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Sexual Abuse Allegations Inside Polygamist Sect; Obama's Bitter Words; Murder Suspect Captured

Aired April 12, 2008 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right, well this morning new allegations of sexual abuse inside the polygamist sect of Warren Jeffs, remember that name? Well, this time the situation is in Arizona. Authorities telling CNN a 16-year-old girl is complaining of alleged abuse by a male relative. The claim echoed a similar one that lead to last week's raid on an FLDS compound in Eldorado, Texas.
Four-hundred 16 children were taken from that compound and are now being housed some 40 mile away in San Angelo, Texas, that's where we find our Sean Callebs this morning.

Sean, what's the latest.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good day, Fredricka. If you look behind me, a large field and then you see some brick structures. This is Fort Concho, historic fort here in San Angelo and this is where the bulk of the 416 children are currently being housed. You may be able to see in the background some of the young teenaged boys playing basketball. It's a beautiful west Texas day, they're getting out, getting some exercise. Earlier they were out throwing around a football.

If you just walked by and looked you'd think any teenagers anywhere in the United States, but if you look closer, all wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts, buttoned at the cuff which is really mandated by tradition of that polygamist sect. We know that a number of mental health specialists have been talking to the children throughout this week trying to explain to them what's going on, trying to make them more accustomed to their current surroundings.

Recently we did an interview with a mental health specialist who has a great amount of work in dealing with children really all over the country, worked with some of the children that Oprah Winfrey has worked with in South Africa and he talked about some of the challenges that these children are going to face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR BRUCE PERRY, PSYCHOLOGIST: The challenge for these children to be integrated into a normal secular environment and I think that part of what will probably be examined is whether or not they are ways to have a transitional process where people in the -- either the LDS community, the Mormon community or the Mennonite community or religious groups who have beliefs that are in line to some degree to what the children grew up with and hopefully we can recruit them to play a positive part in the fostering process and I think that there are a lot of interesting and creative ideas that being discussed, but I'm not sure that anything has been finalized at this point. But there certainly is sensitivity to the need to make those transitions as sensitive as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And really, the immediate future of these children, very much a concern. There were indications that they were going to try and to put these children, age 17 to down to just a few months old, in foster homes throughout the state, that is on hold for the time being. The representative with Child Protective Services told us yesterday that a hearing is scheduled this Thursday and, Freddie, until that hearing takes place, all of the children are going tol remain in the two shelters here in San Angelo.

WHITFIELD: And Sean, maybe I am premature in asking this question, but if Warren Jeffs is already now serving time after being convicted for various offenses, how is it that his compounds continue to function as is with some of the same allegations surrounding and swirling around these compounds?

CALLEBS: Well, this is not -- I mean, in terms of the sect -- I mean, this is relatively large. You're talking about 10,000 people in Colorado City, in Arizona, one up in Bountiful in Canada and then down here, so this is something that has been going on for more than 150 years. Their practices, their traditions and their religion, you know very well ingrained in the followers of that. So certainly, that is having something to do with it. Secondly, we know, in the information that was seized from the compound, there has been correspondence with Warren Jeffs who is now in a Utah prison facing -- he's actually serving two consecutive five year to life terms for his involvement in arranging these marriages of the underaged children. So, that discussion certainly is going on, but the traditions, the whole philosophy, of this FLDS certainly carrying on.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sean Callebs, thanks so much in San Angelo, Texas, appreciate it. And of course, we'll have much more on the possible legal fallout from this investigation straight ahead, this hours, when our attorneys join us for "Legal Briefs."

Meantime, American Airlines expects its flight schedules to be back to normal later on today. But it might take longer for frustrated passengers to notice. Another 200 flights were grounded, today, capping an aggravating week that saw more than 3,000 cancellations. The backup began when American Airlines was ordered to reinspect wiring in the wheel wells of MD-80s. The carrier says they will hire a consultant to make sure its planes meet government safety standards.

Some pretty big storms overnight in the southeast to tell you about. Take a look at this. This is Coleman County in northern Alabama. A powerful line of storms brought strong winds and torrential rains. The winds took down power lines and trees. Power was knocked out across several Alabama counties.

And then take a look at the damage in central Tennessee. So much damage in Lawrence County that officials there suspect it was a tornado that damaged 56 homes along the Alabama state line. Storms across the central part of Tennessee damaged dozens of homes and businesses and at least five people were actually hurt.

