Story Published:
Sep 25, 2009 at 7:48 AM CDT
Story Updated:
Sep 25, 2009 at 10:36 AM CDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- State child-welfare officials say a baby born to followers of convicted evangelist Tony Alamo is at substantial risk of injury. An affidavit filed last week in Miller County Circuit Court by a
caseworker with the state Department of Human Services said the
3-month-old boy is in danger of abuse. The affidavit also says a judge in January ruled that the Alamo ministry was an unfit environment for the boy's four siblings.
Cheryl Barnes of the CPS Legal Watch Team that's helping the parents calls the petition a retaliation. She says it was filed two days after the parents filed an affidavit in U.S. District Court in Texarkana as part of a lawsuit contending DHS is infringing on the religious freedoms of ministry members.
Alamo was convicted in July of taking young girls across state
lines for sex and is awaiting sentencing.