I'm not surprised at all...and I completely agree. I believe that there were significant holes in the whole case and some things didn't make sense to me in the first place.1). There was a cell phone call from a 16 year old reporting abuse. Okay, again I ask the question how did a child get access to a cell phone inside a camp with no access to the outside world and where did she get a phone number to call directly to the reported hotline?
2). An early report stated that there was a government agent who had been planted into the sect for something like 4 years. This fact was never discussed again in later reports. If there was in insider, why did the government wait four years to take action?
3). How is it legal for a law enforcement agency to raid a "neighborhood" or "gated community" because a 16 year old makes a telephone call alleging abuse? Think about it. If a 16 year old in your neighborhood called police and said she was being abused and so were many of the other children on her street, would the police block your street off and start loading your kids up on buses? No. They would have to come in and do a house-by-house investigation and prove misconduct. Furthermore, they would need a warrant in order to seize and remove your children, right?
Anyway, this mess is stinking. The appeals court has ruled that the Texas Child Protective Services overstepped their boundaries and according to CNN.com, they have 10 days to vacate an order placing the children in state custody (I'm not exactly sure what that means). They completely violated the parental rights and took a "moral" stance against FLDS. This whole thing had nothing to do with the children's rights or safety. It was about taking down another "cult" by whatever means necessary and violating freedom to practice whatever religion one chooses.
Thank God the FLDS didn't decide to stand off. There would have been unnecessary bloodshed and Waco all over again at the hands of an overzealous government.
God Bless America.
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