Reynolds Wolf is in the Severe Weather Center, boy, it really moved across the southeast, didn't it? But there are other parts of the country are dealing with other problems.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, you're absolutely right. We've rain, snow and now even more thunderstorms. Just recently the Storm Prediction Center out of Norman, Oklahoma, just popped up this, this watch that we have, a severe thunderstorm watch that will be in effect until 6:00 Local Time for the Tidewater, Virginia and even portions of Maryland. In fact, as we zoom into towards Petersburg, you will see some of these strong storms drifting from the communities of Hopewell now moving to the east and southeast of Richmond. These storms have had a history of producing deadly lightning, some large hail, some damaging winds. We haven't had reports of tornadoes or funnel clouds, but there will be that possibility through the afternoon for much of this region.

Now over in Cambridge, you're getting some strong thunderstorms at this point, just to the southeast of Washington, outside of the perimeter and across into the Potomac we're seeing some strong cells. It's going to be a situation we're going to be dealing with at least through the early evening hours.

But then when you make your way back to the Great Lakes, we're seeing a tremendous transformation in your weather. Not the thunderstorms, but still some scattered showers and some heavier snow showers from Green Bay back over the Rhinelander. In Duluth the snow continues. They had a foot of snow yesterday, and it is still going on. Take a look at this video. Not only was the snow something they had to deal with, but right on the lake you see those huge waves of Lake Superior coming in. Some winds topping 60, some even to 70 miles-per-hour, just miserable conditions there. Keep in mind when you look at the calendar, Fredricka, it's April.

WHITFIELD: I know, April showers and April snow, you know that Prince song, sometimes...

WOLF: Yep, I've heard it. Just don't blame the weather guy. Do not blame the weather guy.

WHITFIELD: We're not going to blame, but what about those two guys who were like walking, you know, toward the water there? I mean, were they props for camera or what? I mean, what could you possibly want to be out there for?

WOLF: I got nothing for you. Like T.J. said, I have absolutely nothing for you. Nothing. Can't help you with that one.

WHITFIELD: Mums the word. All right, thanks so much, Reynolds.

WOLF: Talk to you soon.

WHITFIELD: See you again soon.

All right, well from bitter weather to bitter politics. Barack Obama on defense for comments he made about Pennsylvania voters during a fund-raiser last Sunday. His comments were reported yesterday on the Web site huffingtonpost.com. This is what Obama said: "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration and the Bush administration and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have not." He reportedly went on the say, "And it's not surprising then that they get bitter." He said according to the Web site, "They cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or antiimmigrant sentiment or antitrade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Well, those words getting an Obama spin today, while rival Hillary Clinton seizes the advantage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was taken aback by the demeaning remarks Senator Obama made about people in small town America. Senator Obama's remarks are elitist and they're out of touch. They are not reflective of the values and beliefs of Americans, certainly not the Americans that I know. Not the Americans I grew up with, not the Americans I lived with in Arkansas or represent in New York.

BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said something that everybody knows is true. Which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana, my hometown in Illinois, who are bitter. They are angry. They feel like they have been left behind. They feel like nobody is paying attention to what they're going through. So I said, well, you know, when you're bitter, you turn to what you can count on. So people, you know, they vote about guns, or they take comfort from their faith, and their family and their community. And they get mad about illegal immigrants who are coming over to this country or they get frustrated about how things are changing. That's a natural response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, joins us live now from Washington.

Good to see you, Bill.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, this is interesting because Barack Obama says he is describing people's emotions. Hillary Clinton is interpreting the words as saying, you know, he is placing labels on people, and thereby he is out of touch. But I guess what really matters is how do Pennsylvania voters interpret what he said? And what is the consensus on that? SCHNEIDER: Well, we don't really know yet. We haven't polled them. I was in Pennsylvania last week, I was actually at a plant that was closing, A Hershey's plant that's moving to Mexico, and the bitterness and anger and frustration that he is describing was certainly there in that setting. But at the same time, he drew a connection I think that got him in trouble. He said in his original remarks last Sunday in San Francisco that people turn to religion and guns, apparently means hunting and other sports perhaps, and they criticize trade and illegal immigration because they are bitter and frustrated with their lives.

Now, that a lot of the voters would find untrue, and perhaps condescending and I think they would say it's insulting to the values. So, Hillary Clinton today is saying it was a condescending statement that, you know, you don't belittle people's values in that way. It's that connection he drew between the real bitterness and anger that is true and that being a cause of the values that they have and express.

