Source: Salt Lake Tribune

While Texas authorities were initially investigating 20 cases of sexual assault and 50 bigamy cases involving FLDS members, it is unclear how many of those cases remain open four months later.

Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange confirmed the number of cases – outlined in an April e-mail – was accurate in the month officials raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado.

But she said she can’t confirm the current number of cases still being investigated. And Salt Lake City attorney Rod Parker, a spokesman for the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, thinks that more than likely the numbers have drastically changed as the investigation has progressed.
So far, the Schleicher County grand jury hearing evidence against sect members has indicted six men, including sect leader Warren S. Jeffs, on charges of sexual assault, bigamy and failure to report child abuse.

Parker said he wonders in particular about the volume of bigamy charges that had been predicted back in April.

Based on the number of men on the ranch in plural marriages, prosecutors likely would need to charge women in order to file 50 bigamy charges, he said – a departure from the typical bigamy suspect. He said women typically have been viewed as victims of bigamy, not perpetrators.
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