Texas Hold'em YFZ Style

This is a highly competitive poker game of finesse where the brethren (the players) bet two underage daughters (chits) into the pot.  The prophet (the dealer) then shuffles the little girls among the brethren based on divine revelation.  He can "place" either both, one or no daughter with another player.  The rules are simple ... but the players must hold the priesthood to "score". The two players to the left of the prophet each post "blind" bets.  They're called blind bets because the players make them before they get to see the little girls. If during a betting round you make a bet and all players fold to you, you've bought the pot (the daughter(s)).  No more daughters are "placed" until each player has contributed to the pot equally.  Betting continues until all little girls have been "placed".   Usually the bets are capped at four per round, so there may be a bet, a raise, a re-raise, and a final re-raise.  The players betting the two prettiest daughters have the best chance at winning the most child brides in the game. The game is typically played with upwards of eight or nine brethren.  In general, more players make for a better game as the odds of winning one of your own daughters decreases with more brethren playing in the game. In casinos, the house usually makes money off of what is called "the rake." In this game, the house (the prophet) takes a small amount of chits (child brides) from each pot.  This rake varies, but is usually 10% of the pot. Have fun and good luck!

On Tuesday, July 22, 2008 a Schleicher County, Texas grand jury indicted 6 men from the YFZ ranch.  Four of those men were indicted on charges of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 17 and one man received an additional charge of bigamy.   Those charges are all first-degree felonies that carry a potential of 99 years in prison or even a life sentence.   The last man was indicted on three misdemeanor counts of failing to report child abuse, which could cost him six months in jail. The sixth man was Warren Jeffs, who was charged with sexually assaulting a young girl under age 17 some time around January 2005. The indictment said he "was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry" or "living under the appearance of being married," with this child bride.  He was charged the next day in his jail cell in Kingman, Arizona where he was incarcerated awaiting trial there for performing underage marriages. The identities of the other 5 men were sealed until they could be taken into custody.  On Monday, July 28, 2008 the other 5 men surrendered to the Schleicher County Sheriff's Office. Raymond Merrill Jessop, age 36, Allan Eugene Keate, age 56, Michael George Emack, age 57, and Merrill Leroy Jessop, age 33 were each charged with one count of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 17 ("marrying a child bride").  A conviction of these charges could mean 5 to 99 years in prison.  Merrill Leroy Jessop also was charged with bigamy. Lloyd Hammon Barlow, age 38, was charged with three misdemeanors for failure to report child abuse.  Lloyd Barlow was the sect's physician who lived on the YFZ ranch.  The penalty for these charges could bring a sentence of up to 6 months in prison and a fine of $2,000 for each of the three counts. These charges were just a start!  Below are articles about how old FLDS guys "marry" little girls and how the State of Texas did something about it.  These articles are listed in chronological order.

Teen at hub of FLDS fight is subpoenaed

16-year-old girl is demanding that her lawyer step aside

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Monday, June 23, 2008

A 16-year-old girl at the center of a legal fight has finally been subpoenaed to testify before a Texas grand jury investigating members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church.  The girl's mother was given a subpoena on Saturday, the girl's court-appointed attorney told the Deseret News.  It orders the girl to show up this week to testify in Eldorado before a grand jury considering criminal charges stemming from the raid on the FLDS Church's YFZ Ranch.  In an e-mail forwarded to the Deseret News and posted on pro-FLDS Web sites, the girl demands that her court-appointed attorney step aside.  "It feels like you are trying to restrict me from every person in my life that I want to talk to or have anything to do with and you want to be the decider of what I do and who I have to do with," she wrote to Natalie Malonis.  Malonis went to court on Friday and obtained a temporary restraining order against FLDS Church member and spokesman Willie Jessop, accusing him of interfering in her relationship with her client and pressuring the girl to avoid service of a subpoena.  "What's been the response? More intimidation and more pressure," Malonis said Sunday, confirming that she had received similar e-mails to the ones published online.  In court papers, Malonis wrote that Texas child welfare authorities and law enforcement believe the girl may have been "spiritually" married to a man at age 15.  When the Texas Supreme Court ruled that state authorities acted improperly in removing the hundreds of children from the YFZ Ranch, Malonis sought a special order to place conditions on the girl before she was reunited with her mother.  They included no contact with the girl's father, FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, and a man named Raymond Jessop, whose relationship to her has not been disclosed.     Read more

Jury hears FLDS witnesses

By Pat Reavy and Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Thursday, June 26, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — A grand jury looking into alleged crimes involving members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church convened here Wednesday, taking testimony from polygamous sect members but not handing up any indictments.  The Schleicher County grand jury is expected to meet again next month.  Eight women and girls from the ranch, including 16-year-old Teresa Jeffs and her mother, Annette, were seen at the courthouse, although not all were subpoenaed to testify.  Most, however, were called one-by-one inside the building throughout the afternoon.  In addition, an unknown number of law enforcers were reportedly subpoenaed to testify.  "I don't want to do it," Teresa Jeffs said outside of court prior to her testimony. "It's weird."  Jeffs, the daughter of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, entered the courthouse at 3:50 p.m. local time and left about 4:35 p.m.  When asked by reporters whether she testified before the grand jury, she turned and smiled and then was escorted into a waiting vehicle.  San Antonio attorney Alan Futrell was with Jeffs outside the courthouse Wednesday and said he now represents her on criminal matters.  Futrell said it was his understanding that the grand jury would reconvene on July 22.  He also said law enforcers were very fair with his client and the other FLDS women Wednesday and treated them compassion.  "Nobody was held in contempt. Everybody seemed to be doing their job with minimal pretentiousness," he said.  "Everyone is trying to be sensitive. We have every issue in the world here: faith, family, Constitution."     Read more

Court guardian: Sect girl wed to man

By Paul A. Anthony San Antonio Standard-Times Originally published July 18, 2008

It is not in the best interests of Warren Jeffs' 16-year-old daughter to remove the girl's attorney or replace her with one hired by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the girl's court-appointed guardian determined Friday.  In documents filed in state district court in Tom Green County, the guardian presented evidence that the girl was married to a 34-year-old sect official just after her 15th birthday and that the ceremony was officiated by her father, the now-jailed leader of the polygamous sect.  "If (the girl)'s preferences were allowed, it would place her in a dangerous environment and subject her to sexual abuse," according to the report, filed by Court-Appointed Special Advocate Connie Gauwain and obtained by the Standard-Times.  The report, filed in advance of a scheduled hearing next week to determine whether 51st District Judge Barbara Walther should remove Natalie Malonis as the girl's court-appointed attorney at the girl's request, recommends the judge not do so.  It also concludes that Malonis, a Flower Mound family law attorney who has obtained special restrictions on her client and a restraining order against a sect elder, was correct in taking those actions.  "The circumstances of this case certainly necessitate the attorney ad litem's substituted judgment for her child client," Gauwain wrote.  Sect spokesman Rod Parker, heavily critical of Malonis during previous court actions, did not return phone messages left for comment Friday night.     Read more

Documents could play role in criminal probe of FLDS sect

By TERRI LANGFORD Houston Chronicle Originally published July 19, 2008

Warren Jeffs, the jailed leader of the nation's largest polygamist sect now under investigation for sex with underage girls, married off his own 15-year-old daughter to the 34-year-old son of his chief deputy, according to pictures, diaries and a marriage record obtained Friday by the Houston Chronicle.  In May, a series of similar scrapbook photos of young girls surfaced in court, showing very young girls in romantic kissing embraces with Jeffs, including a girl he married, who documents now indicate was 11 years old at the time.  But the documents involving Jeffs' underage daughter show that marriages of teen girls were not customs practiced only by some, but included the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' leader, who sect members believe takes his orders directly from God.  Last year, Jeffs was convicted in Utah on two counts of accomplice to rape for his role in forcing a 14-year-old to marry her 19-year-old cousin.  The documents were attached to a report filed Friday by Court-Appointed Special Advocates, also known as CASA, in San Angelo.  "It is CASA's determination that if (Jeffs' daughter's) preferences were followed, it would place her in a dangerous environment and subject her to sexual abuse," the report stated.  The report contradicts interviews the girl and FLDS members have given denying that she was ever placed in a "spiritual marriage" with an adult member of the church.     Read more

Texas grand jury to reconvene in FLDS case

By Pat Reavy and Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, July 22, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — A grand jury is expected to reconvene here today to continue investigating possible crimes by members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church.  Some familiar with the grand-jury proceedings have said it is possible that indictments could be issued by the end of the day.  However, those indictments may remain sealed until warrants and summons are issued.  "There are a lot of issues to work through here. To the extent that they're relying on member witnesses, they've got to deal with an immunity issue," said Rod Parker, a Salt Lake attorney acting as a spokesman for the FLDS Church.  He suggested that prosecutors may be prepared to offer deals to some FLDS members in exchange for testimony against others.  The Schleicher County grand jury is expected to meet today for the second time regarding its investigation into FLDS members, many of whom live on the YFZ Ranch just outside of Eldorado.  In June, several women and girls from the ranch — including 16-year-old Teresa Jeffs, the daughter of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs — were subpoenaed to testify.  While grand-jury proceedings are supposed to be secret, a public feud between Teresa Jeffs and her attorney ad litem, Natalie Malonis, made June's hearing anything but confidential.  Malonis obtained a restraining order against FLDS member and spokesman Willie Jessop, accusing him of trying to coerce her client into avoiding a subpoena to testify.  Teresa Jeffs responded by making public e-mails she sent to Malonis, telling her to "Shut your mouth and quit calling me a victim of sexual abuse" and demanding a new attorney.     Read more

