| BREAKING NEWS: JEFFS GETS FIVE YEARS TO LIFE Faces Arizona charges next | |
| The Spectrum | |
ST. GEORGE — Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was sentenced to five years to life in prison today in Washington County’s 5th District Court. Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was found guilty of two charges of rape as an accomplice on Sept. 25 for his part in arranging a marriage between a then-14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. Jeffs could have faced a maximum of two life sentences. He still must stand trial on charges pending in Mohave County, Ariz., as well as a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The Arizona charges include sexual conduct with a minor, conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, and incest as an accomplice. However, today’s sentencing brings to a close nearly two years of Jeffs’ sometimes bizarre trek through the Utah judicial system that began with the charges of rape as an accomplice. Jeffs had maintained a low profile prior to the charges, then fled after they were filed. There were reported Jeffs sightings throughout the country during the months he was on the run. As a fugitive, he was named to the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted list. On Aug. 28, 2006, a Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper stopped a red, Cadillac Escalade on Interstate 15, just north of Las Vegas in which Jeffs was a passenger. He was accompanied by one of his wives, Naomi, and his brother, Isaac, who was driving. The trooper said he stopped the vehicle because its temporary license plate was obscured. Investigators found more than $50,000 in cash, computers, clothing, wigs and church documents inside the vehicle. The trial was marked by a number of appeals from the defense team headed by attorney Walter Bugden, who challenged everything from potential witnesses to media coverage of the trial. Among the many hearings was one for a media request, initially filed by The Spectrum and one other news agency, for release of a videotape of Jeffs telling his brother, Nephi, on Jan. 25, 2007 that he is not the prophet of the FLDS Church. In the videotape, Jeffs also said he had been "immoral" with a sister and a daughter, that he had not held the priesthood in the FLDS Church since he was 20 years old and that the Lord had revealed to him that he was a "wicked man." The tape was made just three days before Jeffs attempted to hang himself in his jail cell. For more, please see tomorrow's edition of The Spectrum & Daily News. | |
|
TheSpectrum.com Originally published November 20, 2007 | |
| Back | |
| For more information email: | |
