It was like a kid's worst nightmare: Police with automatic weapons descended, strangers swept children off to a cold, crowded shelter, chicken pox broke out, and then their moms were hauled away.
In the largest child welfare case in U.S. history, 416 children were removed from the polygamous Yearning for Zion ranch in rural Texas after authorities received a complaint alleging sexual abuse.
These insulated children -- some as young as 5 years old -- have been taken from their mothers to prevent any further possible abuse and will be placed in foster care until a judge unravels this massive custody fight.
But child welfare experts fear the state's actions may be worse than whatever might have gone on at the ranch.
"What Texas has done is barbaric," said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. "The worst thing you can do to these children is separate them from their mothers."
"Taking a child away is tantamount to pouring salt in an open wound, so basically the position of the Texas Department of Child Protective Services is 'Pass the salt,'" he told ABCNEWS.com.
Texas Children's Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner defended her decision to separate children from their mothers, saying she had consulted experts.
"I can tell you we believe the children who are victims of abuse or neglect, and particularly victims at the hands of their own parents, certainly are going to feel safer to tell their story when they don't have a parent there that's coaching them with how to respond," Meisner told The Associated Press.