Prank Call Initiated FLDS Raid
Known Prankster Rosita Swinton Called Texas Shelter
Had a Colorado woman not made an anonymous tip, the abuse of women and children at the YFZ ranch might never have been found.
Charges of abuse and the molestation of children have dominated the news coverage of the raid by Texas Authorities on the Yearning for Zion ranch. Websites run by the break-off Mormon sect state that members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are innocent of all charges. The raid on the YFZ compound may have been initiated by a prank phone call made to a Texas shelter.
Rosita Swinton, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the past year, was picked up by authorities in Texas for making prank phone calls. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Flora Jessop, who helps people fleeing polygamist groups, was contacted by Swinton. Swinton claimed to be an underage FLDS mother who had just been beaten and abused by her husband.
No Conclusive Connection Yet
The Texas Rangers have not yet determined if Rosita Swinton was the voice of Sarah, the woman that provided the anonymous tip that caused the raid, but Flora Jessop was called. The Tribune reports that Jessop received calls on March 29 and March 30. The Texas Rangers held her for questioning, but have not yet proved whether Swinton was responsible for the phone call that led to the raid of the FLDS compound.
Spokesmen for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints maintain that they are innocent and have been the victims of a hoax, but had Rosita Swinton not made the prank phone call, the abuse at the compound may have never been discovered.
Flora Jessop responded in an e-mail, "I did receive calls from Ms. Swinton. All of my communications were turned over to the [Texas] Rangers and as a result we discovered that the calls were not from a child on the compound. However, I also consider Ms. Swinton somewhat of a hero for rescuing nearly 500 children from the systemic and widespread abuses of the FLDS cult."
Swinton's Hoax – An Ironic Twist?
WCBS reported that Swinton had a history of filing false reports and pretending to be a sexual abuse victim. The network affiliate states that at least one of the phone calls used to make the anonymous abuse tip was linked to Rosita Swinton's number.
The FLDS at the Yearning for Zion Ranch may have been the victims of a hoax. Their civil rights may have been violated. Rosita Swinton did break the law, but ironically, Rosita Swinton also ended up serving justice by making this prank phone call.
