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Tony Alamo

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Stories of alleged beatings and sexual abuse prompted Arkansas child-welfare officials to take custody of 20 more children associated with the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, an official said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, authorities confirmed that a federal arrest warrant had been issued for a man accused of being Alamo’s brutal enforcer.

The children — 11 boys and 9 girls ranging in age from 1 to 17_ were taken into state care Tuesday while hearings were being conducted on whether six girls seized in September should remain under state protection or be returned to their parents, Department of Human Services spokeswoman Julie Munsell said.

The children picked up Tuesday showed no immediate signs of poor health and did not require medical attention, Munsell said.

Alamo was arrested by the FBI in September, days after his compound in Fouke was raided by state and federal agents. The six 10- to 17-year-old girls who were the subject of Tuesday’s hearings were seized for their own protection.

The hearings this week are to determine whether the girls should be returned to their parents or be placed under continued care arranged by the state.

Alamo has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of transporting minors across state lines for sex. His trial is set for February.

He has preached that the Bible allows girls to marry once they reach puberty but has said he didn’t adopt the practice. However, witness testimony and assertions from prosecutors indicate otherwise.

A court order for Tuesday’s removals came after Fort Smith police issued an arrest warrant for John Erwin Kolbeck, 49, Alamo’s alleged enforcer, who is accused of beating followers for perceived slights and offenses.

“The information that we presented to the court included allegations of abuse and neglect on all of the children, not exclusive to certain children,” Munsell said.

Munsell declined to elaborate on specific allegations.

A federal warrant charging Kolbeck with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued during the past week, said Steve Frazier, an FBI spokesman in Little Rock.

Alamo’s lawyer, John Wesley Hall Jr., questioned whether his client would be able to get a fair trial in Texarkana because of heavy news coverage of the case. Hall said Alamo is an easy target in the child welfare hearings.

“Tony Alamo is not able to be there to defend himself, not able to cross-examine these people, which is a fundamental right,” Hall said.

Munsell said social workers also contacted the Department of Human Services in neighboring Oklahoma, where some children associated with Alamo may be living. Alamo is said to have ministry locations in other states, too, including California, Colorado and Tennessee.

George Earl Johnson Jr., a spokesman for the Oklahoma agency, said welfare officials had yet to take into custody any children associated with the ministry.

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