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Oct 27, 2008 8:39 am US/Central
Polygamy Central Issue In Utah AG Race
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ―
Polygamy is on the minds of Utah voters. Texas is one of the reasons.
The raid on a polygamist compound near the West Texas town of Eldorado is one of the biggest issues in the race for Utah attorney general. The raid ended with more than 400 kids temporarily in state custody.
Republican Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Democrat Jean Welch Hill both told The Associated Press that the first question they are asked by voters is always about polygamy.
There are an estimated 37,000 polygamists living in the West, most in Utah.
In 2007, Shurtleff's office helped prosecute polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs. His Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is primarily centered on the Utah-Arizona border, but some followers began moving to Eldorado in 2004.
In April, Texas authorities raided the group's Yearning for Zion ranch after a report that a teenage girl had been physically and sexually abused. That call is now considered a hoax, but children were separated from their families for about two months while police and child welfare authorities investigated.
All but one child has been returned to their parents and most child welfare cases have been dropped. Nine FLDS men, however, now face criminal indictments on charges related to underage marriage and bigamy.
Hill contends the entire raid was ill-conceived.
Shurtleff is on record for initially supporting the raid. He contends Texas authorities had to raid the compound because of the isolated way the FLDS live.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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