BREAKING NEWS: Sect members gather for grand jury proceedings in Eldorado

By Matt Phinney San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 22, 2008

ELDORADO - Women from the FLDS continued to testify in front of a grand jury this afternoon.  After an hourlong break from lunch, the grand jury reconvened about 1 p.m.  By 2 p.m., life at the Schleicher County Courthouse seemed to come to a standstill as people looked for shade for relief from the heat.  Half a dozen FLDS women sat at a picnic table with their lawyers near the courthouse.  The Schleicher County grand jury broke for lunch just before noon today, and so far no indictments have been handed down.  A man who identified himself only as Ben, a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member, said outside the courthouse that most of the sect women subpoenaed to testify were planning to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights by refusing to testify because the information could incriminate them.  With the exception of spokesman Willie Jessop, most sect members divulge only their first names.  A group of sect men waited in parked vehicles outside the courthouse, sometimes taking pictures of the day's events.  Willie Jessop, an FLDS spokesman, was tight-lipped this morning about the proceedings, saying only he might talk later today.     Read more

Sect leaders could face indictment in West Texas

FLDS spokesman Jessop appears before Schleicher County grand jury

By TERRI LANGFORD Houston Chronicle Originally published July 22, 2008

ELDORADO — Grand jury proceedings in West Texas appeared to restart after a four-hour delay caused by questions about whether members of a polygamist sect's testimony could be used against them.  Two members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — Sarah Barlow Draper and Leann Jeffs — were escorted by their attorneys to the grand jury room on the Schleicher County courthouse square shortly before 5 p.m.  Draper, 37, could be seen daubing her tearful eyes before she re-entered the room.  Attorney Andrea Sloan patted Jeffs, her client, on the back before she too headed into the grand jury room.  Sources close to the investigation said the state of Texas offered female members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony.  But questions over whether that immunity would be accepted by federal prosecutions was in doubt, bringing the grand proceeding to a temporary halt this afternoon.  It wasn't immediately clear how those questions were resolved.  Sources familiar with the discussions spoke to the Chronicle on condition their names not be used.  One said state District Judge Barbara Walther was called to the secret proceedings and kept in a room separate from the deliberations to go over the immunity issue.  A steady stream of about nine women in long dresses with braided hair were called to the grand jury hearing earlier today.  About half made it into the meeting room on the courthouse square, but all left quickly after telling the grand jury nothing, said a 25-year-old member of the sect who would only identify himself as "Ben."     Read more

Statement From Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott

News Release oag.state.tx.us Originally published Tuesday, July 22, 2008

"Earlier today the Schleicher County Grand Jury issued seven indictments containing nine counts of sexual assault, bigamy, and related charges against six individuals who are associated with the YFZ compound near Eldorado."  "The six suspects facing indictments include Warren Jeffs, who was charged with sexually assaulting a child, a first-degree felony. Four additional suspects were indicted for sexually assaulting young girls under the age of 17. Each of those suspects faces one felony count of sexual assault and one of the suspects faces an additional charge of bigamy. Another defendant has been charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse."  "The indictments issued today are part of an ongoing and continuing criminal investigation."  "I want to thank the Texas Rangers who are the lead investigators in this case for their outstanding work. I want to thank the criminal investigators from my office who are actively involved in this criminal investigation. For months, dedicated men and women from our Cyber Crimes, Fugitive and Special Investigations Units have literally been living in San Angelo, commuting home to their families on weekends, in order to advance this case. I also want to thank Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran for his assistance with this matter."  "Today's charges reflect a cooperative effort between the Texas Attorney Generals Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers, 51st Judicial District Attorney Steve Lupton, and the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Richard B. Roper."  "Because law enforcement authorities are still reviewing the arrest warrants issued today, further information about the indictments cannot be released at this time."

Six indicted in FLDS

Nine charges in all; defendants include Warren Jeffs

By Matt Phinney San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 22, 2008

ELDORADO - A Schleicher County grand jury Tuesday handed down seven indictments, including one against Warren Jeffs, imprisoned leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The indictments alleged a total of nine counts of sexual assault, bigamy and related issues against Jeffs and five other FLDS members whose names were not disclosed.  It was the second full day of testimony in grand jury proceedings stemming from an April raid on the polygamist sect's YFZ Ranch near Eldorado.  At the end of the day, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott spoke to reporters near the courthouse and took a few questions.  Jeffs was charged with first-degree felony sexual assault of a child.  He was notified of the indictment in an Arizona jail while he awaits trial on a different charge.  Four other suspects were indicted on charges of sexually assaulting girls younger than 17.  Each of those suspects faces one count of sexual assault, and one of those suspects faces an additional charge of bigamy.  Another defendant has been charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse.  In its first meeting last month, the grand jury met for a full day without issuing indictments stemming from the April raid in which state authorities took more than 400 children into custody and confiscated hundreds of boxes of documents from the YFZ Ranch.  Authorities suspect the polygamist sect, which split decades ago from the Mormon Church, of engaging in sexual abuse and forced "marriages" involving underage girls.     Read more

5 FLDS men sought in child sex-abuse case

Sect’s spokesman criticizes indictment as face-saving move

By MICHELLE ROBERTS The Associated Press MSNBC Originally published Wednesday, July 23, 2008

SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Texas authorities on Wednesday began looking for five indicted members of a polygamist sect, in a child sex-abuse case that the group's spokesman alleged was a face-saving move by officials who lost a court battle over their seizure of hundreds of children from a sect-owned ranch.  The five men were indicted Tuesday with sect leader Warren Jeffs, who already was convicted in Utah and jailed in Arizona on charges related to underage marriages.  Jeffs and four of the followers were charged in Texas with felony sexual assault of a child, and the fifth follower was charged with failing to report child abuse.  One of the followers also was charged with bigamy.  "Our office does have warrants in hand and indictments in hand," said Sheriff David Doran of Schleicher County, where the ranch is located.  His tiny west Texas department was working with Texas Rangers and prosecutors to arrest the men.  The identities of the men and details of the accusations were to remain under seal until the men are arrested.  Doran, who cultivated a relationship with the ranch's residents before state authorities raided the property April 3, said it's hard to tell whether they are even still in Texas.  "I haven't personally seen them since the raid took place," he said.     Read more

Catching 5 from West Texas polygamist ranch may require wide net

By EMILY RAMSHAW The Dallas Morning News Originally published Wednesday, July 23, 2008

AUSTIN – Authorities began their pursuit Wednesday of five members of a West Texas polygamist sect accused of committing crimes against children but acknowledged the men – some of whom are believed to be influential elders who married underage girls – could be difficult to find.  By Wednesday evening, no arrests had been made, and state and county law enforcement officials said they had no timetable for completing them.  Officials close to the investigation said the names weren't being released because the suspects are considered a flight risk – and some of the men haven't been seen in Texas since this spring's raid on the compound.  "They could literally be anywhere," said Sam Brower, a Utah private investigator who has worked on polygamy cases.  "They have unlimited resources and thousands of people willing to help them hide."  State law enforcement officials acknowledged that the search could lead them to the polygamist group's headquarters on the Utah-Arizona border, or even outside of the country.  Polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs – the only one of the men identified by authorities when the indictments were released Tuesday – was on the run for more than a year before he was apprehended in 2006.  "What we're doing right now is networking," said Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran.  "We've got the indictments, the warrants in hand. We've got the Texas Rangers and the attorney general's office. It's really hard to say" how long the arrests will take.  The day after a grand jury brought sexual assault indictments against Mr. Jeffs and five followers, the Eldorado sect's de facto leader said the men would turn themselves in – if only the state would identify them.  "If they tell us who they are looking for, they will step up to the allegations," Willie Jessop said.  "What we're afraid is that they won't tell us the names, and then they'll try to justify their actions by staging some hocus-pocus raid."     Read more

