Utah Supreme Court Overturns Two Rape-as-Accomplice Convictions of FLDS Leader Warren Jeffs

The Utah Supreme Court on July 27, 2010, overturned two rape-as-accomplice convictions against Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). In a unanimous decision, the court said trial judge James L. Shumate misstated Utah’s sexual consent law in his jury instructions. The jury had convicted Jeffs and he was sentenced to two consecutive terms of five years to life in prison. The court reversed both convictions and remanded the case for a new trial.

Jeffs was charged with facilitating the rape of one of his followers, a 14-year-old girl who was paired in an arranged, so-called “spiritual” marriage with her 19-year-old first cousin. The girl was raised in the FLDS church and attended Alda Academy, where Jeffs was principal and her teacher. She testified that she was forced into the marriage and the sex that followed, despite vigorous protests to Jeffs, her religious leader.

Writing for the court, Justice Jill N. Parrish said the justices “regret the effect our opinion today may have on the victim of the underlying crime, to whom we do not wish to cause additional pain.” The opinion also said the laws must be applied evenly and appropriately in every case, to protect the constitutional principles on which the legal system is based. The court’s reasoning rests on protecting the vulnerable and on ensuring that fair process applies to every defendant (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Prosecutors said a decision on a new trial would follow a review of the ruling, an evaluation of the case, and consultation with the alleged victim. Brian Filter, deputy county attorney in Washington County, Utah, where the case was tried, said, “It’ll take some time to digest this decision.” The victim’s attorney, Roger Hoole, said his client “is certainly willing to go through another trial.”

Jeffs’ defense attorney, Walter Bugden, said, “we are thrilled the Supreme Court has applied the law.” Bugden asserted that the decision supports his contention that Jeffs is the victim of a “religious prosecution [and] religious persecution.” He added, “The state tried to impute [criminal] liability to an unpopular political figure.”

Jeffs has been the most visible target of a three-state crackdown on polygamy, which has focused on the group’s practice of arranging “spiritual” marriages between underage girls and older men. FLDS leaders said they abandoned that practice after a 2008 raid on the group’s YFZ ranch in Texas.

Source: Read the original report