Judge allows sect girl's release, with conditions

(CNN) -- A teenage girl removed from a polygamist sect's compound can be released to her guardian, a judge ruled, as long as she's kept away from a person accused of abusing her, and from her father, sect leader Warren Jeffs.

The 16-year-old must also be kept away from the Yearning for Zion Ranch, where she was one of 460 children removed by the state of Texas in April.

Her attorney has said she is an "identified victim of sexual abuse."

Attorneys for the girl said Monday that releasing her from state custody might cause her to come in contact with her alleged abuser. District Judge Barbara Walther delayed her release for up to 72 hours after most of the children were released.

But on Tuesday, Walther signed an order allowing the girl's release under strict conditions.

She was allowed to return to a guardian, a woman who shares her last name and may be her mother.

The woman agreed to abide by the same conditions as other parents who reclaimed their children -- allowing unannounced visits from Child Protective Services workers, completing a parenting course, and advising CPS in writing of the child's address, among others.

In imposing the additional conditions, Walther said the girl's alleged abuser should not be able to contact her in any way, and her guardian should notify police immediately if the person comes within 1,000 feet of the girl.

In addition, Walther ordered that the girl have no contact with Jeffs, the leader of the estimated 10,000 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The judge ordered the girl's guardian to "take all measures necessary" to prevent it. And Walther ruled the girl cannot be taken within 1,000 feet of the YFZ Ranch.

Child protection officials said they found a "pervasive pattern" of sexual abuse on the ranch through forced marriages between underage girls and older men.

However, the Texas Supreme Court ruled last week the state had no right to remove the children and that it lacked evidence to show they faced imminent danger of abuse. The children were ordered returned to their families.

Jeffs, 52, the co-called prophet of the FLDS, is jailed in Arizona, awaiting trial on 10 felony charges -- five counts of sexual conduct with a minor, four counts of incest and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. If convicted, he could face more than three years in prison.

In November, he was sentenced in Utah to two consecutive terms of five years to life, after being convicted on two charges of being an accomplice to rape in connection with a marriage he performed in 2001.

Last month, DNA samples were taken from Jeffs as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations he "spiritually" married four girls ranging in age from 12 to 15, according to the Texas attorney general's office. No charges have been filed in that case.

The FLDS, a Mormon offshoot, practices polygamy. The FLDS is not affiliated with the mainstream Mormon church, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago.

CNN's Tracy Sabo contributed to this report.

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