Search continues for FLDS men; Texas agency feels vindicated

By Pat Reavy Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, July 23, 2008

SAN ANGELO — The search continued Wednesday for five men indicted by a Schleicher County Grand Jury in Eldorado, Texas.  Late Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced that Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, and four of his followers were charged with sexual assault of a child. One of those men was also charged with bigamy, also a first-degree felony.  A sixth man was indicted on three counts of failure to report child abuse, all misdemeanors.  The names of the five others cannot be released until they are in custody. Jeffs, who was convicted in Utah last year of rape as an accomplice for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin, and sentenced to a pair of 5-to-life prison terms, is currently in a Kingman, Ariz. jail cell where he is facing trial on sexual misconduct charges accusing him of performing underage marriages.  Reaction from Texas on the indictments continued to flow in Wednesday.  The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the agency that received criticism after taking more than 400 children off the YFZ Ranch in April during the initial investigation of reports of abuse, issued a statement today saying they feel some vindication by the indictments.  "The indictment seems to indicate CPS was correct in its belief that some children at the ranch had been sexually abused, and all children are at risk in a community in which adults do not take a stand against the abuse taking place in their homes," said CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins.     Read more

More FLDS indictments likely

By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Thursday, July 24, 2008

More indictments against members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are likely as investigators pore over mountains of evidence seized from the polygamist sect's Schleicher County ranch, said one of the case's lead investigators Wednesday.  A day after a Schleicher County grand jury returned seven indictments against six members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Texas Ranger Capt. L.C. Wilson said the investigation is by no means over.  "I think I could safely say that," Wilson said when asked if more indictments could be expected.  "There's certainly other persons of interest and other suspects in this case."  Wilson, based in Midland, oversees all Texas Rangers in the West Texas region, which includes San Angelo and Eldorado.  He recently replaced Barry Caver, the Ranger captain who oversaw the April raid on the sect's YFZ Ranch and retired in June to take an oil-industry job.  With the grand jury scheduled to meet again Aug. 21, authorities began making plans Wednesday for finding and arresting the five suspects not already in custody.  The Schleicher County Sheriff's Office received the indictments and arrest warrants Tuesday night, Sheriff David Doran said, and will work with the Rangers and the Texas Attorney General's Office to arrest the men named in Tuesday's indictments.  A sixth man, sect leader Warren Jeffs, is already imprisoned on similar charges in Utah.  The grand jury on Tuesday indicted Jeffs on a charge of sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony, in connection with an incident that occurred about Jan. 14, 2005.  His bond was set at $100,000, according to the indictment.  The other five men were indicted on a mix of sexual assault, bigamy and failure to report sexual abuse charges — a total of eight counts.  "They all have attorneys," Wilson said, "so I think that method will certainly be used first."     Read more

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Monday, July 28, 2008 CONTACT: www.texasattorneygeneral.gov Press Office at (512) 463-2050 Subscribe to E-News     Statement from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott oag.state.tx.us Originally released Monday, July 28, 2008

"Today the five defendants who were indicted last week in Eldorado, Texas, are under arrest and in custody after surrendering to authorities Monday afternoon at the Schleicher County Sheriff’s Office: Raymond Merrill Jessop, 36, is charged with one count of sexually assaulting a child, a first-degree felony. He faces a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison. Allan Eugene Keate, 56, is charged with one count of sexually assaulting a child, a first-degree felony. He faces a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison. Michael George Emack, 57, is charged with one count of sexually assaulting a child, a first-degree felony. He faces a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison. Merrill Leroy Jessop, 33, is charged with one count of sexually assaulting a child and bigamy, both first-degree felonies. He faces a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison on each count. Lloyd Hammon Barlow, 38, is charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse, a class B misdemeanor. He faces a sentence of up to six months in prison and a fine of $2,000 per count. Read more

5 more indicted in aftermath of FLDS raid

By Pat Reavy Deseret News Originally published Monday, July 28, 2008

The five outstanding FLDS men indicted last week by a grand jury in Schleicher County, Texas surrendered to authorities Monday afternoon at the Schleicher County Sheriff's Office.  A total of six men were indicted, including FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, on July 22 by the 12-member jury.  At least nine jury members must vote in favor on an indictment for one to be issued.  Five of the men, including Jeffs, were indicted on first-degree felony charges of sexual assault of a child.  But the names of the other men were withheld until they were in custody.  Monday afternoon, the Texas Attorney General's Office announced the other men charged with sexual assault are Raymond Merrill Jessop, 36; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; Michael George Emack, 57; and Merrill Leroy Jessop, 33.  Merrill Jessop was also charged with bigamy, also a first-degree felony.  The sixth man, Lloyd Hammon Barlow, 38, was indicted on three counts of failure to report child abuse, all class B misdemeanors.  The sentenced for a sex assault conviction if five to 99 years in prison, or five years to life in prison.  Bond for the four men other than Jeffs was set at $100,000 per charge for the felonies and $5,000 for the misdemeanor.  The arrests, "reflect nearly a week-long effort by the Texas Rangers and Texas Attorney General's Office to arrange for the defendants' arrests," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement.  Merrill Jessop was the leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church's Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas.  His fourth wife is ex-FLDS member Carolyn Jessop who has been an outspoken opponent of the sect.  She chronicled her life in the FLDS Church in her bestselling book "Escape." E-mail: preavy@desnews.com

BREAKING NEWS: Five sect members jailed in Schleicher County

By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 28, 2008

Five indicted FLDS members have turned themselves in.  The men, sought since they were indicted Tuesday on a series of charges relating to alleged sexual abuse at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' Schleicher County ranch, turned themselves in to the Schleicher County Sheriff's Office about noon today, said Texas Ranger Capt. L.C. Wilson.  According to the Texas Attorney General's Office, the five men are: Raymond Merril Jessop, 36, the alleged husband of a 16-year-old daughter of Warren Jeffs, is charged with one count of sexual assault of a child. Allan Eugene Keate, 56, is charged with one count of sexual assault of a child. Michael Gorge Emack, 57, is charged with one count of sexual assault of a child. Merril Leroy Jessop, 33, is charged with one count of sexual assault of a child and bigamy. Lloyd Hammond Barlow, 38, is charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse. All the charges except failure to report child abuse - which is a misdemeanor - are first-degree felonies, punishable by up to life in prison.  The four men charged with felonies are held in lieu of bonds of $100,000, while Barlow's bond was set at $5,000.  Sect leader Warren Jeffs also was indicted on one count of sexual assault of a child, but he is already in jail, awaiting trial in Arizona. See photos

5 arrested in West Texas polygamist sect case

By EMILY RAMSHAW The Dallas Morning News Originally published Monday, July 28, 2008

AUSTIN — Five men from a West Texas polygamist sect wanted on charges ranging from sexual assault of a child to bigamy turned themselves in today, Attorney General Greg Abbott announced.  The men are being held at the Schleicher County jail. Those charged with felonies are being held in lieu of $100,000 bail each.  Those men face sentences ranging from five years to life in prison.  Three of the men — Merril "Leroy" Jessop, 33; Raymond Jessop, 36; and Allan Keate, 56 — face charges of sexual assault of a child and are purported to be "spiritual husbands" of young women who testified before the Schleicher County grand jury last week.  A fourth man, Michael Emack, 57, also faces charges of sexual assault of a child.  The fifth man, Dr. Lloyd Barlow, 38, faces three misdemeanor counts of failing to report child abuse.  He’s purported to be the chief physician at the sect's compound outside Eldorado and is thought to have had information about young mothers there.  Leroy Jessop is also charged with bigamy.  The West Texas grand jury that indicted the men also charged sect leader Warren Jeffs with sexual assault.  Mr. Jeffs is currently in jail in Arizona awaiting trial for similar charges.  The men were apprehended by authorities in Schleicher County, home of the sect’s Yearning For Zion ranch.  Mr. Abbott confirmed that an attorney for the sect facilitated the surrender of the men, and said he didn’t know if the men had to be summoned from another state to turn themselves in.     Read more

5 indicted members of sect are in custody, officials say

Some face charges of sexually assaulting teens

By Chuck Lindell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Five members of a West Texas polygamist sect, indicted last week on charges that included sexually assaulting teenage church members, turned themselves in to Schleicher County authorities Monday.  The arrests, which were negotiated during the past several days with a lawyer representing the sect, included members of the Jessop and Barlow families, who are prominent within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a Mormon splinter group.  Four men from the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado were charged with sexually assaulting girls younger than 17, a felony carrying a maximum penalty of life in prison.  Raymond Merrill Jessop, 36, Merrill Leroy Jessop, 33, Allan Keate, 56, and Michael Emack, 57, were being held in the Schleicher County Jail on $100,000 bail.  Merrill Leroy Jessop also was charged with bigamy, a felony.  The fifth sect member, Lloyd Hammon Barlow, 38, was charged with three counts of failing to report child abuse, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison.  Barlow, the sect's doctor at the Yearning for Zion Ranch, was being held on $5,000 bail.  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who announced the arrests, declined to discuss details of the charges.  A phone call to Willie Jessop, a sect leader, was not returned Monday.  Abbott said law enforcement agencies are discussing ways to protect alleged victims should any of the men post bail.  "I would be concerned about any children they would be exposed to," said Abbott, who called the bail amounts appropriate.  "I think the bail is a high bail instituted by the judge to ensure that people accused of these crimes will show up for trial."     Read more

