Jeffs convicted on sex charges

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The leader of a polygamous Mormon splinter group was convicted Tuesday of being an accomplice to rape for performing a wedding between a 19-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl.

Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, blinked when the verdicts were read, but showed no emotion. None of his followers in the courtroom reacted.

Jeffs could get life in prison after a trial that threw a spotlight on a renegade community along the Arizona-Utah line where as many as 10,000 of Jeffs’ followers practice plural marriage and revere him as a mighty prophet with dominion over their salvation.

Jeffs succeeded his father in 2002 as president of the FLDS. Former members say he rules with an iron fist, demanding perfect obedience from followers and exercising the right to arrange marriages as well as break them up and assign new spouses.

The 51-year-old was convicted of two counts of being an accomplice to rape related to a marriage he conducted in 2001 between Elissa Wall, who was 14, and Allen Steed, 19.

The first rape count occurred between April 23, 2001 — the day Jeffs conducted Wall’s marriage — and May 12, 2001, when she and Steed took a trip to Canada to visit her sisters.

The second count occurred between May 13, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2003.

Jeffs waived the 45-day deadline for sentencing, and no sentencing date was set.

While polygamy itself was not on trial — the couple were monogamous — the case focused attention on the practice of polygamy in Utah, where it has generally been tolerated in the half-century since a government raid in 1953 proved a public relations disaster, with children photographed being torn from their mothers’ arms.

The mainstream Mormon Church, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, renounced polygamy more than a century ago, excommunicates members who engage in the practice, and disavows any connection to the FLDS church.

Elaine Tyler of the Hope Organization, a group that opposes forced marriages in polygamist communities, said she hopes the verdict will prevent young women from being told to marry against their wishes.

“It represents, hopefully, a change in that polygamist community,” she said.

At the trial, widely different versions of the relationship — and Jeffs’ influence — were presented by the woman, now 21, and her former husband, Allen Steed, 26.

At their wedding in 2001 at a Nevada motel, the woman said, she cried in despair when pressed by Jeffs to say “I do” and had to be coaxed to kiss her new husband. The woman said the couple were married for at least a month before they had intercourse, her husband telling her it was “time for you to be a wife and do your duty.”

“My entire body was shaking. I was so scared,” she testified. “He just laid me on the bed and had sex.”

Afterward, she slipped into the bathroom, where she downed two bottles of over-the-counter pain reliever and curled up on the floor, she said. “The only thing I wanted to do was die,” she said.

But Steed testified that his teenage bride initiated their first sexual encounter, approaching him after he fell asleep.

For reasons prosecutors have never explained, Steed has not been charged with a crime.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

The new Crucible Brewing owners Johanna Watson-Andresen and Erik Andresen inside the south Everett brewery on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
South Everett brewery, set to close, finds lifeline in new owners

The husband and wife who bought Crucible Brewing went on some of their first dates there.

The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it's one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo council passes budget with deficit, hopes for new revenue

Proponents said safeguards were in place to make future changes. Detractors called it “irresponsible.”

Andy Bronson/ The Herald 

Everett mayor Ray Stephenson looks over the city on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015 in Everett, Wa. Stephanson sees  Utah’s “housing first” model – dealing with homelessness first before tackling related issues – is one Everett and Snohomish County should adopt.

Local:issuesStephanson

Shot on: 1/5/16
Economic Alliance taps former Everett mayor as CEO

Ray Stephanson will serve as the interim leader of the Snohomish County group.

Molbak's Garden + Home in Woodinville, Washington will close on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Molbak's)
After tumultuous year, Molbak’s is being demolished in Woodinville

The beloved garden store closed in January. And a fundraising initiative to revitalize the space fell short.

Lane Scott Phipps depicted with an AK-47 tattoo going down the side of his face. (Snohomish County Superior Court)
Man gets 28 years in Lynnwood kidnapping case

Prosecutors also alleged Lane Phipps shot at police officers, but a jury found him not guilty of first-degree assault charges.

The sun sets beyond the the Evergreen Branch of the Everett Public Library as a person returns some books on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘A brutal hit’: Everett library cuts will lead to reduced hours, staffing

The cuts come as the city plans to reduce the library’s budget by 12% in 2025.

Lake Serene in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. (U.S. Forest Service)
Hiker survives 100-foot fall into Lake Serene near Index

The hiker was airlifted after plummeting into the lake Sunday night, officials said.

Outside of the Boeing modification center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Boeing lays off 396 more workers in Washington

The aerospace giant laid off over 2,000 workers in Washington last month.

Monroe High School (Monroe School District)
Small fire closes Monroe High School for the day

An electrical fire broke out in the school around 7 a.m. Crews extinguished it within 10 minutes.

South County Fire crews responded to a fire Sunday night in Lynnwood that sent one woman to the hospital. (Photo provided by South County Fire)
Woman suffers severe burns in Lynnwood house fire

The fire Sunday night displaced four residents of a home in the 6200 block of 185th Place SW, officials said.

People take photos of the lights surrounding the the fountain at the the entrance to the Tulalip Resort & Casino on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Tulalip, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Record Tulalip holiday display lights up the night

The largest light display in Washington is free of charge and open through Jan. 12.

Water cascades down the Lower Falls near the Woody Trail at Wallace Falls State Park near Gold Bar on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. A nearly six mile round-trip to the park's Upper Falls offers hikers an array of vistas on a well maintained trail.
Wallace Falls closed due to bomb cyclone damage

Over 170 trees fell in last month’s storm. The park near Gold Bar is closed until further notice.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.