from the mainstream Mormon Church more than a century ago when polygamy was banned.
It is led by Warren Jeffs, who is currently in jail in Utah as an accomplice to rape after he forced a 14-year-old girl to marry her cousin.
The self-proclaimed prophet is also awaiting trial in Arizona on incest charges.
Members of the sect have denied the latest allegations of abuse.
The sect believes a man must marry at least three wives in order to ascend to heaven.
Women are meanwhile taught that their path to heaven depends on being subservient to their husband.