5 indicted FLDS men surrender to Texas authorities

By Pat Reavy Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The five FLDS men indicted last week by a grand jury in Schleicher County, Texas, surrendered to authorities Monday afternoon at the Schleicher County Sheriff's Office.  The 12-member jury indicted a total of six men, including FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, on July 22.  At least nine jury members must vote in favor of an indictment for one to be issued.  Five of the men, including Jeffs, were indicted on first-degree felony charges of sexual assault of a child.  But the names of the other men were withheld until they were in custody.  Monday afternoon, the Texas Attorney General's Office announced the other men charged with sexual assault are Raymond Merrill Jessop, 36; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; Michael George Emack, 57; and Merrill Leroy Jessop, 33.  Merrill Jessop was also charged with bigamy, a first-degree felony.  The sixth man, Lloyd Hammon Barlow, 38, was indicted on three counts of failure to report child abuse, all class B misdemeanors.     Read more

Indicted FLDS men to appear before Texas judge today

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Five members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church indicted by a Texas grand jury are expected to make their first court appearances today.  The men will all appear before Schleicher County Justice of the Peace James Doyle sometime today, where they will be handed papers spelling out their rights.  "All I do is an admonishment," Doyle told the Deseret News.  "I read the warrant so they know what's been charged by the grand jury. I go through their rights."  The court appearances will take place at the jail.  Normally, such proceedings are done quickly and without much fanfare.  Doyle said today's proceedings have been delayed while authorities wait for a representative from the Texas Attorney General's Office to arrive in Eldorado.  The next court appearance will then be set by the district court judge, who is based in nearby San Angelo.  Raymond Merrill Jessop, 36; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; Michael George Emack, 57; and Merrill Leroy Jessop, 33, are all charged with first-degree felony sexual assault.  Merrill Jessop is also charged with bigamy, a first-degree felony.  Lloyd Hammon Barlow, 38, was indicted on misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse.  Also indicted is FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who remains in an Arizona jail where he is awaiting trial there on sexual conduct with a minor as an accomplice charges.  Jeffs, 52, is accused of performing child-bride marriages.  Texas authorities have said they will seek to have the FLDS leader extradited as soon as possible to the Lone Star state to face a sexual assault charge.  Jeffs was convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin and was sentenced to a pair of 5-to-life sentences.     Read more

Sect doctor bonds out of jail

By Jayna Boyle San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published July 29, 2008

Dr. Lloyd H. Barlow, the physician at the FLDS ranch near Eldorado, posted bond after being arrested Monday, a sect spokesman said today.  Barlow, charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse, was released on bond set at $5,000 at an arraignment Tuesday afternoon in the Schleicher County Jail in Eldorado.  Willie Jessop, a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints spokesman, said late Tuesday afternoon that while Barlow has posted bond, the four other FLDS men arrested at the same time - each facing charges related to sexual assault of a child - have not posted bond.  Their bonds were set at $100,000 each, according to a statement issued Monday by the Texas Attorney General.  Law enforcement officials in Schleicher County and with the Texas Department of Public Safety declined to provide information regarding the bonds.  The five men were indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury and subsequently arranged through their attorneys to surrender to authorities.

5 from West Texas polygamy sect arraigned Tuesday in sex assault case

By EMILY RAMSHAW The Dallas Morning News Originally published Tuesday, July 29, 2008

AUSTIN — Five men from a West Texas polygamist sect were arraigned on Tuesday, the day after they surrendered to charges related to the sexual assault and "spiritual" marriage of underage girls.  As of Tuesday evening, four of the men — members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — remained in custody in Schleicher County.  A fifth had posted bail and been released, a sect official said.  A sixth suspect, sect prophet Warren Jeffs, is in jail in Arizona, but could be extradited to Texas to face his sexual assault charge.  Sect leader Willie Jessop, who is speaking for the group in Mr. Jeffs’ absence, said he couldn’t confirm whether the other men who surrendered would post bail, and said he wasn’t at liberty to answer any more questions.  "I can’t go on the record with anything right now — I’ll explain later," said Mr. Jessop, who has called the charges outrageous.  "When all of this comes out, you will be very amused and shocked."  Mr. Jeffs and four other men — Merril Leroy Jessop, 33; Raymond Jessop, 36; Michael Emack, 57; and Allan Keate, 56, — were charged with first-degree felony sexual assault of a child, a crime punishable by five years to life in prison.  The younger Mr. Jessop, who uses his middle name, is also charged with first-degree felony bigamy, which means one of his alleged wives is younger than 16.  At least three of the other men, including Mr. Jeffs, are believed to have taken underage wives.  Dr. Lloyd Barlow, a 38-year-old doctor whose indictment indicates he delivered the babies of underage mothers on the Yearning For Zion ranch, was charged with three misdemeanor counts of failing to report child abuse.     Read more

5 indicted FLDS men appear before judge

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Five members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church indicted by a Texas grand jury made their first appearances before a judge.  The men were arraigned before Schleicher County Justice of the Peace James Doyle late Tuesday afternoon, where they were handed papers spelling out their rights and told not to contact their alleged victims.  "All I do is an admonishment," Doyle told the Deseret News.  "I read the warrant so they know what's been charged by the grand jury. I go through their rights."  One man, Dr. Lloyd Hammon Barlow, 38, posted a $15,000 bond late Tuesday and was released from jail pending his next court appearance.  The rest remained in jail pending the posting of $100,000 bail, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said.  The men's next court appearance will then be set by the district court judge, who is based in nearby San Angelo.  Raymond Merril Jessop, 36; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; Michael George Emack, 57; and Merril Leroy Jessop, 33, are all charged with first-degree felony sexual assault.  Merril Jessop is also charged with bigamy, a first-degree felony.  Barlow was indicted on misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse.  Also indicted is FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who remains in an Arizona jail.  Jeffs, 52, is accused of performing child-bride marriages there.  Texas authorities have said they will seek to have the FLDS leader extradited as soon as possible to the Lone Star state to face a sexual assault charge.  Jeffs was convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin and was sentenced to a pair of 5-to-life sentences.     Read more

Medical board may eye doctor

By Jayna Boyle San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Wednesday, July 30, 2008

If convicted, a polygamist sect's doctor charged with failure to report child abuse may face restrictions on his ability to practice medicine in Texas, according to the state medical board.  Dr. Lloyd H. Barlow, 38, was arrested Monday in Schleicher County and charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse.  Each count is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and up to 180 days in jail.  Barlow could not be reached Tuesday for comment.  Four other members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were arrested Monday, and each charged with one count of sexual assault of a child.  One man, Merril Leroy Jessop, 33, whose listed age is younger than that of the ranch leader and sect bishop of the same name, also has been charged with one count of felony bigamy.  The men were named in indictments issued by a Schleicher County grand jury July 22.  They surrendered to authorities Monday under arrangements made through their attorneys.  All the charges except failure to report child abuse are first-degree felonies, punishable by up to life in prison.  All five were arraigned Tuesday in Schleicher County.  Justice of the Peace James Doyle said Barlow's bond was set at $5,000, while the others are being held in lieu of $100,000 bonds.  Willie Jessop, a sect spokesman, said Tuesday that Barlow posted bond and was released, but the other four men remained in jail.  The Schleicher County Jail confirmed that one of the men had been released Tuesday but refused to specify which one.  The state attorney general's office says professionals such as teachers, doctors, nurses or child day-care workers are required to make an oral report within 48 hours of suspected abuse.  The abuse should be reported to law enforcement officials or the Texas Department of Family Protective Services.     Read more

Polygamist group tries to raise bail for 4 charged with sexual assault

By EMILY RAMSHAW The Dallas Morning News Originally published Thursday, July 31, 2008

AUSTIN – The spokesman for a West Texas polygamist sect said the group is trying to pull together half a million dollars in bail money for four men charged with sexual assaulting young girls.  For now, Willie Jessop said, the members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints remain in jail.  "We’re working on it," he said.  A fifth suspect charged with misdemeanors for allegedly failing to report child abuse was released on Tuesday for $15,000 bond.  Sect prophet Warren Jeffs, who is incarcerated in Arizona, was also charged with sexual assault; he could be extradited to stand trial in Texas.  David Doran, the sheriff in Schleicher County, where the men were arraigned on Monday, said the men charged with felonies have "not come up with their bond yet," but that they remain "calm and in good spirits."  They surrendered on Monday to charges related to the sexual assault and "spiritual" marriage of underage girls.     Read more

Texas Wants 8 Kids From Sect Back in State Care

By MICHELLE ROBERTS The Associated Press WOAI San Antonio Originally published August 6, 2008

