Arkansas to keep girls from Alamo compound for now (UALR Public Radio) - An official says six girls taken from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound in Fouke will remain in state custody for the near future.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services had faced an 8 p.m. deadline for filing a court document to keep the children or return them to the complex of houses in southwestern Arkansas. Department spokeswoman Julie Munsell said she couldn't comment about the legal process surrounding the girls' future, but acknowledged they wouldn't be leaving the state's care tonight.

State lawyers will appear before a Miller County judge sometime in the next five days for a closed-door hearing about the girls' future.

Munsell says the girls, ranging in age from 10 to 17, all have been identified through police investigation and birth certificates. However, she says state authorities continue to piece together who their legal guardians are, as their parents "weren't present" at the time of the raid.

Munsell says there are no immediate plans to remove any other children from the Fouke compound. However, she says she "wouldn't completely close the door" on going back in, as new evidence could be uncovered.

State and federal agents raided Alamo's Fouke compound Saturday night, searching for evidence that children there had been molested or filmed having sex. In interviews, Alamo has denied the allegations, calling the raid an attempt to smear him. However, he has said he believes polygamy is allowed by the Bible and "consent is puberty" when it comes to young girls having sex.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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