Child welfare officials have five Nuwaubian children in custody

EATONTON - Five children who may become witnesses in the case against the founder of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors in middle Georgia are in the custody of child welfare officials. <br> <br> Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills says the five are under police guard. <br> <br> Founder Dwight York pleaded innocent to federal charges of exploiting minors for sex. <br> <br> He and companion Kathy Johnson appeared in U.S. District Court in Macon Thursday to face charges that they transported minors from Sullivan County, New York, to Georgia for sex in 1993. That&#39;s the same year York left New York to found the Nuwaubian Nation in rural middle Georgia&#39;s Putnam County. <br> <br> Ocmulgee District Attorney Fred Bright says state warrants are out for York on ten counts of aggravated child molestation and that he expects additional charges to be filed. <br> <br> The group claims to be descended from Egypt. Its beliefs combine elements of black power, Islam and Christianity. <br> <br> With up to 200 people living in their compound, the Nuwaubians have clashed for years with Putnam County officials over building codes, voter registration and the group&#39;s hiring of armed security guards. <br> <br> York and Johnson are scheduled for a bond hearing Monday.