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	FLDS Defendant Told to Stay in Texas By Matthew Waller The Standard-Times June 28, 2011 http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/jun/27/flds-defendent-told-to-stay-in-texas/ A former bishop of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was told to stay in Texas until his trial unless he gets permission from the court to take medical trips out of state. Frederick Merril Jessop, 75, made an appearance in the Schleicher County courthouse Monday morning for a pretrial hearing and was told he had to give a physical address of residence to the prosecution while on bond. "He is traveling back and forth" in and out of state, Jessop's San Angelo attorney Rae Leifeste, said. Jessop, who was once bishop over the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch, suggested giving the prosecution the address to the hotel where he is staying, but the state, headed by Angela Goodwin, said it was not enough. "He needs to provide a current address," Goodwin said. "We will not know where he has lived for several months." Fifty-first District Judge Barbara Walther said Jessop would need to get permission to leave the state for doctor's appointments. Walther said there have been problems with making sure Jessop appears in court in the past, including times when he has been gone for medical reasons. Jessop has been in court for not paying child support for eight children he had with Carolyn Jessop, a former FLDS member who has written books on her experience with the sect. Monday's hearing was related to charges alleging Jessop performed an illegal ceremony involving an underage girl. His final pretrial date is set for Sept. 1 and his trial date is Oct. 31. Leroy Steed, an FLDS member facing charges of sexual assault, also appeared in pretrial Monday. His final pretrial date is set for Sept. 8, and it may continue Sept. 9. His trial date is scheduled Nov. 29. Steed also is charged with bigamy and tampering with evidence, hiding an electronic storage device in a trash bag from law enforcement during the April 2008 raid on the YFZ Ranch. Wendell Nielsen, who is charged with three counts of bigamy, was scheduled to appear with the other two FLDS members, but he did not appear. Attorneys gave notice that he would not be able to attend because of health problems, court staff said. The three men and the FLDS prophet, Warren Jeffs, whose leadership has been contested, are among the final FLDS members to be tried as a result of evidence gathered from a state raid on the YFZ Ranch in April 2008. Jeffs is scheduled to go on trial in San Angelo on July 25.
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