FLDS leader ordered to respond to lawsuit
Jeffs accused of sexually abusing nephew in '80s
 
By Nancy Perkins
Deseret Morning News
 
ST. GEORGE — Warren Jeffs, the reclusive leader of the nation's largest polygamous church, has been ordered by a Utah judge to respond to a civil lawsuit filed against him by one of his nephews.

Third District Court Judge Stephen L. Henriod ruled in early October that attempts to serve Jeffs in person had failed and it appeared the 48-year-old Utah man was avoiding service.

An order allowing service by publication was filed, and legal notices have since been published in four newspapers in Utah, Texas, Colorado and one Canadian province where Jeffs is believed to have residences.

Jeffs assumed leadership of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its estimated 10,000 followers upon the death of his father, Rulon Jeffs, a couple of years ago. The FLDS church preaches polygamy as a central tenet, which critics charge includes the marriage of young girls as a plural wives to older men.

Most members of the FLDS church live in Hildale, Washington County, and Colorado City, Ariz., although there are polygamous enclaves in Bountiful, British Columbia, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and Eldorado, Texas.

In the lawsuit, 21-year-old Brent Jeffs alleges he was sexually abused as a child by three of his uncles at a private school where Warren Jeffs was the principal. The abuse, according to the lawsuit, occurred in the bathroom of the school when Brent Jeffs was around 5. Warren Jeffs denied the charges through an FLDS church attorney when the lawsuit was filed.

FLDS attorney Rod Parker said Monday he is not representing Warren Jeffs in the civil case and doesn't know where he is. Parker represents the FLDS church and its charitable trust, the United Effort Plan, which are both named as defendants in the lawsuit.

"It was obvious when this case first was filed that Warren Jeffs would need independent counsel," Parker said, adding he is unaware if Warren Jeffs has retained an attorney.

Once attorneys for Brent Jeffs provide the court with proof that the summons was published twice in each of the newspapers, Warren Jeffs and the other defendants will have 20 days to respond, Parker said.

In the past couple of years, under the leadership of Warren Jeffs, nearly two dozen prominent men in the towns of Hildale and Colorado City were excommunicated and left town, leaving their wives and children behind. More than 700 FLDS children were pulled from public school and placed in private or church-sponsored schools.

Law enforcement officers in Utah and Arizona increased their presence in the polygamous towns, and a new Mohave County sheriff's substation opened in Colorado City with a county investigator assigned to the area.

Construction at a 1,600-acre FLDS retreat, called the YFZ Ranch for Yearn for Zion, in Schleicher County, Texas, includes several large dormitory type buildings, a meetinghouse, storehouse, gardens and possible temple site. Another, much smaller parcel of land near Mancos, Colo., also belongs to the FLDS church.
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published December 7, 2004
 
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