| FLDS leader indicted on 2 felony counts Did Jeffs arrange marriage of girl to a married man? | |
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By Nancy Perkins and Wendy Leonard Deseret Morning News | |
A criminal indictment issued by an Arizona grand jury for the arrest of Warren Steed Jeffs alleges the polygamous church leader committed two felony counts of child sex abuse in 2002. Jeffs is accused of arranging a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a man who was already married. The indictment was issued Thursday after a Mohave County, Ariz., grand jury met for an hour and fifteen minutes to hear the allegations against Jeffs, said Mohave County Attorney Matthew Smith. "The charges are sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor," Smith said Friday after receiving permission from an Arizona Superior Court judge to release the indictment information to the public. "Jeffs is not charged with personally having sexual contact with the girl but with arranging the marriage of a 16-year-old girl with a man who was at least 10 years older than she." The warrant for Jeffs includes one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, both class 6 felonies under Arizona law. A warrant for the arrest of the unnamed then-28-year-old man for whom Jeffs allegedly arranged the marriage, was also issued by the grand jury. He is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a minor and one count of sexual conduct with a minor, all class 6 felonies. Smith said it wasn't necessary to have a victim available to testify to a grand jury, "But we did." The alleged victim is now 19 years old, he added. The Mohave County Attorney's Office also has recently obtained indictments against two other men accused of taking part in arranged marriages with minors. On Friday, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff congratulated Mohave County officials in their combined effort to uncover the alleged illegal activities of the known polygamist leader. Jeffs is president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which has no affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The latter discontinued the practice of polygamy more than 100 years ago. Shurtleff said Utah has yet to charge Jeffs because a viable witness has not come forward. Jeffs' followers live on both sides of the Utah/Arizona border south of St. George. "Hopefully this will inspire other victims that there is justice if they will come forward," he said. Shurtleff said the state offers protection to anyone who presents evidence that makes a case against Jeffs viable. "We want to send a message out to Warren Jeffs: Please, let's be peaceful about this. Come and turn yourself in wherever you are and explain, as we have heard, that you believe that what you are doing is justified by your religious beliefs . . . and let the jury decide that issue, let the courts decide," he said. He said followers of the FLDS church might see the current situation either as more evidence of oppression or as evidence that Jeffs isn't "above the law, that he isn't omnipotent. "We have consistently said that we support those people's religious beliefs, but they can never commit crimes, particularly against women and children, in the name of religion," Shurtleff said. "That is not acceptable and we'll investigate that." Some 10,000 FLDS members practice plural marriage as a central tenet. Critics have long charged that Jeffs and some followers in the church are guilty of marrying underage girls to older men. Jeffs himself is thought to have dozens of wives and an unknown number of children. Authorities have a copy of at least one Utah birth certificate that lists Warren Steed Jeffs as the father of a baby born to a girl under 18. "Obviously we want him here, we want him and other trustees to come forward and defend their actions," Shurtleff said. "That would be the best." Attorneys for plaintiffs in two civil lawsuits have failed to find Jeffs and serve him with subpoenas to appear in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City to answer the charges. Law enforcement officials may find it just as difficult to serve the current arrest warrant. "He's going to be held to account for his actions," Shurtleff said. He said there is reason to believe Jeffs is currently somewhere in Texas. The FLDS church has established a community in Schleicher County, Texas. Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran said he received a copy of the warrant Friday. Jeffs and some of his followers are building a temple and community on 1,900 acres in the county. "I have it in hand now, and yes, this changes the dynamics, because it's a criminal warrant and not a civil warrant," said Doran. "But we're going to treat it like any other felony out-of-state warrant we get. We'll put the information on (a national law enforcement network) and if we have good evidence or information that Warren Jeffs is there on the ranch, we will attempt to serve the warrant." Doran said he continues to maintain a relationship with sources on the ranch that could prove helpful. "We've got time. We're not in a hurry with this," he said. "There's always going to be pressure from some people to just go in there (on ranch property,) but I'm going to definitely try for a peaceful resolution to this." Colorado City, Ariz., Marshal Sam Roundy said he wasn't informed of the warrant for Jeffs, but his officers would be available to assist if needed. "If they have a warrant or a summons, yes, of course we would do our duty," said Roundy, who, like everyone else involved, said he did not know Jeffs' location. "We have always been willing to assist when we've been asked." E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com; wleonard@desnews.com | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Saturday, June 11, 2005 | |
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