Prosecutor drops bigamy charges against West Texas sect leader

Posted Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 Comments   (0)  Print Share Share Reprints
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By Steve Campbell

sfcampbell@star-telegram.com

Bigamy charges against West Texas sect leader Yisrayl Hawkins were dismissed Thursday after the leader of the House of Yahweh pleaded no contest to four cases involving child labor violations.

Hawkins was scheduled to go on trial Nov. 9 in Weatherford after 42nd District Judge John Weeks granted a change of venue from Callahan County earlier this month. Hawkins' lawyers had argued that too many people in the county east of Abilene were prejudiced against him.

Callahan County Attorney Shane Deel said in a statement that in each case, Hawkins will pay a $2,000 fine and serve 15 months of probation. Hawkins was accused of forcing children to work at the church property.

Two significant factors contributed to the decision to dismiss the bigamy charges, Deel said.

"First, the change of venue made the case financially impractical to try. Second, there were some substantial issues with the case and the statute of limitations," Deel said.

"While we literally have a mountain of evidence against Yisrayl Hawkins in relation to these cases, most of it dates back to before 2005. At that time bigamy was a Class A misdemeanor with only a two-year limitations period," he said. "While I can make an argument about the continuing nature of the conduct, it is simply not worth the county's resources to pursue the case in Parker County with the necessary expenses that that will entail when the outcome is as uncertain as it is."

Hawkins, a former Abilene policeman whose real name is Buffalo Bill Hawkins, founded the House of Yahweh in 1980 and moved it to a 44-acre compound about 15 miles east of Abilene a few years later.

Now in his mid-70s, Hawkins began to preach polygamy in the 1990s, ex-members have said. He was accused of having more than 20 wives.

"He's nothing but a polygamist," his ex-wife Kay Hawkins said Thursday night as she watched a television report on the charges being dropped. "The bigamy charges might have been dismissed but he's still a bigamist."

"Callahan County doesn't have as much money as Yisrayl Hawkins," she said. "That's why this happened."

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