http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/253507 Op-Ed: Highlights of the Texas FLDS Story, So Far
FLDS Temple At YFZ Ranch, Eldorado, Texas
Here are the story highlights to date:
THE CHILDREN
The FLDS children are tucked safely away in Texas CPS custody by court order for at least 60 days and will undergo genetic testing to determine familial relationships, proper or otherwise. The DNA results may make that state custody permanent. Or not.
THE UNDERAGE GIRLS
CPS officials have testified in court hearings that they have found many underage girls who either appear pregnant or have already given birth, and that there are solid grounds to proceed to trial. DNA and physical examinations will determine the truth of the matter, as well as provide incriminating evidence against the alleged much-older fathers. Or not.
THE RITUAL SEX BED
An expert who has studied FLDS sects for 18 years has testified that the bed is used for resting after rigorous and extended periods of worship, and are not uncommon in FLDS Mormon temples like that at the YFZ ranch. He also testified that to his knowledge, no sex has ever taken place within the confines of such a Mormon temple.
To date, reports only indicate the discovery of a single, supposedly female human hair, though evidence from the case is being tightly held due to Judge Barbara Walther's gag order. DNA and forensic testing of the bed should also confirm if sex took place there. Or not.
THE ROZITA SWINTON WILD CARD
33-year old Rozita Swinton of Colorado Springs is being vigorously investigated by both the Texas Rangers and FBI as placing the multiple urgent 'Sarah' calls to Flora Jessop's crisis hotline in Hildale, Utah.
According to Ms. Jessop, the calls were being recorded at the request of law enforcement. If this is true, then the FBI has voice samples they can match to the caller. It may well be that part of the reason for arresting Ms. Swinton in Colorado on local charges was to acquire voice recordings that could be compared to those on file with both local authorities (911) and Ms. Jessop ('Sarah').
The local charges against Ms. Swinton, for which she was arrested, are based on evidence she placed a false 911 call claiming to be a 12-year-old girl imprisoned and abused in a basement. That call sent Colorado Springs police on a frantic race against time that resulted in 12 private homes being searched.
According to news reports, authorities found evidence during a search of Ms. Swinton's residence that appear to tie her to the 'Sarah' calls and are no doubt reviewing each piece with a microscope. They are also no doubt checking Ms. Swinton's cellphone records for more incriminating evidence in all the cases she is suspect in, as well as the voice tapes.
This all takes time to confirm, cross-check and confirm again. If it all pans out the way it appears to so far, you can expect numerous charges and an arrest warrant issued for Ms. Rozita Swinton in the next week or two. Or not.
THE MYSTERIOUS SARAH AND THE 'INSIDE' INFORMANT AT THE YFZ RANCH
Texas CPS authorities still claim that Sarah is real despite the mounting evidence linking Rozita Swinton to the mysterious 'Sarah.' Yet they have no proof so far. Also, Sheriff Doran has informed the press that his 'inside informant' is ex-FLDS sect member Flora Jessop, who now runs a womens' shelter in Hildale, Utah, and was the recipient of the 'Sarah' calls.
Sheriff Doran stated that he never had an informant inside the YFZ ranch, and that it was a falsehood generated by media agencies as ABC and CBS.
This may legally categorize any information Ms. Jessop may have provided Sheriff Doran as hearsay. In conjunction with the 'Sarah' calls she received and allegedly recorded, and all that implies, chances are good the FLDS defense attorneys will be zeroing in on her like a laser beam. No 'or not' about it.
THE WARRANTS: CALLING DOCTOR ????
After carefully reviewing the affidavit that provided the grounds for the warrants authorizing the initial search of the YFZ ranch and the full-scale raid that followed, a few questions arise.
Assuming that Sarah is real and not the figment of Rozita Swinton's frenetic imagination, there is a doctor somewhere who should have first hand knowledge of Sarah and her abuse, in particular the alleged broken ribs. The affidavit states as follows, on page three:
'The report also indicates that, on a previous occasion, the man had beat her so severely that it resulted in her having seven broken ribs, for which she was taken to the hospital. She reported that the doctor wrapped her torso with an Ace bandage and told her to 'take it easy for a few days.'
That statement raises a lot of questions for me, as I'm sure it does for the FLDS defense lawyers. Where is this doctor? Would he have suspected abuse from the injury, which no doubt wouldn't have looked accidental, or from Sarah's own demeanor in that circumstance? If he even suspected, why did he not notify authorities right away?
And if this doctor has first hand knowledge of who 'Sarah' really is, why has he not come forward? Why has he not been summoned by CPS to identify 'Sarah,' who remains as mysterious as ever? Is he, too, being held silent by gag order? Who can tell or say?
Yet another unsolved mystery in a pile of them that seems to grow larger by the day.
WHERE IT COULD ALL GO FROM HERE
Regardless of the prospect that the affidavit initiating the search and raid of the YFZ ranch may be based on second-hand and possibly fraudulent hearsay, Pandora's Box has been opened. The children are in custody and will be tested. It will all be sorted out, one way or the other.
But how much has the State of Texas stuck its foot in this thing? They had better pray to God even longer than the FLDS Mormons do that all the evidence pans out as they so adamantly have sworn to in the affidavits, the search warrants and court testimony in the case.
Best Case? They find the real Sarah, Ms. Swinton is cleared of all involvement, the State ties through DNA samples the alleged pregnancies and children of minors to adult offenders and file new charges. Ms. Jessop's testimony nails the already closing lid shut on the case, the children are farmed out to foster or special needs homes, and the State of Texas seizes all assets of the YFZ ranch.
Worst case? The affidavit and search warrants are struck down as invalid. Bloodlines are established, but abuse and sexual relations with minors cannot be substantiated beyond a reasonable doubt. Rozita Swinton is confirmed as the mysterious Sarah and charged, and Flora Jessop is painted by the defense as an unreliable and hostile witness with no first hand knowledge of the YFZ ranch, but plenty of reason to hold grudges against all FLDS sects.
The FLDS attorneys successfully sue for dismissal, for the custody of the children, and then file civil lawsuits that could climb into the hundreds of millions.
LAST WORD, FOR NOW
I am not a lawyer so I can only assume, and we all know what that means.
I can, however, brave a few predictions. My first on the unknown cellphone caller panned out, so I have somewhat of a successful track record on this.
1. This case, to date, may only be the first step in a years-long legal journey. Or not.
2. The media (including we Digital Journalists, right, Susan?) will be playing this case for all it's worth for as long as it lasts.
3. Book, TV mini-series and movie deals will be signed off by the bushel.
4. The State of Texas will be reviewing this case not as a model for soup-to-nuts evidentiary procedure, but as a cautionary tale on how NOT to screw up such a sweeping investigation with so many major religious, social, legal and constitutional ramifications. Or not.
Regardless of all I have said, think, know or not, this story is news junkie rocket fuel heroin.
See you all after I get my next fix Monday.
Peace. Regards To All, The Mad King (TMK)