ST. GEORGE, Utah — Seven women and five men were selected as jurors Thursday to decide whether the leader of a polygamist sect coerced a 14-year-old girl into marrying her older cousin.
Warren Jeffs, the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which broke away from the Mormon church, is charged with two counts of rape by accomplice in the girl’s marriage to her 19-year-old cousin.
The girl has testified that Jeffs told her she risked her salvation if she refused to enter the religious union in 2001.
Jeffs, 51, was a fugitive for nearly two years and was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list when he was arrested during a traffic stop outside Las Vegas. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Jeffs has led the FLDS church since 2002. Followers see him as a prophet who communicates with God and holds dominion over their salvation. Former church members say the one-time school principal reigns with an iron fist, demanding perfect obedience from followers.
The trial is expected to last through next week.
Polygamy advocates have long contended that the freedom to practice plural marriage as part of their religion is a civil rights matter. FLDS members believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.
The practice is banned in the Utah Constitution, though, and it is considered a felony offense. The Mormon church disavowed polygamy in 1890 and excommunicates members found to still be practicing plural marriage.
In Arizona, Jeffs was indicted earlier this year on eight felony charges involving marriages between two teenage girls and older men. He’s charged as an accomplice with four counts of incest and four counts of sexual contact with a minor.
He also faces four felony counts under 2005 indictments for sexual contact with a minor and conspiracy in more marriages involving young girls.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