WHITFIELD: And this taking place now less than two weeks before the Pennsylvania primary, and we have been watching these polls throughout the last couple of weeks, and they have been fluctuating a bit, changing in a matter of days from a six-point gap between the two to be shrunk to a four-point gap, so these words or how these words are deciphered really could make a big difference.

SCHNEIDER: That's right there. Is a large blue-collar working class vote in Pennsylvania and it has a lot of older industries like the one that I visited that are suffering, people are worried about losing their jobs and under a lot of economic pressure, and the question is, will these remarks backfire on Senator Obama? Can he explain them? I think today he went some distance to separating the two arguments and he says he has respect for people's values, but at the same time they are bitter and frustrated and angry. You can't make that connection between people's emotions about bitterness and frustration over what is happening in their lives and their values which they find very important. That connection is a very difficult one to make. You are correct, the polls have been closing. They haven't really been fluctuating so much as Hillary Clinton's lead in Pennsylvania, which has been there for weeks, has been getting smaller and smaller, and what we are going to be watching for is to see whether her lead widens again.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, Bill Schneider, always appreciate your insight. Thank you.

And of course, more on the candidates from the campaign trail in their own words today on BALLOT BOWL and that starts at 2:00 Eastern. And tonight "Route 2008," a special edition of the CNN NEWSROOM looks at the issues affecting you. CNN's national correspondent John King travels across Pennsylvania stopping just long enough for tonight's live special, that's 10:00 Eastern. You don't want to miss it.

And all of that, a prelude to a very special CNN event Sunday night. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama face the hard questions, "The Compassion Forum," live from Messiah College outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, join host Campbell Brown tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern only on CNN.

A long manhunt comes to an end. A look at what led to the capture of this man straight ahead. An amazing abduction story plays out on live television. You'll see it all in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Captured in Mexico, the Marine corporal suspected of killing a pregnant Marine and burying her body in his backyard. Cesar Laurean had been on the run since September, but right now he is in a Mexican jail awaiting extradition. CNN'S Susan Candiotti reports on the end of the manhunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nearly three months to the day he took off running, Marine Corporal Cesar Laurean gave himself up at a Mexican roadblock.

SHERIFF ED BROWN, ONSLOW COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: Cesar Laurean is not an animal. He is a human, and he is not a trophy.

CANDIOTTI: But when Laurean threw in the towel, he looked tired, scruffy, much thinner than his official spit and polished Marine photo. Police say he called fellow Marine Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach by striking her in the head, then burying her beneath a fire pit in his backyard. Her pregnant charred body was removed and so was a bag of baby clothes found beneath her.

Authorities say his e-mails and letters helped do him in. CNN went to the Colonial Mexican state of Mechua Con (ph) where locals told us they'd seen Laurean for the past couple of months.

CLAUDIA RAUDA, FRIEND (through translator): I met him because he often came to the cyber cafe nearby and not that often, but he came there and there I met him. I did not know until one day I asked him, you, mister, where are you from and he answered from the U.S. and he was here visiting, and when we started talking he told me he was sent here as punishment.

CANDIOTTI: Some said he would often stop by this Internet cafe to send e-mails. Law enforcement sources say that's how they eventually helped tracked him down.

IRIS AURORA TORRES RAUDA, INTERNET CAFE WORKER: Yes, he came almost daily, he would ask for the computer, that one or that one, he would use the computer.

CANDIOTTI: Back in North Carolina, the FBI seized a computer that Laurean's wife was using to exchange messages to her husband, even though she did not volunteer that information to the police, they say she did nothing wrong, because there's no evidence that she helped him in anyway.

DEWEY HUDSON, ONSLOW CO, NC DISTRICT ATTY: She is torn. She's torn between what occurred and her love for her husband. CANDIOTTI: Investigators say he also asked relatives for money, but no one gave him any. Thursday night, Mexican officials Laurean walked up to roadblock and threw in the towel. Laurean told them he'd been sleeping in fields and eating avocados to survive. Marie Lauterbach's mother says she is grateful he's been caught.

MARY LAUTERBACH, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I would say to him, I pray for you and I pray for your family and I hope at this point you can begin to be honest about what actually happened.

CANDIOTTI: authorities cannot identify the father of Lauterbach's unborn child until Lauren's DNA is collected and analyzed.

BROWN: Mistakes, we made none, he did and he's captured.

