In re Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (department) (plaintiff) received a report that a 16-year-old girl named Sarah was being sexually abused at a religious complex. The department went to the complex to investigate. However, the adults and the children would not reveal the children’s ages and identities or identify family groupings or relationships. The department was still able to get evidence that the adults believed in forcing girls to enter into sexual relationships with adult men chosen by the religious leader once the girls hit puberty. The adults also believed in polygamy, and the pubescent girls were considered the spiritual wives of the adult men. The department found evidence that girls as young as 13 had been pregnant and that 15- and 16-year-old girls were currently pregnant or had children. In Texas, polygamy was illegal, and sex between an adult male and a female minor was legal only if the two were legally married. The department also had evidence that sexual relationships like these were harmful to the girls. Without a court order, the department took custody of 468 children at the complex for the children’s safety. The department then filed a petition to have its temporary custody of the children extended while it sought permanent relief. The district court granted the extension, issuing temporary orders for the children to stay in department custody. Thirty-eight mothers appealed the order, seeking custody of 126 children. Of those children, 121 were either (1) under the age of 13 and most likely prepubescent or (2) boys. The record did not identify the age or sex of the other five children. The appellate court vacated the order extending the department’s custody of these particular children, and the department sought relief from the Texas Supreme Court.