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POPSTexas Appellant Court ruling appalling
In the world of the FLDS, "spiritual marriage" between older men and underage girls — what the law defines as rape — is given the stamp of religious approval. Of 53 girls believed to be between 14 and 17, more than 30 have children or are pregnant, including one who gave birth to her second child in custody. Among the boys, too, there is suspicion of widespread physical abuse. Indeed, many teenage boys are routinely banished to preserve the odds of polygamy. Nevertheless, what do we make of an entire sect that has sexual abuse at its very heart? That believes plural "marriages" between older men and underage women are not an aberration but a pathway to heaven? Nobody can prosecute the FLDS for what they believe, says Marci Hamilton, author of God vs. the Gavel. "They can stay together and believe what they want into eternity. What they can't do is illegal action." In the end, what we have on that ranch in Eldorado is not a lifestyle. It's a pedophile ring.