235 sect custody cases dropped

Child by child, Texas authorities are acknowledging that many of the children seized during a raid on a polygamist sect’s ranch can safely live with their parents or guardians.

Since the April 3 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, 235 children’s custody cases have been dropped, meaning that fewer than half of the 440 children seized remain bound by a court order to stay in Texas, attend parenting classes or be available for unannounced visits by Child Protective Services.

Child Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins said more cases are likely to be dropped.

The children of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were taken into state custody because child welfare authorities said girls were being forced into underage marriages and boys were being raised to be perpetrators.