SAN ANGELO, Texas — Texas authorities have collected DNA swabs from jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs for an ongoing criminal investigation.

A spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's office, Jerry Strickland, says the samples were taken Thursday at an Arizona jail where Jeffs awaits trial on abuse charges.

A search warrant for the DNA alleges that Jeffs had so-called "spiritual" marriages with four girls, ages 12 to 15.

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The criminal investigation is separate from the custody case in which the Supreme Court ruled child welfare authorities acted too broadly in rounding up all the children from a ranch in west Texas.

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