Jeffs Arranged Marriage for a Child, County Says
By Ben Winslow and Nancy Perkins
Deseret Morning News [St. George UT]
April 7, 2006
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635197772,00.html
ST. GEORGE — The legal troubles surrounding the fugitive leader of the Fundamentalist LDS Church got much worse on Thursday, as Washington County prosecutors filed a pair of first-degree felony rape as an accomplice charges against Warren Jeffs.
Authorities across the state hailed the charges filed late Wednesday in St. George's 5th District Court, which accuse Jeffs of arranging a child-bride marriage. And prosecutors expect the alleged victim to be their star witness.
"The victim in this case, Jane Doe, came to us," said Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap. "We have been working with her for the past few months. Jane Doe said she will testify at trial if and when it happens, and I believe that she will do that."
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Belnap said the Washington County Sheriff's Office began investigating Jeffs, who is also wanted on sexual misconduct charges in Arizona, from January to March 2006 for arranging a "spiritual" marriage with an underage girl and an older man.
Possible charges against the man Doe married are possible, although his identity was not revealed Thursday. The FLDS Church practices polygamy, but the court documents do not explicitly state if the marriage was polygamous.
"We haven't made any decision about him at this point," Belnap added.
The charges against Jeffs were filed to meet the statute of limitations that requires charges be filed within four years of the alleged offense.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff praised the alleged child bride for coming forward to authorities.
"There's been a big problem with victims coming forward," he said Thursday. "They've been taught from the cradle not to trust anyone outside the community."
The woman is known only in court papers as "Jane Doe IV." She says that when she was between 14 and 18 years old, religious leaders in the FLDS Church told her that God revealed she was to enter into a spiritual marriage with a man — known in court papers as "John Doe IV" — more than three times her age. The documents did not specify the ages of either person.
The court papers say Jane Doe met with Warren Jeffs and expressed concerns.
"She felt like she was too young to marry," deputies wrote in the affidavit. "Jeffs told Jane that it was her spiritual duty to submit to the marriage and that the marriage arrangement was 'from God.' "
Jane Doe married her husband in a ceremony performed by Jeffs in Nevada. The couple then returned to Hildale, where the victim has long resided.
"After the ceremony, Jeffs instructed Jane and John to 'multiply and replenish the Earth and raise the children in the priesthood,' " the affidavit says.
Despite her continued complaints, Jeffs told Jane Doe to remain in the marriage or risk her "salvation."
A $500,000 cash-only arrest warrant was issued for Jeffs, who remains a fugitive on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Belnap has asked that Jeffs be held without bail because "he constitutes a danger to the community and no amount of money will compel his appearance."
"Mr. Jeffs is not exempt from the law despite his position or beliefs," Belnap said. "This is not about religion or polygamy. It is about a violation of the law by someone in a position of authority over a young girl."
The warrant said that Jeffs is likely to have "safe houses" in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, South Dakota and Canada.
"Members of the FLDS community have told investigators that Jeffs 'will not be subject to earthly courts,' that he 'will not allow himself to be taken alive,' and that he 'will die as a martyr,' " a motion in support of the arrest warrant said. "Jeffs is known to travel with bodyguards and is considered by the FBI to be armed and dangerous."
In 2005, Jeffs was indicted by a grand jury in Mohave County, Ariz., on sexual misconduct charges related to performing child-bride marriages. The Arizona Attorney General's Office declined to comment on the charges.
"Hallelujah!" shouted Elaine Tyler of the Hope Organization, a St. George-based group that helps people leaving abuse within the polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Reacting to the news of the latest charges against Jeffs, Tyler said she didn't believe Washington County authorities were doing much about the abuses.
"This is extremely encouraging. I doubt he'll (Jeffs) be in Short Creek anytime soon. If he is, he sure risks being picked up," she said.
Shurtleff acknowledged that it remains difficult to find the fugitive prophet.
"What needs to happen is Jeffs needs to turn himself in and face these charges," he said. "Let's see him come forward and show the power of God that's with him."
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
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