| Preliminary hearing for Jeffs resumes | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News | |
The preliminary hearing for polygamist leader Warren Jeffs resumes today, but the young woman who is accusing him of forcing her into a child bride marriage is not expected to attend. The woman, now 20, is expected to give birth today or tomorrow, her lawyers said. The woman's current husband — who is an ex-member of the Fundamentalist LDS Church — is expected to testify today after being subpoenaed by Jeffs' defense team. So is a Washington County sheriff's deputy who investigated the case. It is the woman's dramatic testimony that is the center of the case against Jeffs, who is charged in 5th District Court with rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of forcing the girl — at age 14 — into a marriage with her 19-year-old first cousin. Jeffs presided over the quick wedding ceremony at a motel in Caliente, Nev., in 2002. "I felt completely defeated and trapped," the woman testified during the first part of Jeffs' preliminary hearing last month. The woman was grilled by defense attorney Tara Isaacson, who got the alleged victim to admit she never explicitly said she was raped and that Jeffs never explicitly ordered her to have sex with the man chosen to be her husband. "He told me to submit," the woman said. "Submit doesn't mean go have intercourse. That may have been your interpretation, but that is not what he said," Isaacson replied. Facing Jeffs was difficult for the witness, said a private investigator who has been dogging Jeffs for years. The woman called Sam Brower a "good friend" when she testified against Jeffs. "It creeps 'em out," Brower told the Deseret Morning News. "Knowing what kind of guy this is, the old religious feelings come back when they're around him." Brower said the woman felt good after testifying. "She's really strong. She knows what happened and she's very, very concerned about what happened to her not happening to other people," he said. "That really is her motivation." The woman's lawyers said she isn't afraid of Jeffs anymore. She has filed a multi-million dollar personal injury lawsuit against the FLDS leader and the church's financial arm, the United Effort Plan Trust. The trust was taken over by the courts in 2005 and a fiduciary was appointed to oversee it. A judge in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court recently signed a reform plan for the UEP, which fiduciary lawyers say controls about 95 percent of the land in the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz. Throughout the November hearing, Jeffs sat stoically in his chair and showed little emotion. He occasionally would smile and nod to 10 followers who came to the courtroom to show their support. Despite being behind bars, Jeffs continues to run things from the Purgatory Jail. A law enforcement source tells the Deseret Morning News that Jeffs has made repeated phone calls to his followers, giving sermons. The followers sing to him on a speakerphone. Jail visitation logs released by the Washington County Sheriff's Office show that besides his defense team, Jeffs' brother and another loyal follower visit almost weekly. Defense lawyers are ex-pected to address the issue of bail after a judge decides if there is enough evidence to make Jeffs stand trial. However, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah has indicated that it is willing to prosecute Jeffs for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. "Prior to the subject's release from your custody, please notify this office at once so that we may assume custody if necessary," FBI Special Agent Michael Anderson wrote in a prisoner detainer sent to the Purgatory Jail. It was filed in federal court in Salt Lake City and recently obtained by the Deseret Morning News. Meanwhile, a battle is brewing in a federal court in Las Vegas. A judge has scheduled a hearing next month to decide who will be able to see some of the evidence the FBI seized when it arrested Jeffs during a traffic stop in August. The FBI said it seized more than $50,000 in cash, cell phones, a GPS, a police scanner, ledgers and documents, a computer and other items from the vehicle that Jeffs was riding in. One of Jeffs' lawyers wants the FBI to return some of those items, claiming they are "privileged" communications between the FLDS leader and some of his followers. Among the people pushing to see the FBI's evidence are Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed special fiduciary of the UEP Trust, an ex-member who won a court judgment against Jeffs, and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who has acknowledged his office is conducting an organized crime investigation into Jeffs and the FLDS Church. "We're anxious to get those," Shurtleff said, adding that the FBI isn't willing to give them up to anyone yet. "It's still wait and see on that," he said. E-mail: bwinslowi@desnews.com | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Thursday, December 14, 2006 | |
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