Obviously not all of them. Many monogamous marriages. Many unmarried and unpregnant teen girls. Just because a person follow the tenets of the Bible doesn't mean they follow it to a "T". Additionally, we are talking about breaking the law. And so far, no real abuse has been reported on any family. This is a farce.

His convictions are irrelevant to THIS case when no one has been charged with any of those crimes. Polygamy is illegal, but just having a harem isn't.

A harem of underage girls is a crime. And these are his followers, not everyday citizens and neighbors. All of the residents believe he is the prophet, that is a fact. And if he did those things himself, don't you think his loyal followers are doing what he dictated? This is not about religion, it is about sexual slavery and child abuse.

I didn't say underage.

But that is the reason the CPS is involved. Not because of what the adults do, but what underaged kids are being forced to do against their wills. Here is another link to some of the girls who ran away or tried to run away:

Help the Child Brides

I'm still talking about THIS case. No such luck in THIS case. Not to mention "underage" was expanded AFTER 2005. That's persecution, not underage. Were 14 year olds NOT underage til 2005?

This case has 463 investigations to complete, and will complete. As you said, we now know that there are 100 kids there who don't have parents. Hmm. It is not persecution when laws are changed due to a majority of opinion. That is the will of the people and that is what our country is about.

"The people" had nothing to do with it. It was passed in the legislature along with a bunch of other law changes specifically targeting the FLDS. Persecution by definition.

The people are the ones who elect the legislature. If we don't like their actions, we don't re-elect them. Sometimes things change, as I'm sure you've noticed from your extensive knowledge on what is natural and how things were done a long time ago.

Here are a few statistics on child brides and the possible effects of teen marriage.

Poor health, early death, and lack of educational opportunities lead the list of problems attributed to child marriage.

• Child brides have a double pregnancy death rate of women in their 20s.

• In developing countries, the leading cause of death for young girls between the ages of 15 and 19 is early pregnancy.

• Additionally, from having babies too young, child brides are at an extremely high risk for fistulas (vaginal and anal ruptures).

• The babies of child brides are sicker and weaker and many do not survive childhood.

• Child brides have a higher risk of being infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

• These young girls are at an increased risk of chronic anemia and obesity.

• Child brides have poor access to contraception.

• These young girls have a lack of educational opportunities.

• Being forced into an early marriage creates a lifetime of poverty.

• Statistically, child brides have a higher risk of becoming a victim of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and murder

This was far more acceptable in the past, but we have come to know better in modern times, and we have gotten the power to control our own destinies, but the FLDS hasn't.

it is unlikely that there was no abuse and sexual slavery. i suggest the fact that there is no public information on it most likely represents the prosecutors and police desire to keep such information out of the media until the court date.

innocent until proved guilty is a neccessary part of the law, and one that should be respected even in cases like this. but the need to protect children and intervene when there is suspected abuse is also neccessary. i would be astonished if at the end of the day, there was no abuse demonstrated, but due process always takes long.