US: ‘Prophet’ Pleads Not Guilty In Arizona Child Bride Case
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs entered a not guilty plea Wednesday to sex charges stemming from the arranged marriages of three teenage girls to older men.
It was Jeffs’ first court appearance in Arizona, where prosecutors filed charges against him even before he faced charges in Utah.
He was convicted in Utah last year of rape as an accomplice in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.
Jeffs had a slight smile when he walked into the courtroom, and talked in hushed tones with his lawyers. He answered “yes” when Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steven Conn asked if he was Warren Jeffs, but otherwise sat quietly with no expression on his face.
His lawyer, Mike Piccarreta, entered the plea on his behalf. After the hearing, Piccarreta said “it’s difficult times” for Jeffs, but he declined to speak further.
Conn ordered Jeffs held without bail and set a hearing for March 19.
Jeffs was named president, or prophet, of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 2002. Members of the church live in the twin border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona.
The mainstream Mormon church, 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 with the FLDS church.
Piccarreta plans to ask the judge for a change of venue, saying Kingman is too close to St. George, Utah, the site of Jeffs’ first trial, for him to get a fair trial. The cities are separated by the Grand Canyon and are more than a 200-mile drive apart.
Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith has said the trial should be held in his county because that’s where the alleged crimes occurred.
Smith said Wednesday that Jeffs’ trial could begin in six to eight months. If convicted on all charges, Jeffs could get anywhere from probation to between six and 27 years in prison.
“To have a jury verdict of guilty would be vindication for what we’ve done, and show that these cases are not about religious persecution or polygamy,” Smith said. “They have to do with underage sex practices involving men that are much older than the girls involved.”
Jeffs 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.
He was indicted in Arizona in 2007 as an accomplice with four counts of incest and four counts of sexual contact with a minor. He also was arraigned on two additional counts, one of sexual conduct with a minor and one of conspiracy to conduct sexual conduct with a minor, dating from a 2005 case.
Eight of the 10 charges stem from two arranged marriages. One was between a man in his early 50s and his 17-year-old relative; the other, between a 19-year-old man and his 14-year-old cousin, is the same marriage that led to the Utah conviction. Arizona prosecutors say the Utah case doesn’t preclude them from bringing their own charges.
The other two Arizona charges stem from the arranged marriage between then-16-year-old Candi Shapley and Randolph Barlow, now 34, who was more than a decade older than her when they married.
Shapley refused to testify against Barlow in 2006, surprising prosecutors because she had cooperated with authorities while other alleged victims hadn’t.
Barlow was cleared of sexual assault charges after Shapley refused to testify.
Smith said Wednesday he was still trying to find out whether Shapley is willing to testify now.
“It’s no secret that one of the victims in the past was not willing to testify, and I think that’s certainly something that could happen again, and I’m trying to find that out as soon as possible,” Smith said.
Source: CNN – 27 February 2008
