The federal government isn't confirming claims by British Columbia's attorney general that some of the children taken from a Texas polygamist sect's compound are Canadian.

"To date no confirmation has been received on the citizenship status of the children," Eugenie Cormier-Lessonde, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs, told The Canadian Press on Friday.

Canadian officials have been in contact with Texas officials over the issue, she said.

Wally Oppal, B.C.'s attorney general, said Friday he'd been told by federal officials that some of the 416 children seized from the compound south of San Angelo, Texas were Canadian.

About 1,000 church members live on a similar compound at Bountiful, B.C., which also belongs to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).

While there was a falling out between FLDS leader Warren Jeffs and Winston Blackmore, the leader in Bountiful, there are linkages between Bountiful and other polygamist communities.

Stephen Singular, author of "When Men Become Gods," a book about Jeffs and the FLDS, told Newsnet by telephone from San Angelo on Saturday that Jeffs would break up families.

"He sent some north to Canada, he sent others around the west ... and we now know he sent (some) of these people down to Texas," Singular said.

This was done as both reward and punishment -- and to avoid the authorities, he said, adding it makes it more difficult for law enforcement.

In Texas on Friday, Angie Voss, a state child protection official, testified during child custody proceedings that some of the children before the court are Canadians.

According to a New York Times report, she didn't say how many, their age or sex.

If some are Canadian, "it will make it more complex," Singular said.

Prank call?

The state took the children into custody after receiving a phone call from a teenage girl claiming to have been forced into marriage with a 50-year-old man. Officials haven't yet identified the girl who made the call. To make matters even murkier, authorities are investigating a Colorado woman, Rozita Swinton, who has a history of making prank calls. The Texas Rangers won't say if Swinton made the call that triggered the raid.

Forced marriages are a documented event within the FLDS. Last year, a Utah court convicted Jeffs of forcing a 14-year-old to marry an older man. He is also awaiting trial on charges in Arizona.

The state has argued before the custody hearing that the FLDS teaches that girls should marry shortly after puberty, have as many children as possible and obey both their fathers and Warren Jeffs.

About 20 or more women gave birth as minors, some when they were as young as 13, authorities have claimed.

Only a few of the children seized are teenage girls. The state's experts testified that the sect's mothers appear to be loving parents and that there are no signs of abuse among younger girls or any of the boys.

John Walsh, whom the sect called as an expert witness, testified that the young girls do have a say in who they marry.

"I believe the girls are given a real choice. Girls have successfully said, `No, this is not a good match for me,' and they remained in good standing,'' he said.

But state experts say the children are indoctrinated from birth to believe that disobedience leads to their damnation.

State District Judge Barbara Walther ruled Friday that the children will stay in state custody. She also ordered genetic testing for all children and parents.

On Saturday, a state official said that all mothers who have been allowed to stay with their young children, will be separated from them after DNA testing is completed.

Child protection officials have said they can't determine how the children and parents are related because of evasive or changing answers.

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press