SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas judge on Monday allowed over 400 children removed from the polygamist Yearning for Zion ranch in West Texas to return to their parents.
State District Judge Barbara Walther ordered parents to beready for unannounced home visits by authorities and barredthem from taking the children out of Texas without courtapproval.
Parents could begin picking up their children at 10 a.m.local time and agreed to take parenting classes, according tothe order.
The standoff between the Fundamentalist Church of JesusChrist of Latter-Day Saints and Texas authorities hasfascinated some Americans with lurid allegations of adolescentbrides, teenage pregnancies and a secretive sect on a remoteWest Texas ranch.
The children were removed in early April after Family andProtective Services received a telephone call reporting that a16-year-old girl named Sarah was being physically and sexuallyabused at the compound. "Sarah" was never identified.
"The parents are ecstatic at having a shot at getting theirkids back, finally," said Robert Doggett of Texas Rio GrandeLegal Aid, the lead attorneys for the children.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled last week that the seizure ofthe children was unwarranted and ordered Judge Walther to lifther April order granting their custody to the state.
The compound is run by followers of jailed polygamistleader Warren Jeffs, who are members of a renegade Mormon sectknown as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-Day Saints or FLDS.
The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsrenounced polygamy over a century ago and is at pains todistance itself from splinter groups such as the FLDS thatcontinue to practice plural marriages.
Texas Child Protective Services and the FLDS negotiatedthrough the weekend on the deal, according to Laura Shockley,the lead lawyer for the ranch.
"We will work with the district court to ensure the safetyof the children, and to make sure all of our actions conform tothe decision of the Texas Supreme Court," Patrick Crimmins ofChild Protective Services said in a statement.
(Reporting by Jim Forsyth, editing by Peter Henderson andAlan Elsner)