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Texas child welfare authorities asked a judge on Tuesday to place eight children from a Texas polygamist sect's ranch back into foster care, saying their mothers refuse to limit their contact with men accused of being involved in underage marriages.  Child Protective Services filed petitions asking Texas District Judge Barbara Walther to place the six girls and two boys belonging to four different mothers back in foster care.  The children, ranging in age from 5 to 17, will be allowed to remain with their mothers until a hearing scheduled for Sept. 25, said CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner.  None currently lives at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado.  CPS filed petitions detailing alleged involvement in underage marriages by the children's fathers or stepfathers, submitting sect marriage documents, notes from suspected underage brides, photos and journal entries from Warren Jeffs, the jailed leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Two of the girls are daughters of Lloyd Hammon Barlow, a doctor indicted last month on three misdemeanor counts of failing to report child abuse, according to court filings.  Five other sect members, including Jeffs, were charged with sexual assault last month, but their children are not among those in the CPS petitions.  The other six children are related, by blood or marriage, to men who are not under indictment but are accused by child welfare authorities of participating in or blessing underage marriages.     Read more

4 FLDS members leave jail after posting bond

By Michelle Roberts The Associated Press Deseret News Originally published Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008

SAN ANTONIO — Four polygamist sect members indicted on charges of sexual assault of a child were released from jail late Wednesday after posting bond.  Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran said the men — Raymond Merril Jessop, 36; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; Michael George Emack, 57; and Merril Leroy Jessop, 33 — posted bonds of $100,000 per charge and were likely headed home to the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado.  They had been jailed since turning themselves in more than a week ago.  Each of the men from the Fundamentalist LDS Church, which runs the YFZ Ranch, was indicted last month on one count of sexual assault of a child.  Merril Leroy Jessop faces an additional charge of bigamy.  Under the conditions of their bonds, the men must stay in Schleicher County unless they notify authorities and must stay away from their alleged victims.  They were indicted July 22 along with imprisoned FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who was also charged with sexual assault of a child, and Lloyd Hammon Barlow, a 38-year-old physician who was charged with three misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse. Barlow posted bond last week.  Prosecutors have declined to provide details on what the men are accused of doing, but documents from a separate custody case included a journal entry from Jeffs indicating Raymond Merril Jessop was married to Jeffs' daughter the day after she turned 15.     Read more

4 polygamist sect members post bond

Terri Langford Houston Chronicle San Antonio Express-News Originally published August 7, 2008

Four indicted members of a polygamist sect have posted bond and been released from a West Texas jail, according to Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran.  The men, Raymond Jessop, 36, his younger brother Leroy Jessop, 33, Michael Emack, 57, and Allan Keate, 56, were all charged with one count of sexually assaulting a child. If convicted of the first-degree felony, they would face a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison.  In addition, Leroy Jessop also is charged with one count of bigamy, also a first-degree felony.  The four members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, together with jailed FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, were indicted July 22 on charges stemming from marriages with underage girls.  They were each released on $100,000 bond at 10 p.m. Wednesday.  A sixth man, 38-year-old Dr. Lloyd Barlow, was indicted on three counts of failing to report child abuse.  He bonded out of jail last week.  If convicted, Barlow could face up to six months in prison and a fine of $2,000 per count.  The FLDS is not affiliated with mainstream Mormonism, which denounced polygamy more than a century ago.

Jailed FLDS members each post $100,000 bond

By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Thursday, August 7, 2008

Schleicher County officials released four men accused of sexual abuse of a child after the polygamist sect members posted $100,000 bond each Wednesday night.  The men - Raymond Merril Jessop, 36; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; Michael George Emack, 57; and Merril LeRoy Jessop, 33 - posted bond about 10 p.m. and left to avoid media publicity, said bondsman Louis Perez, of San Angelo-based Concho Bail Bonds.  "They specifically wanted to do it that way so there wouldn't be coverage," Perez said.  The only restriction placed on the men is that they cannot leave the state, he said.  The men, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, were indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury July 22 and turned themselves in shortly after.  Also indicted were Dr. Lloyd Hammond Barlow, 38, who was released on a $5,000 bond shortly after being indicted on three counts of misdemeanor failure to report abuse, and sect leader Warren Jeffs, who is imprisoned in Arizona in an unrelated conviction.  LeRoy Jessop also faces a charge of bigamy.  The men contacted Concho Bail Bonds through the San Angelo law firm of Hennington, Butler and Jones, Perez said.  Attorneys for the firm did not return calls for comment Thursday.  Raymond and LeRoy Jessop and Barlow are all accused in affidavits filed Tuesday by the state's Child Protective Services agency of having married teenage girls in sect-sanctioned weddings.     Read more

Bail hearing canceled for FLDS men

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — A court hearing for four men from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch indicted by a grand jury here was canceled after they hired lawyers and bailed out of jail.  A bail-reduction request for Raymond Merril Jessop, 36; Merril Leroy Jessop, 33; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; and Michael Emack, 57, was scheduled to be heard Thursday.  However, court clerks said the hearing was canceled at the last moment when attorneys entered notices of appearance, and by the fact that the men had posted $500,000 in bail nearly a week ago.  In court papers, attorneys for the FLDS men argued that the $100,000-per-charge bail was excessive and they surrendered themselves once they became aware they had been indicted.  The April 3 raid on the YFZ Ranch, where hundreds of children were placed in state custody, made it difficult for the men to earn enough money to post bail.  They had to travel great distances to visit their children, disrupting their ability to earn a living.  "As a consequence and in order to provide for his family, defendant has had to depend on donations from friends, family and fellow church members," Abilene attorney Randy Wilson wrote in court papers filed with the cases.     Read more

Hearings make halting progress

By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Three times, the state's attorney asked Barbara Steed Jessop the question, stated slightly differently: Have you ever left your residence overnight while your two children remained?  The answers varied.  "We are there by ourselves," the 55-year-old woman said once during Monday's hearing.  "I stay with my children," she said when asked again.  The third time, she replied, "My daughters live there also."  On Jeff Schmidt's fourth try, he received a starkly different response.  "I don't want to answer your questions," said Jessop, arguably the matriarch of the YFZ Ranch, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' compound in Schleicher County.  "I stand on the Fifth" Amendment.  The questions came at a hearing Monday that is the first attempt to retake custody of FLDS children since state appellate courts in June ordered CPS to return the 440 it had removed from the compound in an early April raid.  The agency on Aug. 5 filed motions to remove eight children from four families.  One of the children, a 17-year-old boy, was determined to be able to protect himself and was dropped from the motions, CPS investigator Ruby Gutierrez told attorneys.  That leaves seven children sprinkled among the four cases.  Attorneys worked toward agreements Monday in two of the cases, and deals are likely this week, said CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner.  However, the two other cases - involving the Jessops' two children and the two children of the ranch's on-site physician, Dr. Lloyd Hammon Barlow - did not appear resolvable.     Read more

Warrant orders DNA sample from FLDS man

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

SAN ANGELO, Texas — A member of the Fundamentalist LDS Church indicted on a sexual assault charge was forced to give a DNA sample, a newly unsealed search warrant states.  The search warrant was filed with the Schleicher County Court in Eldorado, Texas, on July 29 but was made public Wednesday.  The search warrant sought a cheek swab from Allan Eugene Keate, citing records seized in the April raid on the YFZ Ranch.  The search warrant accused Keate of having sex with a girl he married when she was 15 in a ceremony at the ranch on May 5, 2005.  "The marriage of Keate and Jane Doe was one of two marriages for Allan Eugene Keate on May 5, 2005," wrote Texas Ranger Nick Hanna in an affidavit filed with the search warrant.  The girl was the fifth of six wives for Keate, the affidavit states.  She gave birth to a son on Dec. 30, 2006.  "As Jane Doe was only 15 years of age and Allan Eugene Keate was approximately 52 years of age at the time of the marriage, and Jane Doe was approximately 16 years of age at the time of conception, affiant believes Allan Eugene Keate has committed the offense of sexual assault of a child," Hanna wrote.  The DNA sample was sought to confirm if Keate was the baby's father.  Attached to the search warrant were a drivers license photo of Keate and a return showing a cheek sample was obtained July 28.  Six men, including Keate and FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, were indicted by a grand jury in nearby Eldorado on charges ranging from sexual assault to bigamy to failure to report child abuse.  The grand jury is scheduled to meet again Thursday.

More FLDS indictments today?

