Witness in polygamist leader's case had conflicting emotions
 
By Jennifer Dobner
The Associated Press
Casper Star Tribune
 
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) -- The testimony offered by the state's key witness in a criminal case against a polygamist sect leader was laced with contradictions.

The woman objected to an arranged marriage with older cousin but allowed the wedding to take place. She said she disliked having sex with him, but conceded she used it to gain money and privileges.

She stuck with the marriage for 3.5 years, but said, "I couldn't stand to be within 5 feet of him."

She said she had to do so because she couldn't disobey her church or community.

"I'd be giving up everything I knew," she said. "Most of all, I thought I'd be giving up my salvation."

Now, 20, the woman is at the center of the case against Warren Jeffs, the 50-year-old leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a fundamentalist sect with roots in early Mormonism.

He's charged with two first-degree felony counts of a rape as an accomplice, for his alleged role in the woman's marriage. The charges carry a penalty of up to life in prison.

A hearing on Tuesday ended without a resolution after a full day of testimony from witnesses for the prosecution, including the woman's two sisters.

The hearing will resume Dec. 14, when defense attorneys plan to call two witnesses of their own, including the woman's current husband, who helped her leave the first marriage.

FLDS church practices include arranged marriages for young women. The sect's estimated 10,000 members believe plural marriage ensures their exaltation in heaven.

The woman's marriage was not polygamous and her husband is not currently facing criminal charges. The Associated Press does not name victims of rape or sexual abuse.

Church members also believe their prophet, Jeffs, communicates with God and can control their fate in heaven.

The woman said it was that fear that kept her from seeking help.

Prosecutors built their case Tuesday on stories of control -- how Jeffs divides and breaks up families from men he deems "unworthy."

But defense attorneys countered with vigorous cross-examination, portraying the woman as manipulative and Jeffs as an innocent religious leader caught up in a domestic dispute.

"There is -- there was no rape in this case," defense attorney Wally Bugden said in a prepared statement after the hearing. "Officiating at a wedding ceremony does not make Mr. Jeffs an accomplice to rape.

Another defense lawyer, Tara Isaacson, noted the woman was suing Jeffs -- a case filed four months before the criminal charges -- and said documents show Washington County has paid her living expenses.

Isaacson introduced sweetheart notes the couple had traded and quoted from the then-girl's journal in which she expressed enthusiasm about being singled out for marriage. The woman testified that the journal entry was written before she learned the identity of her partner, a cousin she says she disliked.

"Was every day with (the husband) miserable?" Isaacson asked.

"Many of them were," the woman said.
 
CasperStarTribune.net
Originally published Friday, November 24, 2006
 
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