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04/24/93
Compound inspected; Cult child-abuse allegations called unproven
By George Kuempel / The Dallas Morning News
WACO-State child-care officials said Friday that they have not been able to substantiate allegations that David Koresh physically or sexually abused children in the Branch Davidian compound.
Janice Caldwell, executive director of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, said case workers have interviewed all of the 21 children released during the cult's 51-day standoff with authorities.
"The children have not confirmed any of the allegations or described any other incidents which would verify our concerns' about abuse, she said.
Moreover, a 1992 investigation of complaints about the treatment of children in the cult headquarters yielded nothing, she said. That inquiry included interviews with Mr. Koresh and some of his adult followers at the cult.
Federal authorities have said-albeit not without some confusion
* that concern for the children's welfare played a key role in the FBI's decision to gas the compound Monday. That attempt to force cult members out ended when a fire leveled the buildings, apparently killing 86 people, including Mr. Koresh. The FBI said cultists set the fire; some of the nine survivors said it started when an FBI armored vehicle knocked over lanterns.
Attorney General Janet Reno, defending her decision to approve the gassing tactics, said Tuesday that one indication Mr. Koresh was becoming increasingly agitated-and less likely to surrender peacefully-was that he was beating small children in the compound. President Clinton echoed that concern in a statement of support for Ms.
Reno the next day.
FBI Director William Sessions, however, said his agency had no evidence that such beatings took place during the siege, although agents suspected Mr. Koresh of past child abuse.
An agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said in court documents released Tuesday that former cult members had accused Mr. Koresh of sexually abusing children. That was one of the supporting reasons that the ATF sought warrants to raid the compound in the first place.
The president was unwilling to be drawn back into the muddle Friday. In a White House news conference, he said that taking numerous child "brides' and lecturing pre-teens on suicide techniques sounded abusive to him.
"We know that David Koresh had sex with children. . . . Where I come from, that qualifies as child abuse,' he said. "And we know he had people teaching these kids how to kill themselves. I think that qualifies as abuse.'
Dr. Caldwell, in a written statement, noted that secrecy and lack of candor are common in families where abuse has occurred. The Branch Davidian children still in the care of the state will undergo continuing therapy and, "in time, these children may be able to share more about their lives,' she said.
Search for bodies
Medical examiners, meanwhile, said 53 bodies had been accounted for at the compound site. Among them were what appeared to be the remains of five cult members killed during the ATF's unsuccessful raid on Feb. 28. The raid, in which four ATF agents also died, precipitated the standoff.
Dr. Rodney Crowe, a forensic dentist, said he was expecting to receive a model of Mr. Koresh's jaw prepared several years ago by an orthdontist. The model could assist in identifying remains as those of Mr. Koresh.
Medical examiners said they don't know how many more bodies they'll find. Some may have been consumed in the intense fire; most of the rest are so badly burned that dental records will be needed to identify them. About 40 dentists are assisting in that effort, said Dr. Crowe.
When the last of the bodies has been removed from the grounds, an arson investigation team will begin working to determine the cause of the fire.
The examiners said they'll start autopsies Saturday on 39 bodies that have been sent to Fort Worth. Tarrant County medical examiner Nizam Peerwani is supervising the inquiries.
Until autopsies are done, Dr. Peerwani said, examiners won't know whether any of the victims had been shot.
Bodies are being X-rayed, but that merely reveals the presence of something metallic. "The metal could be a bullet or a fracture from a bullet, but it also could be any type of foreign object-buttons, zippers or other debris,' said Darrell Thompson, of the medical examiner's office.
On Thursday, Dr. Peerwani disputed claims by a Justice Department spokesman, Carl Stern, that three of the victims appeared to have been shot before the fire.
Mr. Stern on Friday acknowledged that the FBI agent who was the source of that information "may have been mistaken.'
"All I know is that an FBI agent walked through (the carnage at Waco) and said he thought he saw three people who had been shot, and he was positive one guy had a hole in his head,' Mr. Stern said Friday.
Friday was proclaimed "A Day of Healing' for the weary, somber city of Waco. Bells rang as residents and visitors dropped by churches, synagogues and religious centers for a few minutes of contemplation.
At St. Paul's Episcopal Church, schoolchildren prayed for those who died at the cult's compound.
Shannon McDermitt, 11, could not control her tears as she thought about the past seven weeks' events.
"It is so sad,' she said. "The children-that is what's so sad.'
Kari Kosub, also 11, said of those who died, "Whatever they did,
they didn't deserve that. We have to forgive them.'
Fire calls
Waco officials, meanwhile, released transcripts of calls to the city's Fire Department reporting the blaze.
Federal officials have been criticized for not having firetrucks at scene and for not allowing them near the fire until after the buildings had burned to the ground. The FBI said agents feared that firefighters would be shot by the cult members.
According to the transcripts, an FBI agent reported the fire at 12:12 p.m. Monday. The first wisps of smoke were seen from the compound a couple of minutes earlier.
"It's a pretty good fire,' the agent said. "The entire compound is going up right now.'
A Fire Department official noted in the call that trucks would need additional sources of water because of the compound's remote location, 10 miles outside Waco.
Firetrucks didn't reach the compound until 12:43. By then, most of it was gone.
Mr. Clinton, in his news conference, repeated assurances that an independent investigation would sort out the many questions surrounding the Branch Davidian episode.
"But I still maintain what I said from the beginning, that the offender there was David Koresh,' Mr. Clinton said. "And I do not think that the Unites States government is reponsible for the fact that a bunch of fanatics decided to kill themselves. And I'm sorry that they killed their children.'
He declined to say whether he will retain Mr. Sessions, a Bush administration holdover widely rumored to be in trouble before this week's events.
"I'm waiting for a recommendation from the attorney general about what to do with the director of the FBI,' he said.
Gov. Ann Richards said Texas will seek reimbursement from the federal government for about $600,000 in state costs related to the standoff.
Also Friday, an Idaho newspaper reported that Branch Davidian cult member Paul Fatta was surrendering. Mr. Fatta, who was wanted on federal charges, was out of the compound, attending a gun show, when the siege began.
Staff Writers Christy Hoppe, Carl P. Leubsdorf and Bruce Tomaso and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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