LITTLE ROCK—A state official said Monday that the six girls removed from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries complex in southwestern Arkansas were taken into custody because they were in immediate danger.

Arkansas Department of Human Services spokeswoman Julie Munsell said nine girls were assessed at the compound because of allegations of sexual abuse, but six were removed because of safety concerns.

“We did make the decision to remove the children that we felt were in harm’s way or in imminent danger,” Munsell said.

Munsell said she did not know how many other children were at the complex outside the nine that were interviewed.

A child psychologist not involved in the Alamo case said that investigators will have to be careful interviewing the minors, particularly because some of them may have been taught to believe that any abuse that may have occurred was not wrong.

“If they don’t believe it was abusive, that may be truly what their reality is at this point,” said Dr. Janice Church, assistant director of the Family Treatment Program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. “It’s going to take a lot of cautious interviewing and careful relationship-building just to get them to distinguish between reality and what they may have been programmed or taught to believe.”

Church said it could take a long time to build a relationship with the children and get them to open up, especially because they’ve been removed from an environment that they call home. The children from the compound may also be reluctant to discuss any details from their life there if they feel like it may betray the trust of their caregivers.

State officials acknowledged what they called an enormous challenge in interviewing the children. Munsell said they rely on the expertise of child advocacy centers for using the proper technique in questioning the children.

“We want to make the child as comfortable as possible,” Munsell said. “There is inherent trauma in removing a child from their familiar environment. ... It is very traumatic for them to be removed from that situation, even though it is in their best interest.”

Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley said the biggest obstacle in handling abuse cases like the Alamo case is getting children to talk in detail about what happened without traumatizing them again.

“You want to get good usable information from the children, but by the same token you wouldn’t want to exacerbate the situation by questioning them over and over again,” Jegley said.

Jegley, who is not involved in the case, said even if the victims don’t believe what happened was abuse, their statements will be key in prosecuting the case.

“As long as you’re getting good unfiltered information on what happened, whether they believe it was wrong or not is not really the issue,” Jegley said. “The issue is whether or not you can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.”