House of Yahweh Leader Avoids Polygamy Charges

A report from McClatchy Newspapers published yesterday in the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin examines the House of Yahweh Church (whose compound is near Clyde, Texas) and the Church's leader, Yisrayl Hawkins. For many years it was rumored that the sect engages n polygamy. In Feb. 2008, Callahan County Attorney Shane Deel charged Yisrayl Hawkins with four counts of bigamy and child labor violations. This was billed as a test of Texas' revised law that made polygamy a felony. After a change in venue to Parker County, county authorities decided they could not afford the cost of the bigamy prosecution and last month they negotiated a plea deal in which Hawkins plead "no contest" to four counts of child labor violations. He was fined and received probation. The article details much of Yisrayl Hawkins' background and reports that the sect keeps tight control over the finances of its members. They are expected to pay tithes totally 30% of their income. Hawkins started the Church in 1980 when he was an Abilene, Texas policeman and owned a mobile home park. His daughter says he is now worth millions and has at least three palatial homes, while many of his followers are destitute.