Source: New York Times -- Read Full Story

For years, the veiled world behind the doors of a fundamentalist Mormon polygamist temple tantalized local imaginations in the Hill Country south of here. On Thursday, a Texas ranger described in detail what occurred last week when law enforcement officers, responding to a call for help from a 16-year-old who said she was being sexually abused in the compound, sought entry. In essence, Capt. Barry Caver of the Texas Public Safety Department said at a news conference here, the officers knocked and asked for a key. The church members quietly said no. “They opted not to do that because they would be aiding or assisting us in the desecration of their worship place,” Captain Caver said. The authorities called in a locksmith to open the gate, but they were unable to move the deadbolts to open the front doors of the temple. They tried to use a “jaws of life” tool, normally used to remove people trapped in cars after accidents, to open the doors. But the doors were too tightly constructed, Captain Caver said.