10 of Sect's 'Child Brides' Are Adults

But state may return to ranch to look for more children
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted May 21, 2008 3:00 PM CDT
10 of Sect's 'Child Brides' Are Adults
A member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints walks by a law enforcement official as she departs the Tom Green County Courthouse.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas authorities have admitted that 10 of the "children" taken into custody from the Eldorado polygamist sect are actually adults—including one who is 27—and more could be reclassified this week, reports the Houston Chronicle. This development could weaken the Child Protective Services' case that the sect was forcing underage girls into marriage and sex. 

A CPS spokesman denies that the new admission could weaken the agency's case. "The numbers aren't important to us," he said. "CPS did not classify women as minors so that criminal investigators could interview them." Meanwhile, a sect spokesman said CPS has indicated that it may be returning to the ranch to look for more children. "These people never give up," he added. (More polygamists stories.)

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