Inbreeding among polygamists along the Arizona-Utah border is producing a caste of severely retarded and deformed children
By John Dougherty
Published on December 29, 2005
Fifteen years ago, a strange-looking child suffering from severe physical maladies and acute retardation was brought into the office of Dr. Theodore Tarby.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-12-29/news/forbidden-fruit/
Polygamy is a risk factor for incest. This case report of incest and polygamy portrays the dynamics that dominated this family’s identity. The father indoctrinated and groomed his biological daughter and stepdaughter for sexual gratification in a cult-like atmosphere, and secretly married both of them. He justified his acts to the family members under the guise of religion, but he later denied allegations of polygamy and sexual contact with his daughters when confronted by the authorities. Ultimately, his parental rights were terminated in family court. The authors interviewed the primary victim and reviewed extensive evidence, including videotapes of the victims talking with detectives and also privately amongst each other. Videotape dialogue excerpts capture how these young girls individually coped with the sexual abuse and responded to becoming child wives in a polygamous family. Criminal charges ultimately were not pursued because the key witness refused to testify against her biological father.
http://www.astm.org/JOURNALS/FORENSIC/PAGES/JFS2002044_475.htm
High levels of incest, child abuse and wife battering. But the crimes are rarely reported because of the secrecy surrounding polygamous communities, law enforcement officials say.
Sara Hammon, 31, says she suffered incest and sexual abuse as a child in Colorado City, and left at 14 to avoid marriage.
Pennie Petersen, at age 14, found out she was to be married to a 48-year-old man who she said had previously molested her. She ran from the sect.
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