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Thursday, August 21, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — A grand jury investigating alleged crimes within the Fundamentalist LDS Church will meet here again today, with the possibility of more indictments being handed up.  Six men, including FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, have already been indicted on charges ranging from sexual assault to bigamy and failure to report child abuse.  If evidence entered into court in nearby San Angelo is any indication, more members of the Utah-based polygamous sect can expect to face criminal charges. Marriage records, bishop's records, dictations, love letters, diaries and photographs were among the hundreds of thousands of pieces of evidence seized during the April raid on the church's YFZ Ranch.  Some of that evidence has been used in child-custody cases that played out this week in nearby San Angelo.  A list of underage girls allegedly married to older men, compiled by Texas Child Protective Services, gives indications as to who is under investigation.  Some of the cases involve men who have already been indicted.  The CPS list shows 10 cases involving marriages of girls ranging in age from 12 to 16 at the time of their alleged marriages.  Law enforcement e-mails, written in April and obtained earlier this month by the Deseret News through a government public records request, indicated Texas Rangers were investigating as many as 20 cases of sexual assault and 50 cases of bigamy.     Read more

FLDS grand jury indicts three people on felonies

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — The grand jury investigating crimes within the Fundamentalist LDS Church returned three felony indictments against three separate people, a court clerk confirmed.  The indictments come following daylong hearings today in which testimony was taken from several young women and the church's spokesman, among others.  Earlier, about a half-dozen women were brought to the Schleicher County Memorial Building, which acted as a one-room courthouse for the proceedings.  They huddled with their attorneys until they were called, one by one, to go in before the panel made up of ordinary residents of this small west Texas county.  "We're not going to answer any questions," one lawyer for an FLDS woman told reporters gathered earlier outside yellow sheriff's tape that surrounds the building.  FLDS member and spokesman Willie Jessop was unsure if any indictments would be issued.  "We're always hoping for a miracle," Jessop said Thursday.  Late Wednesday afternoon, Jessop was called before the jury.  A few times, he stepped out of the building to meet with his attorneys before going back in to continue testifying.  "If I was just observing, I'd be in Utah," he joked with reporters when asked if he was subpoenaed.  After more than an hour, Jessop finally emerged.  He told reporters the experience has been painful for everyone involved.     Read more

3 more indicted in Texas FLDS probe

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Friday, Aug. 22, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — One by one, the women of the Fundamentalist LDS Church were called before the grand jury to testify in secret about allegations of crimes within the Utah-based polygamous sect.  By the end of the day, three felony indictments were handed down.  "There's three different indictments, three different names," Schleicher County court clerk Peggy Williams confirmed late Thursday.  She would not say who was indicted or what the charges were.  The Texas Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting the cases, also declined comment on the indictments.  Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran told the Deseret News he had not yet received any arrest warrants.  "Whatever they hand to us, we will actively pursue if it is an arrest warrant," he said.  The indictments came at the end of a nerve-wracking day for members of the FLDS Church.  The young women arrived at the Schleicher County Memorial Building in the morning.  There, they waited for most of the day as the weather in this tiny west Texas town turned hot and humid and thunderstorms moved in.  To pass the time, a few of the women whipped out digital cameras and took pictures of everything around them.  One smiled as she posed for a picture with a Texas Ranger.  They joked with a Deseret News photographer about who would have the better pictures.  When it came time to testify, an officer would walk out to where they were waiting.  Their attorneys would escort them to the doors, but the women went in alone.  The grand jury was meeting in a building that often serves as a one-room courthouse, complete with folding chairs and a card table acting as a judge's bench.  Throughout the proceedings, the young women would often walk out of the building and huddle with their attorneys, a nervous look on their faces.  They would then go back in to resume their testimony.  This happened numerous times, leading to speculation that some young women were refusing to answer questions under their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.     Read more

Sect members face more indictments

By Lisa Sandberg San Antonio Express-News Originally published August 22, 2008

ELDORADO — More felony charges were handed up Thursday against members of a West Texas polygamist group.  Neither the Texas Attorney General's Office nor Schleicher County officials would identify the three indicted suspects or say what they were charged with until they are in custody.  They also refused to say whether the individuals were different from the five men charged last month with sexual assault of a minor in connection with underage marriages.  Amy Hennington, an attorney hired by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said she expected any men or women who were charged would surrender right away.  A Schleicher County grand jury returned the indictments Thursday afternoon after meeting for more than seven hours and hearing from at least eight witnesses, including seven young women from the group and Willie Jessop, a spokesman for the group.  Standing outside the courthouse Thursday after testifying, Jessop called the whole ordeal "a very painful process."  He said the group would mount a vigorous defense for all those charged.  A source close to the group said prosecutors were getting absolutely no help from any of the members called as witnesses.  To every question asked, he said, "everybody is taking the Fifth."  That legal strategy — a right protected by the Constitution to protect people from self incrimination — was also used by girls the state believes are victims, both Thursday and at the previous two proceedings, the source said.  The tactic was infuriating prosecutors, stated the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because grand jury proceedings are supposed to be secret.     Read more

Jeffs, 2 other FLDS leaders charged with bigamy

By Lisa Sandberg San Antonio Express-News Originally published August 23, 2008

Bigamy charges have been filed in Texas against jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs and two other members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  All three men were charged last month with sexual assault of a child in connection with underage marriages.  Charged along with Jeffs on Thursday were Raymond Merril Jessop, 36, and Michael George Emack, 57.  The pair surrendered to Schleicher County authorities Friday afternoon, said the sheriff there, David Doran.  Both were released after each posted $10,000 bond, Doran said.  The bigamy charges were filed — but not disclosed — Thursday by a Schleicher County grand jury hearing evidence regarding underage marriages alleged to have taken place at the breakaway Mormon sect's sprawling ranch just outside Eldorado.  "Their attorneys brought them in. They arrived one at a time. They were booked, photographed, fingerprinted and processed. The whole thing took half an hour (for each)," Doran said.     Read more

Bigamy Indictments in FLDS Probe

Texas religious leaders had demanded bigamy charges

By Jim Forsyth News Radio 1200 WOAI - San Antonio, TX Originally published Saturday, August 23, 2008

Three leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who have previously been indicted for sexual assault of a child have now ben indicted on the felony of bigamy, 1200 WOAI news reports.  Two of the three, who were free on bond on the sexual assault indictments, have been released on additional bonds on the bigamy count.  The third bigamy indictment was filed against Warren Jeffs, the FLDS 'prophet' who is already imprisoned in Utah and is facing trial on additional felony charges in Arizona.  The Schleicher County grand jury is set to met again in late September.  Several conservative and religious groups had called for bigamy charges to be filed in the FLDS probe, saying not to file charges against men who admitted being married to multiple women made a mockery of traditional marriage in Texas.  The three are facing 99 year terms on the sexual assault charges, and are now facing an additional ten years on the bigamy count.  Papers seized in the April Texas Rangers raid on the FLDS temple reveal evidence that several FLDS men were married to as many as eight women.  The FLDS considers plural marriage, which is legally practiced in some Middle Eastern and south Asian countries but is outlawed in the U.S, as the 'gateway to heaven.'

Jeffs, 2 others indicted on felony bigamy counts

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs and two of his followers are the latest to be indicted by a grand jury here on third-degree felony bigamy charges.  The indictments were unsealed after Raymond Merril Jessop, 36, and Michael George Emack, 57, surrendered to authorities at the Schleicher County Sheriff's Office Friday afternoon.  They were booked and released after each posted $10,000 bond.  "Of course, Warren's in jail," Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran told the Deseret News after the arrests were made.  "But they were able to post bond immediately. Everything was cooperative."  Jeffs, 52, is in an Arizona jail where he is awaiting trial on sexual misconduct charges accusing him of performing underage marriages.  The FLDS leader was convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice and sentenced to a pair of 5-to-life sentences for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.  "We received a detainer, which notifies us of his warrant status," said Trish Carter, a spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office in Kingman, Ariz., where Jeffs is jailed.  Texas authorities have said they will seek to extradite Jeffs to face charges.  Details of the latest indictments, which were handed up on Thursday, were not released, but it is apparent they stem from polygamous marriages within the Utah-based sect.  All three men were indicted last month on sexual assault charges by the same grand jury investigating crimes within the FLDS Church, accusing them of sex with underage girls.     Read more

Identities disclosed on two of three new FLDS indictments

The Associated Press San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published August 25, 2008

ELDORADO - Two of the new indictments issued by a grand jury against members of a polygamist sect added bigamy charges against men already accused of sexual assault of a child.  The indictments, issued by a Schleicher County grand jury Thursday, accuse Michael George Emack, 57, and Raymond Merril Jessop, 36, of bigamy.  Both were served on Friday.  The clerk's office has not released the name or charge on a third indictment issued Thursday because it has not yet been served.  The indictments against Emack and Jessop include few details of the accusations, but sect records released as part of a separate custody case show Jessop, who was already married, was married to the daughter of jailed sect leader Warren Jeffs the day after she turned 15.  Male members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints engage in multiple spiritual unions - that are meant to be acceptable to society - with female members.  The sect split decades ago from the Mormon Church, which renounced all polygamy in the late 19th century.  Under Texas law, someone younger than 17 cannot generally consent to sex with an adult.  The crime of bigamy includes legal marriages and the lower standard of purporting to marry.  Bigamy involving a person 16 or older is a second degree felony, punishable by 2 to 20 years in jail and a fine up to $10,000; bigamy involving a person younger than 16 is a first degree felony, punishable by five years to life in prison and a fine up to $10,000.     Read more