CANDIOTTI: It's expected to take at least two months before the U.S. files extradition papers.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Jacksonville, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Straight ahead, the body count rises. The U.S. says that the total number of bodies discovered in a house in Mahmoudiya is at 45. Iraqi soldiers started finding bodies Thursday. The military believes that the bodies have been there for more than a year now. A Mahmoudiya official and an Iraqi army officer say the confessions of recently detained Shiite militiamen led to this discovery.

And more fighting between Shiite militias and U.S. and Iraqi forces. The U.S. military says that at least 13 people were killed yesterday and today more mortar fire struck the international zone of Baghdad, also known as the Green Zone. The U.S. Embassy says there were no reports of casualties there.

Our prisons are packed with drug offenders. Is rehab the answer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "Across America" the Dalai Lama is in Seattle, right now, at a conference of compassion. When questioned about the turmoil in Tibet, he says follower's conflict with China isn't a problem of ethnics, religion or human rights, but more about either safeguarding national unification or splitting the motherland.

There is a health alert in California's Contra Costa County, the problem, the black smoke that you see right there. It's coming from a wildfire burning on Sherman Island.

And in Maine, police have charged a 19-year-old with setting 10 cars on fire. The fires set early Friday morning near downtown Portland, the cars were parked on the streets, in driveways and in parking lots across a 10-block area. No one was hurt fortunately, but police say some nearby buildings did catch on fire, as well. Well, too many prisoners, not enough prisons and cell space taken up by nonviolent drug offenders. Our Kathleen Koch looks at a question judges face everyday, prison or rehab.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Three- quarters of drug offenders in state prisons nationwide are there for nonviolent offenses, jailing them all is costing states billions. Mississippi is now considering offering many early parole. Vermont, New Jersey and South Carolina are looking at funneling more into treatment instead of prison. Maryland began increasingly opting for treatment over jail eight years ago. From 2000-20005 drug treatment admissions went up 28 percent while incarceration for drug offenses fell by seven percent.

JOSHUA SHARFSTEIN, BALTIMORE HEALTH COMMISSION: For people who are committing, you know, crimes directly relate to their addiction who once that addiction is taken care of can really rejoin society. It is so much better for society to be investing in treatment for those individuals.

KOCH: Vernon Nelson entered Baltimore's substance abuse system after second trip to jail.

VERNON NELSON, DRUG TREATMENT CENTER WORKER: I was laying on the hard floor and I said this ain't the kind of life I want to live laying on this hard floor in jail.

KOCH: counselors kept the pressure on.

NELSON: They stayed on me. They say, when you leave this time, you are going be a different person, you ain't going to come back here.

KOCH: Now Nelson helps others at the treatment center like Donald Levi who gets acupuncture to help control his drug cravings.

DONALD LEVI, DRUG TREATMENT CENTER PATIENT: I would die if I wouldn't have came here. I would have been in prison for the rest of my life.

KOCH (on camera): A group advocating reduced incarcerations says Maryland jurisdictions that relying more on drug treatment programs have seen crime drop by more than 10 percent.

(voice over): Still some psychiatrists point out treatment is not fool proof.

DR MARK MILLS, PROFESSOR OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: And then they get better again, sometimes that getting better again lasts for 50 years and sometimes it lasts 50 minutes.

KOCH: Recidivism is why one Maryland lawmakers instead advocates drug prison. PATRICK MCDONOUGH, BALTIMORE CITY DELEGATE: This is a prison totally dedicated to drug rehabilitation, because we have them in a captive audience, they have to do the drug rehab and they have no chance of getting out if they don't do it.

KOCH: Maryland currently spending 26 cents on treatment for every dollar it spends on incarceration.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A Virginia Tech student sinks into depression, and eventually buys a gun. And this was after last year's massacre. How did the school respond? We'll preview a CNN Special Investigations Unit documentary, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, stories we're following today in the NEWSROOM, new allegations of sexual abuse inside Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect, this time in Arizona. Authorities tell CNN another 16-year-old girl is complaining of alleged abuse by a male relative.

And then there's this story, American Airlines is canceling another 200 flights today for safety inspections. The air carrier says it expect to get back to normal operations later on today. More than 3,000 flights were dropped this week alone. American apologizing to all of its customers.

Let's check in with Reynolds Wolf. Usually, a lot of flight cancellations because of weather, and this week was a little different, although weather is certainly a factor.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, well, this is a parent's nightmare: a toddler abducted from a daycare. Two mothers in distress and a daycare worker in Houston arrested.

