From what I understand of the CPS, if they are alerted as to a possible child abuse charge then they must act. To not act is to be shirking the whole point of a CPS. They act by investigating the home in which the alleged child abuse/abuses is to have been reported to take place.
In this case the “home” was not a single family apartment or house. It was not a child of a single parent or even the child of 2 parents. Such households are routinely investigated upon calls to CPS and children are indeed removed into a foster care problem until a judge decides there is either just cause to keep the child/children away from the parent or return them to the home. All “at risk” children within the household are removed if sufficient “proof” of any kind of abuse, neglect and or rape is being leveled upon even one child. Single parent or 2-parent households are the overwhelming rule and not the exception.
When the “single parent/2-parent home” isn’t such, which is infinitely easier to sort out instead a “compound” with 100′s of children whose parents are almost indistinguishable from any number of “sister-mothers” and fathers have fathered any number of children. No clear indication of who belonged to who, adults giving conflicting ages and with-holding surnames plus the very presense of a number of girls – clearly teens – who are either pregnant or are already mothers all together presented a greater problem than that of single mother/father household. The repeated false information of the mothers led to these women being legitiment suspects in a possible coverup of crimes against the children within that multiple family compound.
Add to this, the damning information gleened from former members of the cult-compound, including the girl who testified at Jeffs trial in which he was convicted for forcing a 14 year to marry an adult. A “marriage” which was not consented to nor legal in the state of Texas.
Texas CPS and law enforcement, under these extraordinary conditions, and based on good probable cause, did the job they should have. Protecting children by removing them from illegal, physical and mental harm. Given all the “ways to go” they chose the best. Not doing anything in any case of suspected child abuse and rape should and is simply never an option.
Since everyone is innocent until proven guilty, it will be interesting to see the outcome of these fathers and mothers as it goes through the courts.
