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Polygamist Retreat

By Associated Press

Court papers detail life inside polygamist ranch. Polygamist Retreat

Published: Wed, April 09, 2008 - 6:37 am Last Updated: Wed, April 09, 2008 - 6:42 am

ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - Attorneys for a Texas polygamist sect who
are fighting closure of the church compound are scheduled for a
court hearing today.
Meanwhile, court documents are revealing a 16-year-old girl's
account of life on the inside.
The documents detail secret calls the girl made to a family
violence shelter. The teen claimed she had been forced to marry a
man more than three times her age, becoming his seventh wife. She
said her husband sexually assaulted her and would beat her while
other women held her infant. The calls prompted an investigation of
the ranch, which was raided last week.
The church and church leaders have filed motions asking a judge
to quash the search on constitutional grounds, saying authorities
didn't have enough evidence and that the warrants were too broad.
More than 400 children from the ranch are now in the state's
custody. Court papers say a number of teen girls are pregnant.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)