How it all played out from Michelle Homer of affiliate KHOU.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE HOMER, KHOU REPORTER (voice-over): For a moment, Shamika Thacker had so much hope. Word came that her missing 21- month-old Takala Brantley (ph) and her abductor might be here at the West Park Transit Center. A woman and child were being held inside a police car. One look and Thacker knew the child was not hers. It left her shattered on the pavement sobbing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. I hope she find her baby, because I understand. Thank you.

HOMER: The tears shared by another mother now free to go with her own child. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no reason to steal, not no children. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you.

HOMER: Priscilla Phillips' (ph) child had a pink shirt on. Police said Jakaela (ph) did, too. It's one of the reasons the pair was detained.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I missed my baby.

HOMER: A few hours later, back at Mother Care daycare where Jakeala was abducted by a trainee at the facility, there was more news.

SHAMIKA THACKER, MOTHER: I was told once before that they had her, but once again, until I have her in my arms, it's not my child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step back.

HOMER: But Thacker did not dare to hope until the doors of the ambulance opened. This was her daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, baby!

HOMER: And in a crush of family and friends ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me hold my baby!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

HOMER: ...the moment of celebration began.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Nice happy ending.

All right, well, students at a Chicago area college have until noon local time today to get off campus. Officials at St. Xavier University closed the Catholic school indefinitely after the discovery of threatening graffiti. This is the second time in a month threatening graffiti has been found in a freshman residence hall on the Chicago campus. The latest graffiti was find in a bathroom on Thursday and it read, "Be prepared to die on 4/14."

Well, a troubled Virginia Tech student threatens to kill himself just months after the massacre on the Blacksburg campus. What happened next is at the center of a CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" documentary "Campus Rage." That premiers tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Virginia Tech, this was a school year for healing. All was quiet, the problems were worked out, campus was safer. But one Virginia Tech family tells a very different story. WILLIAM KIM (ph), FATHER: They just treated you like some kind of a joke.

BOUDREAU: Some kind of joke. To William Kim, his son Daniel's safety was no joke. After the school massacre, Daniel, a senior at Virginia Tech, sank into a deep depression. He worried that he could be mistaken for the Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho.

Daniel's sister, Jeanette (ph).

JEANETTE KIM, SISTER: You know, he's like everyone's going to think that I look like him, you know, the shooter. And I was like you don't look anything like him. I can tell the difference. Other people can tell the difference.

BOUDREAU: By September, Daniel had become more reclusive, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. Then, he stopped going to class.

W. KIM: He just don't go to classes. That doesn't make sense. That's not like him.

BOUDREAU: He seldom left his off-campus apartment. Online, playing games, living as a character in a virtual world, where unlike in real life, he made friends easily.

SHAUN PRIBUSH, RECENT GRADUATE, RPI: Dan, he was actually -- I thought he was really funny. He told all these great jokes and everything, just made people laugh.

BOUDREAU: Shaun Pribush is a recent graduate of RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. He met Daniel online in the World of Warcraft. After about four or five months, Sean noticed a change in Daniel.

PRIBUSH: He was saying he was Asian and he didn't really have too many friends in real life, and then later on, I started to realize that I guess all the depressions are adding up and putting a lot of pressure on him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOUDREAU: Turns out that the online friend e-mailed Virginia Tech about Daniel's depression and warned them he bought a gun. But how did the school respond and could they have prevented what was about to happen?

Tonight in our "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" documentary, you'll hear from Daniel's family and a top Virginia Tech official who tells the school's side of the story.

WHITFIELD: Wow, and that's agonizing enough, what's taken place on Virginia Tech campus, but even following Virginia Tech and all that they went through, there was NIU.

BOUDREAU: Right and we talked to the girlfriend of Steven Kazmierczak. He's the man who actually killed five and injured 16 others at Northern Illinois University. She tells us about how she never saw any warning signs. Then, I talked to a young man who did show warning signs as he plotted a mass killing at his high school.

It's all part of our one-hour "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" documentary "Campus Rage."

WHITFIELD: Gosh, and it's so sad ...

BOUDREAU: It is.

WHITFIELD: ...that so many young people can feel so traumatized or feel so pinned to a corner that there is no other route in which to turn to except for taking this one. It's sad.

BOUDREAU: Absolutely and so many people are responding to this story already online.

