On April 17, 2003 at a public meeting in Saint George UT, Senator Hatch responded to a question from HTCB by saying he had many friends in the polygamous enclave of Hildale UT and that he didn't believe anything wrong was going on there. This story was picked up by the press, including an
a
article in the Salt Lake Tribune.
We at Help the Child Brides take exception to Senator Hatch's remarks. In fact we find his ignorance of the Child Brides issues appalling. We are particularly distressed because Senator Hatch is the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of Federal Law Enforcement efforts. Troy Bowles expressed our feelings in a
letter to the Editor of the Salt Lake Tribune.
We have sent Senator Hatch a challenge to demonstrate the good faith of his polygamous friends by bringing Ruby Jessop away from her home in Hildale Utah to be examined by child abuse experts. Here is the letter we sent to Senator Hatch
April 27, 2003
Dear Senator Hatch:
I am one of the Directors of "Help the Child Brides".
In Saint George you stated that you have many
upstanding polygamous friends and if it can be
demonstrated that child abuse is occurring you would
be happy to address it. We applaud your efforts on
behalf of abused children, in particular the passage
of the recent child protection legislation. However,
we would like to give you a challenge in regard to
your polygamist friends of Hildale Utah.
No doubt one of your friends in Hildale Utah is Bishop
Fred Jessop, a long time leader in that community. We
would challenge you to go out to Mr. Jessop's home and
ask to speak with Ruby Jessop Barlow, legal wife of
Haven Barlow. We are quite certain she is living in
Fred's home with her husband. If you look at our
website ( http://helpthechildbrides.com ) you will see
that one of our primary allegations is that Ruby
Jessop was forced into that union at the age of 14
against her will (though with the consent of her
polygamous mother).
Ruby made an unusual and very brave attempt to free
herself from that relationship, but was tricked into
returning and then subjected to some heavy
brainwashing, not unlike what was inflicted on
Elizabeth Smart. A Marriage license was registered
between Haven and Ruby as soon as she was 16. At about
that time she became pregnant and has since become a
mother.
We would challenge you to go to Fred Jessop's home and
ask Ruby to bring her baby along and come with you to
St. George and talk to Child Protection workers along
with representatives of the Utah AG in private, away
from any intimidating influence. We would ask that you
stipulate that the workers who interview her be
female, since she's been raised in an environment
where males are intimidating influences. They should
be experienced caseworkers who are familiar with the
nature of brainwashing. We'd also ask that she be
allowed to speak first with some ladies who have left
that community. Specifically We'd like to have her
speak with "Aunt" Jennie Larsen of St George and with
her sister, Flora Jessop.
Now, if Ruby is a free individual who has entered into
this union of her own free will, as the polygamists
allege, none of this should be any problem for her. If
I were being accused of forcing my wife to have a
sexual union with me, I'd be very glad to have my wife
go talk to any authorities and clear up the
misunderstanding. I'm sure you'd do the same. So if
these polygamous gentlemen are as wholesome as you
maintain, then I'm sure they'd support Ruby in
allowing her an opportunity to come in and speak with
those who have the mistaken impression that she's been
kidnapped and raped and reassure them she is living
the life she's chosen for herself. You have spoken
clearly about what kind of people you think these
polygamists are. Now we'd like you to put some action
behind your words.
Jim Ashurst