Sect Parents Slam 'Vague' Custody Plans

Decry persecution, say Texas offering no clear way to reclaim kids
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 20, 2008 5:53 AM CDT
Sect Parents Slam 'Vague' Custody Plans
In this artist sketch Caroline Jessop, front in pink, is shown during a custody hearing in the courtroom of State District Judge Jay Weatherby, rear, Monday, May 19, 2008, in San Angelo, Texas.    (AP Photo/Brigitte Woosley)

Hearings for the biggest child custody case in American history began yesterday and members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints weren't happy with proceedings, the AP reports. Parents of the more than 460 children in state custody complained that the court's recommendations were too generalized and showed them no clear way to get their kids back.

"Every parent is accused of being bad and there's no cure," a church elder complained. The court's plans for the children do not say if they will ever be allowed to return to the sect's ranch and FLDS members believe they are being persecuted for their religion. Furthermore, reports the New York Times, one woman's eight children have been scattered to four different homes hundreds of miles apart. (More Texas stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X