WHITFIELD: Yes, good.

BOUDREA: E-mails, blogs, check out CNN.com. We've a lot more information there.

WHITFIELD: Good, good. Well, it premiered last night, but we get a chance to see it again this weekend tonight just in case you missed it.

Abbie Boudreau, thank you so much.

BOUDREAU: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And of course, that's CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" special "Campus Rage," as I mentioned, tonight 8:00 p.m. The documentary looks at efforts to identify the warning signs and stop campus violence overall. You don't want to miss it, 8:00 tonight, CNN.

ALl right, well, straight ahead, our legal team is ready to look at the videotaped beating that took place in Florida. You see that at the bottom of the screen, and also the latest on the possible fall-out from that polygamy investigation in Texas as it continues to broaden out.

Much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, well, here's a video every parent should see. What you're seeing right here is a group of teenage girls beating a classmate and of course with the cameras rolling. Well, state of Florida officials say that this was a planned attack. Part of the plan, according to police, post the video online. Instead, someone turned the video over to police, and now the teens will be tried as adults and could be sentenced to life in prison.

CNN's Susan Candiotti shows more of the video that landed these kids in so much trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Horrifying images from Lakeland, Florida, where police say six girls ages 14 to 17 pummeled another teenager. They said she was trash- talking them on the Internet.

SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: It was a pack mentality and they really didn't care how bad they hurt her.

CANDIOTTI: The girls allegedly intended to post the attack on YouTube, but a parent intercepted it. Being a bully, experts say is all about getting attention and gender doesn't matter.

(on camera): Why girls in particular? Why do we seem to be seeing more of them now in these videos?

MELINE KEVORKIAN, NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: If they're not the prettiest, if they're not the most athletic, if they're not the smartest, they have to find a way to get the popularity, the attention and things that they need.

JUDD: We as a society must say this is enough. We must say why does YouTube run any of this that would encourage this kind of a behavior and activity?

CANIDOTTI (voice-over): The victim's mother says today's culture is to blame.

TALISA LINDSAY, VICTIM'S MOTHER: These kids are, I feel lashing out because it's their trend. They see everything on the Internet, the medias of people beating the snot out of each other and they think it's funny and in a sense, it's just warped their minds to think, well, I'll be the next one to do it.

CANDIOTTI: YouTube doesn't pre-screen material, but insists it pulls violent videos once they're flagged. It's guidelines state, "If your video shows someone getting hurt or attacked, don't post it."

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Bartow, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, and our stellar legal team is here to take on this one. Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And no, you don't need to adjust your television set, that is not Avery with long hair. This is Wendy Murphy (ph), a law professor and former prosecutor in Boston. Good to see you, Wendy. Thanks for joining us this weekend.

WENDY MURPHY, LAW PROFESSOR: Nice to be here. WHITFIELD: All right, well, you know, this is so hard to watch. Every time you see this, Richard, these young kids were very cavalier about it all, seemingly not even realizing that they were going to be facing some very serious charges that could actually put them in prison for life?

HERMAN: Hey, Fred -- Fred, they were laughing, they were saying, oh, I guess we're not going to go to the beach this weekend or can I go to cheerleading practice?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HERMAN: I mean, they have no appreciation for the seriousness of what they've been committing here. This was a carefully planned and plotted event. They lured this person to this house where they ambushed her, they beat the hell out of her, as we're seeing right now. It's very -- they're not going to get life in prison, but they have to be severely punished for this and I know Wendy's going to agree with me.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and Wendy, I don't know -- how do you -- how are you their defense attorneys, what could possibly be your defense? At this point, you might as well just say OK, guilty. It's on tape.

MURPHY: Yes, you know, I don't always agree with Richard, but I'll tell you this, you throw yourself on the mercy of the court, you try to come up with some explanation for why you were raised to be such a punk and a jerk and literally, you try to put the blame elsewhere, which by the way, I don't agree is a legitimate defense tactic, it's just all you got when the entire crime is on tape.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MURPHY: You know, it's not just what they did, as Richard said, it's the fact that they taped it for the purpose of showcasing their violence.

WHITFIELD: Publicizing it.

MURPHY: What is that?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MURPHY: Unbelievable!

WHITFIELD: It really is.

MURPHY: I mean, I really think they got to make an example of these kids. There's no question that they're going to get whacked as well they should, and because a lot of kids are watching, they wonder if they can get away with the same thing and we have to send the message that there is zero tolerance for this type of behavior.

