Polygamist leader finally set for trial in Texas
 
KETK 56 Tyler
Warren Jeffs

SAN ANGELO — Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is set to go to trial on sexual assault charges after a final pretrial hearing in West Texas ended with no further delays.

The ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has appeared in a San Angelo court with seven attorneys since December. Most asked for additional time to prepare.

But prosecutors said Jeffs was changing lawyers as a stall tactic.

The conclusion of Thursday's proceedings will allow jury selection to begin Monday. Jeffs faces two counts of sexual assault of a child and will also be tried for bigamy in October.

The charges stem from a 2008 police raid on a church ranch amid suspicions of teenage girls forced into polygamist marriages.
 
ketknbc.com
Originally broadcast Thursday, July 21, 2011
 
Back