 Eaglewings says: 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. Well said. In Texas, the age of consent for singles is 18; the marriagable age is 16 with parental consent and 14 with judicial consent. Given that it wouldn't be unheard of for the FLDS to have a judge in their pocket, they could easily have enacted marriages to girls as young as 14 which are binding by law regardless of what one may feel about the morality of the situation - but it does make the legal ramifications very murky. 14 is not the lowest marriagable age in the US. In new Hampshire it's 14 for boys and 13 for girls (in cases of "special cause" with parental consent and court permission), and West Virginia has NO defined minimum age (again, parental and judicial consent is required). Worl... Even if I give you the legal standing for teenage marriage Polygamy is illegal in the US. If these men only had one UNDERAGE wife then perhaps it could be understood but I still find it hard to believe that if THESE relationships were done in the open that most people would give these OLD MEN high fives for engaging in a relationship with a teenage girl. I'm not familiar enough with the FLDS case to know how many of these men had multiple wives. All I was trying to point out was that, under some circumstances, it is legal in Texas (and many other states) for an adult man to marry one 14-year-old girl, and that makes the legalities difficult to define. It's likely that the appellate court judge felt it was beyond the scope of his court and is hoping for the case to get kicked up to a higher level. By the way, pedophilia in psychology is defined quite strictly as a sexual attraction to prepubescent children, i.e. who have not reached sexual maturity and are not yet capable of reproduction and is always considered pathological. An attractio... |
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