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Contempt of court citations came in 1974 and 1976, along with a $33,000 fine and even short jail sentences. Still Roloff refused to let state officials in. "Some of these kids had done nothing worse than have parents who couldn't cope," recalls Lynn Taylor, a former special assistant attorney general. "The state had a right to protect those kids."
Then in April a far more sinister story surfaced. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported that in July 1978 a girl named Misty Hardman, 16, had been stabbed by other Rebekah residents in an attempted murder. Their motive, the girls told the paper, was to cause a scandal that would force authorities to close the home. The girl survived, and Roloff never reported the incident. Instead, he paddled the culprits and locked them in solitary confinement for two days to three weeks. Roloff later claimed that the assailants were all "saved" by his treatment, and indeed the girls, whom he lovingly referred to as "my five little murderers," all had only praise for their leader. A county grand jury is now considering bringing charges against the girls.
Shortly after the news broke, newly elected Governor William Clements, whom Roloff had supported during his campaign, kept an earlier promise to tour the home and emerged to call the preacher "a man of great conviction." Nonetheless, the state filed the suit that it won in court last week, forcing Roloff to submit to the licensing procedures or have his facilities closed down.
Roloff appears to have little legal recourse. The U.S. Supreme Court refused last October to hear one of the earlier contempt charges. "The courts are trying to shoot the Holy Spirit out of the saddle," said the enraged preacher. He does not plan to give in, even though it means the closing of his homes. Proclaims Lester Roloff: "My conviction is greater than my compassion." -