FLDS: Jury seated, trial to begin in Jessop case
 
By Trish Choate
San Angelo Standard-Times
 
SAN ANGELO, Texas — ELDORADO — A jury of seven men and five women was seated at about 1 p.m. Wednesday in the child sexual assault trial of a polygamist sect member.

At least five of the jurors have Hispanic surnames, and none appeared to be members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a religious community with a stronghold in Schleicher County.

The judge told jurors to return to begin hearing evidence at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The 12 jurors and two alternates — two women — must spend the length of the trial not discussing goings on that have drawn international attention. That means avoiding talking about one of the hottest topics in town with the approximately 1,800 residents of Eldorado and the 1,000 more or so that live out in Schleicher County.

And, of course, with their own spouses.

"I will tell you, it’s a little bit difficult in a small town," 51st Judicial District Judge Barbara Walther told her new jury.

Not following the judge’s instructions could result in a mistrial in the case against Raymond Merril Jessop.

Walthers is not sequestering the jury at this time, allowing them to separate for meals and recesses and spend their nights at home.

Jessop is a 38-year-old member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and resident of the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado. He has watched the grueling two and a half day process of whittling down a pool of 153 prospective jurors.

Jessop is accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl he took as a wife while legally married to another woman, according to court documents. Jessop is alleged to have nine wives, 12 biological children and 10 stepchildren. Prosecutors contend three of his wives were 15, 16 and 17 at the time of their unions with Jessop.

The trial will go forward in a makeshift courtroom in the Memorial Building. The large room often used for community parties is divided by a partition through which voices can be heard.

But it includes the essentials: a jury box, a witness stand, a judge’s bench, tables for the defense and prosecution team, more than 170 folding chairs and a phalanx of law-enforcement officials ranging from a bailiff to at least one Texas Ranger.

Schleicher County summoned 300 resident for jury duty, drawing from voter registration rolls and driver’s license records. Monday, 153 showed up. Many had already claimed exemptions.

Prospective jurors appeared to include 17 FLDS sect members. Seven indicated they were related by blood to Jessop.

Walthers kept her court in session from approximately 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday for the painstaking querying of jurors in voir dire.

Jessop’s is the first criminal trial to come out of the historic raid by the state authorities of the sect’s Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado in April 2008.

He and 11 other men were indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury late last year. Many of the allegations — ranging from bigamy to aggravated sexual assault — spring from records and other evidence seized during the raid.

The raid of the sect’s YFZ Ranch near Eldorado resulted in the removal of more than 400 children since returned to parents or guardians and criminal charges against 12 FLDS men.

Standard-Times reporter Matthew Waller contributed to this report.

choatet@shns.com, (202) 408-2709
 
gosanangelo.com
Originally published October 28, 2009
 
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