Custody Hearing In Tony Alamo Sex Case Begins
- November 28, 2008
Tony Alamo
TEXARKANA, Ark. – A custody hearing for 20 children taken from parents who attend Tony Alamo Christian Ministries is likely to draw lawyers from across Arkansas into a courtroom today.
The initial probable cause hearings will focus on whether state child welfare officials had enough evidence to seize the children Nov. 18. Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson will hear the cases in a closed courtroom.
“We’re just trying to make sure that everybody is represented and that they have representation going into the hearing so the judges get the best information to go forward with these cases,” Connie Hickman Tanner of the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts told the Texarkana Gazette. “That’s the most important thing.”
Mr. Alamo was arrested in September after his compound in Fouke, Ark., was raided by state and federal agents. Hearings continue over whether six girls seized after the raid can return to their parents.
In those cases, a state judge told parents last week that they could have their children back if they severed ties with the religious community.
Mr. Alamo faces federal charges that he took minors across state lines for sex. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has repeatedly said he is innocent.
Miller County Circuit Judge Jim Hudson said two girls’ parents had to leave the compound and demonstrate financial independence if their children were to be returned to them.
“I am not trying to infringe on their religious practices, only the practices that were found to be neglectful or abuse,” Judge Hudson said Friday.
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