April 23, 2008, 11:38PM
CHILDREN OF ELDORADO
Raid on compound triggered by hoax?
Calls to authorities came from phone owned by woman with a history of making false reports
By JANET ELLIOTT and GARY SCHARRER
AUSTIN — The frantic, whispered calls that triggered the removal of more than 400 children from a West Texas polygamist sect came from a phone linked to a Colorado Springs woman with a long history of making false abuse reports, according to a court document unsealed Wednesday.
Two prepaid mobile phones that were used to make calls late last month to a domestic violence shelter in San Angelo had previously been used by Rozita Swinton in calls to abuse hot lines and authorities in Colorado and Washington, the affidavit said.
Swinton "is a known repeat victim who repeatedly reports sexual abuse with the Colorado Springs Police Department," the affidavit said.
The records also revealed that the 33-year-old pleaded guilty in June 2007 to false reporting and was placed on probation for one year. She was charged last week with misdemeanor false reporting to authorities in Colorado Springs, and is being investigated by the Texas Rangers in connection with the calls that prompted the April 3 raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado.
"We are still examining evidence that was seized from her residence and do not expect that investigation to be completed for a while," said Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange.
Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the fact the state launched the raid on what appears to have been a hoax tip without checking it out makes a "sham" out of constitutional protections against wrongful searches.
"To me, this is either gross incompetence or this is a religious vendetta," Harrington said.
In calls that began March 29 to the San Angelo shelter, the caller claimed to be Sarah Barlow who was born in January 1992. She said she was pregnant, already had an infant and was the third wife of her 49-year-old husband.
The caller tearfully whispered that she was being held at the ranch against her will and that her husband beat her so severely, a rib broke. She expressed fear for her baby and a teenage sister who might soon be subjected to a similar fate.
Based on those calls, state law enforcement and child welfare authorities obtained a search warrant to enter the compound owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a breakaway Mormon sect that believes in polygamy for the men. Officials said they observed what they believed to be underage pregnant girls and began removing children and women from the ranch.
During days of searching, including a tense standoff before police entered the group's sacred temple, more than 400 children were taken away. They are now in state custody and being relocated to group homes around the state.
An initial arrest warrant was issued for the man named by the caller. But the man, who lives in Arizona, had been regularly reporting to his probation officer and there was no evidence he had lived at the ranch.
Randall Chapman, executive director of Texas Legal Services, said he believes state protective services "went over the bounds" but that the agency has "broad investigative authority" when it comes to allegations of child abuse or neglect.
Possible connection
Texas Rangers accompanied Colorado Springs police officers last week when they searched Swinton's apartment, where they found items indicating a possible connection between her and calls regarding the Eldorado compound.
Swinton, who works for an insurance office, is free on $10,000 bond. Her attorney, David Foley of Colorado Springs, said he could not discuss the allegations.
"There's a lot more to this than the public is getting. I think people would be surprised. Stay tuned," Foley said.
The eight-page affidavit paints a picture of a troubled woman who spent hours calling shelters pretending to be a hysterical teenager who had been sexually abused by male relatives and others. In 15 hours of calls to a Colorado Springs shelter, she claimed to be a 13-year-old named Dana who had been molested repeatedly by a local youth pastor.
Those calls prompted Colorado Springs police to look for the girl at a local high school.
In March, a shelter in Washington began getting calls from "April" about abuse by her father and uncle. The girl, however, refused to talk to law enforcement officers and ultimately said her "other personality" had gone to a safe house in Colorado. A callback number she left was linked to Swinton's home.
Meanwhile, one day after 111 older children were put on buses and sent to foster care placements around the state, child welfare authorities said Wednesday they would consider allowing the more than 40 nursing mothers that remain behind in San Angelo to remain with or near their babies.
Reacting to criticism
The assertion was a reversal of sorts for officials with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, who over the weekend said all children would be separated from their mothers and placed into foster care. That led to sharp criticism from the children's attorneys; and at an informal hearing on Wednesday, the judge overseeing the case, Barbara Walther, said she wanted the nursing babies to remain with their mothers.
The department has and will continue to work to keep older siblings together, though a spokesman for the department acknowledged that mix-ups occurred with the six busloads of children sent out Tuesday.
The agency found 16 residential foster home facilities that could take the children, none of which were at risk of losing their license or having it suspended, said Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for the agency. None of the homes selected were under any kind of probation with the agency.
Some coming to area
Child Protective Services would not say when the rest of the children would be moved, but two Houston-area shelters continued preparing for them Wednesday.
When the children arrive at the Arrow Child & Family Ministries Retreat Center, just north of Porter in east Montgomery County, they will be part of a long-term care program, said Scott Lundy, vice president for foster care and residential services. The ministry is hiring 100 new staff members who will be specially trained.
"Their society is totally different. Their belief systems are different. Their diet is different. ... Nobody knows what these children are going to need," Lundy said.
The Jim H. Green Kidz Harbor in Brazoria County is preparing to house as many as 36 children. Area residents are bringing sheets, towels, toiletries and checks to the small city hall in Liverpool, said city secretary Judy Dunbar.
Reporters Renée C. Lee, Richard Stewart and Terri Langford in Houston, R.G. Ratcliffe in the Austin Bureau and Lisa Sandberg in San Angelo contributed.
janet.elliott@chron.com
gscharrer@express-news.net
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