In a community rocked by persistent and ongoing allegations of sexual
abuse, welfare fraud and forced marriages, suddenly there is a new force
in town. This week, the state of Arizona and Mojave County opened a new
justice center in the border straddling polygamist town of Colorado City.
The polygamist enclave has long been isolated by geography and hostile
to outsiders, but Monday a new justice center opened its doors. The
building will be used by Child Protective Services, the Arizona Attorney
Generals Office, the Mojave County Sheriff's Office, and the Mojave
County Attorney's Office.
Officials say they hope the new facility will serve victims who, in the
past, have had nowhere to turn in Colorado City. Over the years, critics
have complained bitterly that women and young girls trying to escape
forced marriages and the polygamist lifestyle have had no where to go
because almost all of the police officers in the community are members
of the polygamist religion - the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints.
County and state leaders also hope the justice center will open channels
of communication throughout the community. And while some anti-polygamy
activists say the center is a good first step, others say the people who
need it the most -- women and young girls -- will avoid the center like
the plague. Sources say that faithful members of the FLDS church have
already been warned to steer clear of the facility.
Securitas