Warrants could lead to more FLDS charges

Grand jury will weigh evidence as church seeks their dismissal

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — When a grand jury meets here later this month, criminal indictments could be handed down against more members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church.  Search warrants reveal new names under investigation by law enforcement for alleged underage marriages, the Deseret News has learned.  The April 9 search warrants obtained blood, cheek and hair samples from five men, three of whom have already been indicted on sexual assault charges.  The warrants accuse Raymond Jessop, Leroy Jessop, Michael George Emack, Nathan Jessop and Jackson Jessop of fathering children with girls who were all about 16 years old.  Some of that information is based on initial interviews with the girls themselves.  "(The girl) referred to herself as the 10th wife of Nathan Jessop; that the father of her child is Nathan Jessop; and that (the girl) lived with Nathan Jessop at the suspected place and premises," Texas 51st District Attorney's investigator Diane Wilson wrote in a probable-cause affidavit filed with one of the warrants.  Law enforcement returned with DNA samples on April 14 to help establish paternity.  Some of the men have been previously named in search warrants served during the raid on the YFZ Ranch.  Hundreds of thousands of pieces of evidence were removed from the temple grounds, including photographs, diaries, marriage and census records, and dictations by FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.  Some of that evidence has been used in child-custody cases over the hundreds of FLDS children taken into state protective custody during the raid.  Texas Child Protective Services has said it has evidence of at least 10 underage marriages.  A CPS caseworker testified during a court hearing last week that an investigation revealed "48 percent of the men at the ranch were involved in underage marriage practices."     Read more

Bond limits eased for 4 FLDS members

By Jayna Boyle San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published September 8, 2008

Four men facing criminal charges as an outcome of the April raid on a polygamist sect's YFZ Ranch in Schleicher County on Monday saw their bond conditions relaxed and were assigned a date for a pretrial status hearing.  Judge Barbara Walther presided over hearings Monday morning at the Schleicher County courthouse in Eldorado for Raymond Merril Jessop, 36; Allan Eugene Keate, 56; Michael George Emack, 57; and Merril LeRoy Jessop, 33.  The men, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, were indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury July 22 on charges of sexual abuse of a child and turned themselves in shortly after.  They have been free on $100,000 bond since Aug. 6.  Walther, after consulting with a team of three defense attorneys and several representatives from the Attorney General's Office, settled on Oct. 27 as a date for a pretrial status hearing for all four defendants.  Walther approved amendments to each man's bond conditions that will allow them to travel outside Schleicher County but within Texas.  On a motion of defense attorney Randy Wilson, Emack, a resident of Utah, received permission to go to his home state to bring a truck and tools back to Texas so he can work while awaiting trial.  "That's reasonable," Walther said during the hearing.  "We want him to be able to work."

FLDS members arraigned in Texas court

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Monday, Sept. 8, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — Four members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church indicted by a grand jury here made their first formal court appearances today.  Raymond Merril Jessop, 36, Allan Eugene Keate, 56, Michael George Emack, 57, and Merril Leroy Jessop, 33, appeared for pre-trial hearings on sexual assault charges.  Merril Leroy Jessop also had a hearing on a bigamy charge.  The men filed into the Schleicher County Memorial Building, which once a month acts as a courthouse for this tiny rural Texas county.  Folding tables served as the judge's bench and the prosecution and defense tables.  Lawyers, clerks, inmates and spectators sat on folding chairs set up in the one-room building.  "Any preliminary discussions about the resolution of this case?" Texas 51st District Judge Barbara Walther asked as she called Raymond Merril Jessop's case.  "No, your honor," said Jessop's attorney, Mark Stevens.  "We have provided them with some initial discovery," assistant Texas Attorney General Angela Goodwin said of the evidence in the case.  "There's going to be a lot more discovery."  "And what we have is already extensive," Stevens replied.     Read more

Statement From Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott

News Release oag.state.tx.us Originally published Tuesday, September 23, 2008

"Earlier today, the Schleicher County Grand Jury indicted three additional individuals on sexual assault charges. All three suspects are associated with the polygamist compound near Eldorado."  "The three suspects were indicted for sexually assaulting children. Each of those suspects faces one felony count of sexual assault of a child and two of the suspects each face an additional first-degree felony charge of bigamy."  "The indictments issued today are part of an ongoing and continuing criminal investigation."  "I want to thank the Texas Rangers, who are the leading this investigation, and the criminal investigators with the Office of the Attorney General, for their outstanding work on this case. For months, dedicated men and women from our Cyber Crimes, Fugitive and Special Investigations Units have literally been living in San Angelo, commuting home to their families on weekends. I also want to thank Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran for his assistance with this matter."  "Today's charges reflect a cooperative effort between the Texas Attorney General's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers, 51st Judicial District Attorney Steve Lupton, and the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Richard B. Roper."  "Because law enforcement authorities are still reviewing the arrest warrants issued today, further information about the indictments cannot be released at this time."

Texas grand jury hands down 5 more indictments in FLDS case

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — Five indictments were handed down against three members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church here this afternoon on felony charges.  Three were indicted on sexual assault charges.  "The three suspects were indicted for sexually assaulting children," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement.  "Each of those suspects faces one felony count of sexual assault of a child and two of the suspects each face an additional first-degree felony charge of bigamy."  The grand jury left about 2:30 p.m. local time, and shortly after, the indictments were announced.  Schleicher County Clerk Peggy Williams said she would not reveal who was indicted until the wanted individuals either surrendered or were taken into custody.  The grand jury probing crimes within the FLDS Church started meeting in the Schleicher County Memorial Building at about 8:30 a.m. local time today, with law enforcement surrounding the building.  However, by midday, it did not appear that any witnesses had showed up to testify.  Attorneys representing some young women from the FLDS Church have said their clients were not subpoenaed to testify this time.  Prosecutors from the Texas Attorney General's Office went into the building early this morning, taking briefcases and boxes with them.     Read more

More FLDS members indicted on sexual assault charges

CNN Originally published Tue September 23, 2008

(CNN) -- Three more members of a polygamous sect led by Warren Jeffs are facing sexual assault charges, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Tuesday.  On Tuesday, a Texas grand jury indicted the three male members of Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compound outside Eldorado, Abbott said.  Each faces one felony count of sexual assault of a child.  Two of them also face felony bigamy charges.  The identities of the men were not released because they had not been arrested as of Tuesday afternoon.  In July, the Schleicher County grand jury indicted Jeffs and four of his Texas FLDS followers on child sexual assault charges.  Jeffs was charged with sexually assaulting a child under 17.  A fifth follower was charged with failure to report child abuse.  The charges stem from a state and federal investigation into the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch.  In April, child welfare workers removed more than 400 children from the compound, citing allegations of physical and sexual abuse.  After a court battle, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the children returned in June, saying that the state had no right to remove them and that there was no evidence to show the children faced imminent danger of abuse on the ranch.  Jeffs, 52, is the leader and "prophet" of the estimated 10,000-member FLDS, an offshoot of the mainstream Mormon church.  The FLDS openly practices polygamy at the YFZ Ranch and in two towns straddling the Utah-Arizona state line: Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona.     Read more

5 more sect indictments issued

By Jayna Boyle San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Wednesday, September 24, 2008

ELDORADO - A grand jury in Schleicher County issued five indictments on Tuesday against three people in criminal cases involving members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  All the charges are felonies, said Schleicher County District Clerk Peggy Williams, but she declined to elaborate further.  The suspects' identities were not disclosed.  The indictments came after a quiet day at the courthouse. No sect members were seen in their trademark prairie dresses or long-sleeved button-down shirts walking in or out to testify, as had been the case in previous grand jury hearings.  Williams said she could not comment on whether the indictments involved people who had not previously been charged.  Willie Jessop, a sect elder and spokesman for the FLDS, said the grand jury proceedings were the state's way of justifying the weeklong raid on the sect's YFZ Ranch near Eldorado in April, when more than 400 children were taken into state custody.  "The state has embarked on a vendetta," Jessop said.  He said he didn't know the names of the people listed in Tuesday's indictments but said he was sure any sect members would "face head on" the charges.  The group, he said, still maintains its innocence.  Jessop, who arrived in Schleicher County on Tuesday from Utah, said he and other sect members were disappointed that they were not invited to testify at the grand jury proceedings.     Read more

3 more polygamist-sect members indicted in Texas

The Associated Press The Kansas City Star Originally published Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008

A west Texas grand jury investigating allegations that members of a polygamist sect sexually abused girls indicted three more people Tuesday, raising the number of defendants in the case to nine.  Each of the sect members indicted Tuesday by the Schleicher County grand jury was charged with sexual assault of a child, and two face an additional charge of bigamy, state Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement.  Abbott's office has taken over prosecution of the case from local authorities in the tiny county.  The names of those charged were not immediately released, but none had been charged previously.  The grand jury earlier had indicted six other members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including jailed sect leader Warren Jeffs.  The grand jury has now met three times to consider evidence against residents of the Yearning For Zion Ranch, which is run by the FLDS, a breakaway Mormon sect.  All but one of those indicted has been charged with sexual abuse of a child, and some also have been charged with bigamy.  The sect's doctor has been charged only with three misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse.  Authorities raided the YFZ Ranch in April looking for evidence of underage marriages and abuse involving sect girls.  Texas child welfare authorities initially put all 440 children at the ranch in foster care but were forced to return them by a Texas Supreme Court ruling that found evidence showed abuse in only a handful of cases.  Grand jury proceedings are secret, but numerous documents and photos disclosed as part of a separate child custody case show girls, some as young as 12, purportedly married to middle-aged men.     Read more

