Eldorado, USA - Hours after signing an order releasing FLDS children from state custody, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther arrived at the Schleicher County Courthouse in Eldorado to swear in a grand jury that may be considering indictments related to the polygamous sect.
By the end of the day, 18 indictments had been issued, although no details were immediately available. The number was more than the usual; typically, five to 15 indictments are returned, a court clerk said.
Walther arrived at the Eldorado courthouse at 12:30 p.m., accompanied by two bailiffs and her clerk. She left an hour later.
Allison Palmer, the deputy district attorney for Tom Green County, also was at the courthouse. Palmer has been leading the office's investigation into the sect and appearing at related hearings.
Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran was unavailable because he was meeting with the D.A.'s office, a spokeswoman said.
In a story published Saturday by the Los Angeles Times, Doran indicated that criminal charges were pending, while downplaying reports that FLDS members had requested voter registration forms and could influence county elections.
"Once we begin impaneling some grand juries and the criminal case comes to light, we'll see the tide turn once again," he said.
It could be days before the focus of any of Monday's indictments are known; the county's policy is not to release information about indictments until they are served.
News of the grand jury's meeting circulated among members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, creating concern about returning to their homes on the YFZ Ranch, several attorneys said.
A raid of the ranch that began April 3 led to the removal of about 450 children, who were eventually placed in shelters throughout Texas. Walther signed an order on Monday morning that allowed them to be returned to their parents immediately while Child Protective Services continues an abuse investigation.
Last week, Arizona and Texas authorities collected DNA samples from Warren S. Jeffs, the sect's leader. He is jailed in Kingman, Ariz., awaiting trial on charges related to marriages he conducted between underage girls and older men.
The search warrant said the evidence was needed as part of a new investigation of four spiritual marriages between Jeffs and girls who range in age from 12 to 15.
In Texas, the Attorney General's Office is awaiting results from 599 DNA samples collected six weeks ago, mostly from FLDS adults and children living at the YFZ Ranch, just outside Eldorado. The state had said it needed the results to match parents and children. A spokeswoman for the office did not return a call from The Salt Lake Tribune on Monday.