Judge Orders Parents to Leave Religious Sect to Get Children Back
Jim Hudson a circuit judge in Miller County, Ark. told the parents of two teenage girls who were removed from a religious compound led by Tony Alamo back in September that if they wanted to get their children back, they would be forced to move off of the Alamo compound and quit working for his church, ABC News reported. The girls, along with nearly 20 other children were removed from the compound back in September under suspicions that they were being physically and sexually abused.
"I am not trying to infringe on their religious practices, only the practices that were found to be neglectful or abuse," Hudson told ABC News.
One of the girls testified this week that Alamo, who is set to stand trial in February for abuse, not only sexually assaulted her, but coached her and others to say that they were not abused, threatening to beat them if they told anyone, MSNBC reported.
"The information that we presented to the court included allegations of abuse and neglect on all of the children, not exclusive to certain children," Department of Human Services spokeswoman Julie Munsell told MSNBC.
If the girls are released back to their parents, there will be a hearing every 90 days to make sure that the couple is complying with the judge's orders, according to ABC News.