Texas issues another 5 indictments against FLDS

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — Five more indictments have been handed down against three people in the ongoing criminal probe into the Utah-based Fundamentalist LDS Church.  "All five are felony charges," Schleicher County Clerk Peggy Williams said Tuesday, announcing the grand jury indictments here.  Each person will face a sexual assault charge.  "The three ... were indicted for sexually assaulting children," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement.  "Each of those suspects faces one felony count of sexual assault of a child and two of the suspects each face an additional first-degree felony charge of bigamy."  Williams would not reveal who was indicted until they are served with court papers.  The Schleicher County Sheriff's Office will either arrange for the indicted individuals to surrender or apprehend them.  "Whatever they say we need to do," chief deputy George Arispe told the Deseret News after the grand jury had left for the day.  A lawyer representing FLDS members showed up to the courthouse late Tuesday afternoon to inquire about the indictments, but also could not get any names.  After meeting for only six hours on Tuesday, a prosecutor in the Texas Attorney General's Office stepped out of the Schleicher County Memorial Building and into the sunshine to fetch a court clerk.  A few minutes later, she emerged with the sealed indictments.  Members of the secret panel filed out of the building in a line, past a fence of yellow plastic sheriff's tape that stretched around the entire building.     Read more

Conflicts abound in FLDS custody cases

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Friday, Sept. 26, 2008

SAN ANGELO, Texas — There were so many perceived conflicts of interest in a hearing here Thursday, Child Protective Services lawyers created a flow chart to try to explain it all.  Annette Jeffs, the mother of 17-year-old Teresa Jeffs, wanted to jettison her attorney for Laura Shockley.  So did Barbara Jessop, the mother of a 14-year-old girl allegedly married at age 12 to Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs.  Jessop is also a stepmother of Raymond Merril Jessop, indicted in a criminal case and also believed to have married Teresa Jeffs at 15.  Shockley, who represented some of the "disputed minors" that turned out to be adults, also represented some children early on in the FLDS custody battle — including a 5-year-old boy whose mother is one of Annette Jeffs' sister-wives, and CPS alleged, a sister-wife to Barbara Jessop's 14-year-old daughter.  "Every individual, as Americans, are free to choose who they want to represent them," countered Kirby Roberts, a lawyer hired to represent Shockley, a Dallas-area attorney.  Appearing in court together, Annette Jeffs and Barbara Jessop both said they were willing to waive any conflicts to have Shockley represent them.  But under questioning, both women refused to answer questions that underscored the perceived problem.  "As a mother of a child, do you see a problem with an attorney representing you, the mother of an alleged victim, and a parent of an alleged perpetrator?" CPS attorney Jeff Schmidt asked Annette Jeffs.  "I'm going to stand on the Fifth," she replied.  She invoked her right against self-incrimination to nearly every question about her daughter's alleged marriage at age 15 to Raymond Jessop. In civil court those non-answers can be used against her.     Read more

3 men from West Texas polygamist sect turn themselves in on assault, bigamy charges

By EMILY RAMSHAW The Dallas Morning News Originally published Monday, September 29, 2008

AUSTIN — Three men from a West Texas polygamist sect turned themselves into authorities on Monday, six days after they were indicted on charges related to the "spiritual" marriage of underage girls.  Lehi Barlow Jeffs, Abram Harker Jeffs and Keith William Dutson Jr. were all charged with felony sexual assault of a child; both Lehi Jeffs and Abram Jeffs were also charged with felony bigamy.  The men were released from the Schleicher County Jail – just a few miles from their Yearning For Zion ranch – after posting a combined $320,000 bond.  Six other men, including jailed sect prophet Warren Jeffs, were indicted on similar charges this summer.  Sect leaders could not immediately be reached for comment.  The surrender came nearly six months after state authorities seized 440 children from the religious ranch over allegations that young girls were being forced into marriages with older men.  Two months later, when Texas courts ruled that the state overstepped its authority, most of the children returned to their families – though under strict oversight.  Since then, about half of the state’s child custody cases regarding the sect have been dropped, meaning the state has determined that the children can live safely with a parent or relative. eramshaw@dallasnews.com

LATEST NEWS

The Eldorado Success Originally published Monday, September 29, 2008

Three men indicted last week by Schleicher County grand jurors surrendered themselves this morning at the county jail then promptly posted bail and were released. Abram Harker Jeffs, 27, and Lehi Barlow Jeffs, aka Lehi Barlow Allred, 29, were booked into jail on charges of Sexual Assault of a Child and Bigamy. Meanwhile, Keith William Dutson Jr., 23, was jailed on a charge of Sexual Assault of a Child. All the charges are 1st Degree felonies. Representatives of the Texas Attorney General's office and Texas Rangers were at the jail. So were bail bond agents who posted surety bonds for the men's release. Abram Harker Jefs and Lehi Barlow Jeffs, aka Lehi Barlow Allred, were each released on $110,000.00 bond. Dutson was freed on a $100,000.00 bond.

3 FLDS men indicted by grand jury surrender in Texas

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008

Three men recently indicted by a Texas grand jury investigating crimes within the Fundamentalist LDS Church have surrendered to authorities.  Abram Harker Jeffs, 37, and Lehi Barlow Jeffs, 29, surrendered Monday morning at the Schleicher County Sheriff's Office in Eldorado, Texas, where they were booked on charges of sexual assault and bigamy.  Keith William Dutson Jr., 23, was also booked on a sexual assault charge.  "They came in, they booked in and were released on bail bonds," Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran told the Deseret News.  Abram Harker Jeffs and Lehi Jeffs each posted $110,000 in bond.  Dutson posted $100,000.  They were accompanied by their attorney, who met Texas Rangers and representatives from the Texas Attorney General's Office at the sheriff's office, Doran said.  A call to the men's attorney, Amy Hennington, was not immediately returned.  Unsealed indictments obtained by the Deseret News on Monday accuse the men of having sex with girls under 17.  FLDS bishop's records seized by law enforcement in the April raid on the YFZ Ranch indicate Dutson, then 22, had a 16-year-old wife in March 2007.  The indictment accuses him of sexually assaulting her in August 2006.  Abram Harker Jeffs also had a 16-year-old wife, according to a bishop's record dated April 2007.  The indictments accuse him of sexually assaulting her in May 2006.  Lehi Barlow Jeffs (also known as Lehi Barlow Allred) is accused of sexually assaulting a girl under 17 in October 2005.  The men are expected to make their first court appearance next month, Schleicher County Clerk Peggy Williams said.     Read more

Three more sect men surrender

By Paul A. Anthony San Angelo Standard-Times Originally published Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Incremental developments continue to unfold this week in the dual cases against a polygamous sect whose Schleicher County compound was raided in April.  Three members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were arrested and released on bail Monday after turning themselves in - bringing to eight the number of sect men arrested in a criminal case that alleges underage marriages and sexual abuse.  A ninth FLDS man remains at large despite being indicted on two undisclosed charges months ago, said Schleicher County District Clerk Peggy Williams.  The three men arrested Monday were released on bonds totaling more than $300,000. They are: Lehi Barlow Jeffs, 29, charged with sexual abuse of a child and bigamy. Abram Harker Jeffs, 37, charged with sexual abuse of a child and bigamy. Keith William Dutson, 23, charged with sexual abuse of a child. Lehi Jeffs is listed in sect records released in recent months as being married to a 16-year-old girl at the sect's YFZ Ranch, northeast of Eldorado.  Likewise, the records list Dutson and Abram Jeffs as also each having a 16-year-old wife.  The Schleicher County grand jury has now indicted nine FLDS men on a total of 15 charges.  Eight of the nine turned themselves in.     Read more

Judge delays hearings for FLDS until December

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Monday, Oct. 27, 2008

Court hearings for members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church indicted by a rural Texas grand jury have been delayed.  Attorneys for the men asked a judge in Eldorado, Texas, Monday to put off pretrial hearings until Dec. 1 so they could go over evidence and discovery issues with prosecutors, Schleicher County court clerks told the Deseret News.  Lehi Barlow Jeffs, 29, and Abram Harker Jeffs, 37, made their first appearances in court on Monday on sexual assault of a child and bigamy.  The other cases called in court were: Raymond Jessop, 36, indicted on sexual assault of a child and bigamy. Allan Eugene Keate, 56, indicted on sexual assault of a child. Michael Emack, 57, charged with sexual assault of a child and bigamy. Merril Leroy Jessop, 33, indicted on sexual assault of a child and bigamy. Keith William Dutson Jr., 23, also had a Dec. 1 court date set for a sexual assault charge filed against him. Read more

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