FLDS polygamist sect:why aren't the men in the spotlight?

[Khampelf]

@5 time champ

Ergo, 38 year old Mahlon raped the then 14 year old Sarah. It is pretty well an open & shut case of rape.

Not necessarily. She could have artificially inseminated herself.
But again, the FLDS probably wouldn’t want to use that defense.

[5_time_champ]

@Dr. Drake

How can DNA evidence establish parentage? It’s my understanding that many of the men are closely related to each other, and that DNA evidence can’t distinguish between “father” and “uncle” with anywhere near the same certainly that it can distinguish between unrelated potential fathers. Even if mom was 14 when she gave birth, if they can’t prove which of 3 or 4 guys did it, and no one owns up, who would they prosecute?

Then the second step is proving the “marriage” between Mahlon and Sarah. One would hope prosecutors can find some sort of religious or civil documentation of the marriage. So even if Mahlon says it was his brother Levi that impregnated Sarah, I believe that children born during a marriage are presumed to be fathered by the husband.

Plus the question was, “Why do DNA testing?” You gotta start somewhere.

Another plus, aren’t the polygamists the Alpha Males in the group- and then the others get banished? I am not sure that Levi, Zebulon and Eli are still around to get blamed.