WHITFIELD: And just looking at their demeanor here in the video that we're seeing of their appearance in court, they certainly look like, you know, they are ashamed and they've thought twice now, a little too late about exactly what took place.

But you know, yesterday, earlier when we were looking initially at some of the first video images, some of the girls were smiling and kind of laughing in court. That is not going to help your case.

HERMAN: Hey -- Fred, once they get lawyered up and the lawyers read them the riot act and let them know how serious this is and really, they are seriously facing incarceration for this. You're going to see different demeanors in court, I guarantee it.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about the polygamy case which just seems to broaden and that, too, is pretty astounding, Wendy, because we're talking about a cult or a sect that has a history. How in the world can this compound as extensive as it is there in Eldorado, Texas, have been operating this way and the local authorities not know about it? I mean, you have to wonder how complicit and how helpful or was there any aiding in the jurisdiction -- the police department there that this activity could possibly be going on.

MURPHY: You know, Fredricka, it's a really important question, did they know, what did they know, who -- you know, who carried the ball and sort of said let them do this or let's turn a blind eye.

But the second question is, are we letting too much of this behavior go on because it's all in the name of religion?

WHITFIELD: Right.

MURPHY: I mean, I think the queasiest feeling I got is watching some of these women saying I love it, it's just wonderful to have five wives, one husband and have my little 13-year-old get raped by yet another adult. You know, it's so strange, but when you have religion all over this, I think it gets a little harder (ph) for the government.

WHITFIELD: And if that's all you know -- right, and if that's all you know ...

HERMAN: No good ...

WHITFIELD: ...I mean, some of these ...

HERMAN: It's no good, Fred.

WHITFIELD: ...young kids are being raised in this, they really don't know right from wrong, but clearly there are some folks in the compound who do know this is not going to fly, Richard?

HERMAN: It's no good, Fred. You know, they -- the joke is don't mess with Texas. They are messing with Texas and Texas should be ashamed. Polygamy, incest, pedophilia, all in the name of religion, uh-uh. We enjoy religious freedom in the United States, but we do not enjoy the right to violate our laws in the name of religion and that's what these people are doing. And I agree with your question with Sean Callebs earlier, we ought to go in -- we know -- Wendy, we know what's going on in here. We got to go in. The beds in the temples, the holiest place is ...

WHITFIELD: Creepy.

HERMAN: ...that's where the incest was taking place. We ought to go in ...

MURPHY: You should be celebrating Texas, then, Richard, at least Texas is doing the right thing. How many other states are turning a blind eye?

HERMAN: This is in Texas ...

MURPHY: Texas should be celebrated.

HERMAN: ...we got to go in and take them out.

MURPHY: (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Well, this has been going on for a long time. That's not like a newly built structure. This has been going on for some time.

HERMAN: We've got to take them out, shut them down.

MURPHY: Systemic rape of children, there's no question about it. Systematic rape of children in the name of God ...

WHITFIELD: All right.

MURPHY: ...you've got to be kidding me.

WHITFIELD: All right, you guys, Wendy Murphy, Richard Herman, thanks so much. We're out of time. Great conversation, I learned so much as always from you guys. Good to see you. Have a great weekend.

HERMAN: Hey (ph) Fred, take care.

MURPHY: You're welcome. You too.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk sports. Coming up, round three of the Masters and where is the Tiger? A live report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, I think it's time to head to Augusta. Day three of the Masters. Tiger woods, a long way back and there's an unlikely leader on the board.

Our Larry Smith watching the action firsthand, oh, but I'm seeing the rain coat. Is it nasty out there in Augusta? Oh, I see the rain coming down.

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is, Fredricka. Yes, the rain has come a bit early. We just heard a bit of thunder about two minutes ago, but no word yet of suspending play, but certainly they're watching this very closely as it's moving day here at the Masters.

And you're right, the name right now that is on everyone's lips is Trevor Immelman and what a great story, he's 28-years-old and from South Africa. He finished tied for fifth here at the Masters three years ago and has been called someone who possesses the purest swing in the game currently. That was what a fellow South African, Gary Player said of this young man.

