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The
five, all close relatives of a prominent New York City Muslim
cleric who is the biological grandfather of most of the children
involved, were taken into custody after a raid on the ramshackle
settlement 10 days ago in the high desert north of Taos.
The principal suspect, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 39, also has been
charged with custodial interference in the alleged abduction of
his sickly 3-year-old son, Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, last December
from the Atlanta home of the boy's mother.
A cross-country search for the missing boy and his father
ultimately led investigators to the 10-acre compound on the
outskirts of the community of Amalia near the Colorado border.
Eleven children, ranging from one to 15 years of age and
described by authorities as clothed in rags and starving, were
placed in protective custody during the Aug. 3 raid.
The remains of a young boy, believed to be Abdul-Ghani, were
found buried at the site three days later. Authorities have said
they were awaiting autopsy results to positively identify the
remains and determine a cause and manner of death.
Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and his wife, Jany Leveille, along with his
brother-in-law and sister - Lucas Morton and Subhannah Wahhaj -
and a second sister, Hujrah Wahhaj, were each charged with 11
counts of felony child abuse.
Prosecutors also have alleged in court documents that all five
adults conducted weapons training with their children "in
furtherance of a conspiracy to commit school shootings."
It was on that basis that prosecutors filed petitions with state
District Judge Sarah Backus seeking to keep the five detained
without bail. No charges related to the weapons allegations were
known to have been filed prior to Monday's hearing.
The allegation stemmed from a statement to investigators by a
foster parent for one of the children involved, prosecutors
said.
Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe has said authorities found a
shooting range at one end of the compound, and that Wahhaj was
heavily armed when taken into custody.
One neighbor told Reuters last week that target shooting that
had gone on at the property on an almost daily basis until
police drones were first spotted circling the area in late May
or June, as authorities launched aerial surveillance of the
compound.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos; Writing by Steve Gorman;
Editing by Robert Birsel)
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