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April 18, 2008
Dispatch from the FLDS hearing: Another mother
Posted: 08:50 PM ET
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Katherine Wojtecki, CNN Producer 

FLDS member # 2 Moreen Jessop takes the stand:

-age 25

-married. Husband is 27

-children ages 4, 2 and ½, and 11 months

-how many people live on your dwelling? I don’t know

-Do you share any other living space with any other families? No.

-when did your parents tell you when you should get married? When I felt capable of taking care of responsibilities. I wasn’t married until I was 18.

-Yes sometimes I felt immature at 18.

-did you go to college? Yes

-what kind of training did you receive? EMT training

-in addition I also had a computer programming course and then decided to stay home and take care of my baby

-were you given that choice to go to school? Yes.

-did you feel like as a female you had that choice? Yes

-husband did not want me to take the training but did anyway.

-actually worked as an EMT in ambulances

-I have a wonderful life in Eldorado

-have you ever seen any kind of family violence? No

-Are you still with your 3 children? Yes, at Coliseum

-have you taken your children for medical exams? Yes

-do you have a birth certificate and SS card for your 4 year old? Yes

-have been in Eldorado since beginning of 2005

-if court chooses to leave children in your position and lets you leave coliseum would you take parenting classes? Yes

-are you asking the court to allow you to leave coliseum with your children? Yes

Cross examination:

-who owns your home? I don’t know

-if you are ordered to leave YFZ ranch, you would have to do that? Yes

-because you don’t own the property and it's not your decision right? Yes

-does it concern you that 15 year olds are getting married? Yes

-I do not know if that is taking placed at YFZ ranch

-yes I have seen a pregnant woman

-do you know what a teenager would look like? I can guess an age.

-have you seen teenagers that were obviously pregnant? Yes I have seen teenagers that were pregnant

-children do not have birth certificates.

-you very much want your children to come back to you right? Right

-would it be fair to say that you would tell the judge what you wanted to hear to get your children back? I would tell the judge what I feel.

-I know of no other women that are my husband's wife.

3 Comments
More about: FLDS court hearing •  Polygamy
3 Comments
Annie Kate   April 18th, 2008 9:39 pm ET

It seems like this woman confirmed the state's position that there was underage marriage going on. I was surprised at some of her answers though – particularly on going to college and taking the EMT training. Her saying that her husband did not want her to do that but she did anyway was totally unexpected given the picture of the FLDS women we have had up to this point.

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

maggie   April 18th, 2008 10:50 pm ET

much ado about a 911 call that should be able to be traced that it may be from texas or colorado or mars cell phone tower ect ect ect

Jeff   April 19th, 2008 11:48 pm ET

All children should be protected but,

from what has been disclosed to us as far as evidence it does not look like all these children should have been taken away by armed men and women just the ones that were in danger.

I am not German but if I lived during Nazi times and was asked to separated families I would not of done it, just as if I were a police officer I would not of participated in this, No one could of ordered me to separated kids from there mothers, and from what was said it seems like they told a lot of lies while doing it.

Children should always be protected but I guess if you say you are protecting children you can do what ever you want laws or no laws.

But when are country needed to pass the patriot act to protect all of us, they included in it an provision to protect large corporations in case they caused Autism in our children. Get the point..

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