He has the lead at one shot under as you go into today's round, but keep in mind, last December, he was in the hospital having undergone surgery for the removal of a benign tumor on his rib cage. Now, Immelman couldn't walk for two weeks, he had a lot of illnesses last year, had lost a lot of weight as well. But now, he is back after all of this, standing tall and he is the one everyone is chasing at moving day here at the Masters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR IMMELMAN, 2ND ROUND, -8: It definitely gives you perspective, because I went from winning a tourment to lying in a hospital bed awaiting for results on a tumor, so you know, it definitely made me realize that golf wasn't my whole life. But, you know, I have a real passion for golf. And you know, I'm -- I put a lot of hours in and made a lot of sacrifices to try and succeed at the game, so, you know, I'm definitely driven to try and achieve things.

PAUL CASEY, 2ND ROUND TIED FOR 6TH, -4: He's setting the pace right now. I'd be very impressed if he keeps that going and if he does, I think he'll have a green jacket.

IMMELMAN: I'm so competitive and I've played this game since I was five-years-old and all I ever wanted to do was to win golf tournaments. And so, I kind of felt like it was just a speed bump really, you know, because I just wanted to keep going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: We'll see if he can keep going here this weekend as Immelman tries to win his first Major. Phil Mickelson, the two-time Masters champion is at five and a par three shots back. Tiger Woods tees off just out to the first of the hour. He is at one under par, seven shots behind the leaders as the day continues here at Augusta National.

Fredricka, let's go back to you.

WHITFIELD: OK, may be a pretty rough and tumble day, given that weather, too.

Larry, thank you so much, take cover.

SMITH: OK. WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, she is known as "Mama Rock." Did anyone in that image look familiar to you? How about in that one right there? We will reveal it all to you right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Chris Rock, that name you know. Comedian, actor, activist, but did you know that he's from a family of 10 siblings and 17 foster children? Chris would be the first to tell you that he learned a thing or two from his mom, Rose Rock.

Well, I got a chance to talk with the woman they call "Mama Rock" about her new book, appropriately named "Mama Rock's Rules, Ten Lessons for Raising Successful Children."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSE ROCK, AUTHOR, "MAMA ROCK'S RULES": You know, I still don't have it all figured out, but I think I did pretty darn good. So, when people keep asking me, how did you do it? That's how the rules came into play.

WHITFIELD: Well, you make it look really easy, particularly in this book. You make it seem really easy by having this conversation with the reader about all the things to do, what not to do. Is it easy or parenting is pretty hard, isn't it?

ROCK: It's pretty hard, if you do it right. It's not meant to be easy. It's meant to be done well because you have total charge over another human being that you're sending out on the world.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and you say, you know, you're impressing, you know, you want to teach these kids about doing right, it's not about being right. It's not necessarily about saying you know, this is exactly what you need to do today, but it's about having a conscience, that's what you're trying to teach kids.

ROCK: True, true. And it's about being held accountable, because so often in these days, children are not held accountable, and parents will say even when they know children do wrong, they say not my kid, not my kid.

WHITFIELD: I like the line in your book where you say, you can't live in my house and disrespect me. That's simple, but at the same time, you're not talking about yelling or yanking your kid around. It's about communication.

ROCK: It's all about communication, and it's all about starting very, very young.

WHITFIELD: How young is young?

ROCK: Young is at -- when a child starts to toddle, you start to enforce rules. When they're two-years-old, they can pick up and they can listen. So, you -- I mean, you start from the cradle to the grave, period. WHITFIELD: Well, let's look at a clip of "Everybody Hates Chris" show that they can watch on the tube. It's kind of about Chris Rock's life and it's interesting how you're depicted in it as well.

Let's take a listen and look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF CHRIS ROCK, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: That's my younger brother Drew. There's nothing worse than having a little brother that's bigger than you. My sister Tanya (ph) was the youngest and would do anything to get me in trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chris, clean that mess up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tanya did it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-uh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Is that really what it was like in the Rock household?

ROCK: Well, it really -- you know, they take liberties, but in our household, the eldest was always responsible. So, if Andre (ph) went outside without a hat on, I would ask Chris, Chris, why doesn't Andre have his hat on, because as the oldest, when you're walking out the door, you say, Andre, you have your hat?

WHITFIELD: Did Chris like being that responsible or having to be that responsible?

ROCK: I don't know if any child likes it, but it's really good for them, it has turned him into a very responsible person. I know that he was very good at it. He never balked at it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Great book, "Mama Rock's Rules." That's Rose Rock, mother of Chris Rock. I know you saw the resemblance if you hadn't figured it out by now.

All right, a look at the top stories in a moment. "YOUR MONEY" is next. Here's a preview.

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