With wet eyes and a broad
smile, Amy Hawkins walked out of a Texas courtroom Wednesday and
embraced her 15-year-old son waiting for her in the hallway.
“You are free,” she said. “We’re free. You’re going to have an education. You’re going to have a life.”
After
hours of testimony, a judge granted Hawkins temporary custody of her
four children, allowing them to return to South Carolina where they have
been living since she left her husband and a Texas religious group on
Aug. 1.
Hawkins
testified that as members of the House of Yahweh in nearby Clyde, her
son was forced to work long hours in the group’s slaughterhouse while
she lived in isolation with her three daughters who were denied a formal
education and medical care.
She said on the stand that all of their family’s decisions were made by her husband after consulting with the group’s elders.
“He couldn’t make a decision on his own or have a conversation with his own wife,” she testified.
Micahyah
Hawkins, who filed for divorce and sought custody of the kids after she
left, said that it was his wife who kept his children from going to
school and to a doctor. He said his son worked at the slaughterhouse to
learn a trade.
[,,,]
The
House of Yahweh is a religious, gated community on the outskirts of
Clyde filled with mobile homes where many of its members live. The group
and some of its members have faced legal issues in the past dealing
with underage children.
In
2009 its leader, Yisrayl Bill Hawkins, was sentenced to probation and
six months community service after he pleaded no contest to four counts
of child labor violations after he allegedly forced children under 14
years old to work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the group’s fields,
cafeteria, canning operation and butter making process, according to
court records.
As
part of a plea bargain, prosecutors agreed to drop bigamy charges
against Yisrayl Hawkins, according to the agreement filed in Callahan
County Court.
Also
in 2009, elder Yedidiyah Hawkins was sentenced to 30 years in prison
after a jury found him guilty of aggravated sexual assault for using a
vaginal speculum on an 11-year-old girl, according to court records.
A third member, Rebekah Hawkins was
found guilty of injury to a child in 2007 after prosecutors said she
assisted in a surgery on a 7-year-old girl who later died, according to
court documents.
'I'm awake' - Mother wins fight to keep children in South Caroli - WCIV-TV | ABC News 4 - Charleston News, Sports, Weather
See also:
House of Yahweh and Yisrayl Hawkinsaka Buffalo Bill Hawkins
House Of Yahweh: A Darker Sect Than FLDS
House of Yahweh
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