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	Report Cites Flaws in Raid at Polygamist Site By Don Finley San Antonio Express-News August 27, 2011 http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Report-Faulty-estimates-inadequate-planning-2144382.php When child welfare officials raided the West Texas polygamist compound led by Warren Jeffs, they seriously underestimated the number of children they would find — a miscalculation that limited the success of the investigation into child abuse, according to a new paper by local experts. Eight men belonging to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, including Jeffs, have been convicted of charges ranging from sexual abuse to bigamy since the raid on the group's Eldorado compound in 2008 — described as the largest child-protection intervention in U.S. history. Four additional men have been charged. A dozen girls ages 12 to 15 were found to be victims of sexual abuse through "spiritual" marriages to adult men. Dr. James Lukefahr, a child abuse expert and professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center and one of the authors of the paper, said planning was inadequate for an investigation of that size and scope. Those plans were hindered by faulty estimates about the size of the community, based on what was known about other FLDS communities in other states; and by efforts among parents to mislead investigators. It also was limited by a desire to keep plans for the raid a secret, Lukefahr said — adding he was notified by phone as it already was under way. "It's really easy for us to second-guess all of this," Lukefahr acknowledged. "I think things really started going wrong when they underestimated the number of kids they were going to have. I think they were prepared to handle 80 kids. They just weren't prepared to handle 439." Lukefahr said the authors argue there's a good chance of other large-scale child abuse investigations in the future. Communities and states should develop plans now, much the way they plan for natural disasters or terror attacks, he added. In a paper published first online this week in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect, Lukefahr and the other abuse specialists at the health science center — who serve as consultants to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for the region that includes the compound — along with a San Angelo doctor who volunteered in the effort, argued that law enforcement and child welfare officers were overwhelmed. With too few staff and volunteers on hand initially, 133 mothers were allowed to stay with the children after they were removed from the compound. Older children weren't separated from the adults for several days, "which compromised efforts to obtain reliable forensic interviews of the suspected victims," the authors said. While the San Antonio doctors weren't present during the initial investigation, they provided advice on a number of issues, and later examined some of the children. Among their recommendations, they suggested investigators quickly look for bruises and other injuries that fade and could suggest abuse. That recommendation couldn't be followed, they said, because parents balked at unclothed examinations of children, and because of the hundreds of children involved and limited local medical resources. In a written response to the article, Department of Family and Protective Services officials said: "Planning is always important, and this review is helpful in that context. We remain confident that despite the well-known difficulties presented by this case, we were able to shine the light on multiple instances of sexual abuse in this community and give the families tools to better protect their children in the future." Contact: dfinley@express-news.net
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