Defense grills former FLDS teacher in Jessop trial
 
TRISH CHOATE
Standard-Times Washington Bureau
San Angelo Standard-Times
 
SAN ANGELO, Texas — ELDORADO — The woman who stood up to now imprisoned Warren Jeffs had no trouble standing up to a bulldog defense attorney Wednesday during the child sexual assault trial of a polygamist sect member.

Rebecca Musser, an attractive, poised blond in her early 30s who left the sect, testified Jeffs pressured her to marry again soon after the death of her spiritual husband, who was a church leader and Jeffs’ father.

"Within one month of his father’s death, he started marrying his father’s young wives," Musser said during a hearing out of earshot of the jury.

Then in her mid-20s, she butted heads with Jeffs because she didn’t want to remarry, she testified in the trial of Raymond Merril Jessop, 38, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

She testified that Jeffs told her, "I will break you. I will train you to be a good wife."

The hearing was to explore her knowledge of FLDS record-keeping practices and opinions as an expert witness. Prosecutor Eric Nichols appears to be depending on her at least in part to authenticate and discuss documents such as dictations from "Prophet" Jeffs, who took over his father’s role as church leader after Rulon Jeffs died.

Before the jury left for the hearing, Musser testified about her childhood at a school exclusively for FLDS members where she had been taught the basics of English, math and writing in addition to classes on the history of the priesthood, which Musser defined as "the power of God on earth." She remembered Warren Jeffs teaching a priesthood class on the crucifixion, for example.

After Musser explained more details about her life, Judge Barbara Walther sent the jury away at about 11 a.m. when lead defense attorney Mark Stevens objected that her life story was irrelevant to her expert opinions.

"This is merely an attempt to delay," Nichols said about Stevens’ subsequent questioning.

Stevens asked questions about Musser’s involvement with the FLDS community after she left the church in 2002.

She said she had occasionally been in contact with family members although they had shunned her to a degree.

At times the questioning intensified almost to the point of argument.

For instance, Stevens asked whether she had studied FLDS materials after she left the church.

Musser named a few primary sources and Stevens asked, "What else?"

"Do you want the whole list?" Musser said.

Stevens curtly responded, "Sure."

Exasperated, Musser glared at Stevens and said, "Do you want it on pen and paper?"

Nichols then objected to the treatment of the witness, and the court later allowed for the prosecution to question Musser so that the defense could then question Musser’s authority as an expert witness.

In another confrontation, Stevens questioned whether Musser had ever seen particular documents. After a pause and before her answer Musser said, "Are you finished?"

Musser testified to her experience with records that the FLDS keeps for religious reasons. The FLDS church believes that whatever is recorded on earth, such as marriages and dictates from the prophet, is considered recorded in the Book of Remembrance on earth which is thus written in the Book of Life in heaven. Musser said Jeffs had a room in his house where the records were kept to keep them "secret and sacred," until there could be a temple archives room.

Nichols hopes to introduce dictations or "priesthood records" from Jeffs about a 16-year-old in difficult labor at the YFZ Ranch in 2005 and how he didn’t consider taking her to the hospital to be an option.

Nichols has told Walther that the underage girl in labor is the victim of assault at the hands of Jessop, her spiritual husband, and the child is his. DNA experts have testified that the probability is nearly 100 percent that Jessop is the father.

Jessop is the first of a dozen FLDS men to be tried on criminal charges based in large part on evidence siezed during the state’s historic raid on the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado in April 2008. Hundreds of children were removed under concern that they were at risk of sex abuse on the ranch, but they were later restored to their families.
 
gosanangelo.com
Originally published November 4, 2009
 
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