The HOPE Organization has received a Creative Ministries of Presbyterian Women Thank Offering grant to fund a 2-year "Jump Start" life-skills program for children in the Hildale/Colorado City/Centennial Park communities.   Read our press release     Read our program flyer

Please Do Something!

There is finally some action being taken by the politicians and government agencies responsible for investigating and hopefully alleviating some of the abuses that are occurring in the Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Idaho, Bountiful Canada polygamous communities.   Citizens are also standing up for their rights and fighting back. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office and the Attorneys General of Utah and Arizona started aggressively looking into financial mismanagement of the Colorado City Unified School District; arresting men for marrying child brides; and issued a warrant and reward for the arrest of Warren Jeffs.   The FBI put Warren on their "Top Ten Most Wanted" list and he was apprehended on August 28, 2006.   Warren was convicted of 2 counts of Rape as an Accomplice on September 25, 2007 for forcing a 14-year-old underage girl to illegally "marry" her first cousin and ordering her to submit to him sexually.  On November 20, 2007 Warren was sentenced to 2 consecutive sentences of 5 years to life for the rape charges and sent to the Utah State Prison in Draper.  Now he also faces similar rape and incest charges in Arizona and Federal charges for flight to avoid prosecution. Below are some news articles describing what is being done about some of the problems occurring in this polygamous sect.   These articles are listed in chronological order.

Bill targets polygamy

By Robert Gehrke The Associated Press Originally published February 6, 2001

SALT LAKE CITY -- When she was 16, Sarah Cooke ran away from her family and their polygamous community to avoid becoming the third wife of a 45-year-old man.   On Monday, Cooke, now 18, urged Utah lawmakers to make it a felony to arrange or perform a marriage involving a girl who is not of legal age.   "I think we need to help to make it obvious to these young girls, my friends, that they aren't obligated into these marriages," she said.   The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ron Allen, D-Stansbury Park, is a small step toward tackling some of the abuses allegedly common in polygamy.  And it has drawn opposition from one normally secretive polygamous clan.   "What these people are doing is not just performing an illegal marriage," Allen said.  "They are aiding and abetting child abuse."   Allen said anecdotal evidence indicates that a handful of religious leaders may be performing hundreds of polygamous child unions each year involving girls as young as 12 and 13 years old.     Read more

Polygamy laws scrutinized

By Robert Matas The Globe and Mail Originally published March 9, 2002

The British Columbia government has urged Ottawa to toughen the law on polygamy, the province's Attorney-General, Geoff Plant, says.   Members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect who live in the rural community of Bountiful, in southeastern B.C., are believed to be part of the only established colony in Canada that practises polygamy as part of its religion.   Some women who fled Bountiful have repeatedly called for the government to take action against the polygamists they left behind.  Canada's Criminal Code says that any kind of marriage or conjugal union with more than one person at the same time is a criminal offence and subject to imprisonment for up to five years.   However, provincial government lawyers say the law conflicts with the right to freedom of religion.  They have advised the province that charges of polygamy would likely be challenged under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Charter arguments would likely win.   In an attempt to clarify the law on polygamy, the province recently began discussions with the federal government on the issue, Mr. Plant said in an interview.  "It's too soon to say where we're going to go," he added.     Read more

An Eye On Polygamy

By Matt Canham Canada News 4 U Originally published July 13, 2002

Educating Canadians about the serious issues surrounding polygamy is the purpose of a public awareness campaign called "Eye on Polygamy."   A public forum called "Polygamy... NOT a Victimless Crime," was held in the lower mainland last night, to discuss the following issues: - Sexual and physical violations of women and children - Violations of rape - Incest and domestic violence - Trafficking of child brides across federal lines - Misuse of social service funds, tax evasion, and insurance fraud - Blood atonement One of Canada's well-known polygamist colonies is called Bountiful, which is near Creston.   Reports indicate it is associated with The United Effort Plan, a polygamist group in Colorado City, Arizona, where many of these issues are said to be played out daily.  The birthrate of the colony is estimated at approximately 100 children per year.  The purpose of "Eye on Polygamy" is to generate dialogue and offer some solutions on some serious concerns.     Read more

Polygamy in campaign spotlight

Governor’s race puts issue in N. Arizona on center stage

By Michelle Rushlo The Associated Press Originally published October 18, 2002

PHOENIX — Polygamists have lived mostly undisturbed for the better part of a century in northern Arizona, but antipolygamy activists are hoping recent publicity given to their cause by an independent gubernatorial candidate will bring about change.   A handful of activists gathered Friday at the state Capitol to accuse authorities of going easy on members of a religious sect that believes in plural marriage.   Polygamists have lived for decades near the Utah state line in Colorado City — suffering only periodic crackdowns.  But activists are pushing authorities to act now, fearing that interest in the issue will subside after the Nov. 5 election.   Independent gubernatorial candidate Richard Mahoney has been accusing Democrat Janet Napolitano, currently the state Attorney General, and Republican Matt Salmon of being soft on the polygamists living in Colorado City.     Read more

Officials suggest solutions to Colorado City problems

By Ken Hedler Kingman Daily Miner Originally published December 20, 2002

Mohave County officials disagree about whether federal officials should investigate alleged criminal activity in the polygamous community of Colorado City.   District 3 County Supervisor Buster Johnson said the state Attorney General's Office or the federal government should investigate Colorado City.   Johnson said investigators could enter a home and request birth certificates and seek DNA samples to determine parentage of children.   "If I was going in, go to a house with numerous children," he said.     Read more

News Release

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff For Immediate Release February 20, 2003 Contact Paul Murphy:   (801) 538-1892 pmurphy@utah.gov

CHILD BIGAMY BILL ADDS UP MARRIED MAN + CHILD BRIDE = 15 YEARS PRISON

Lu Ann Kingston was 15-years-old and wanted to wait before she got married.  Despite her objections, she says her mother, her spiritual leaders and her hopeful husband applied intense pressure to tie the knot.  "I told them I was too young," says Kingston.  "They told me that if I wasn't ready to get married it was because I wasn't a good person."  Two months later she reluctantly became her husband's fourth wife.  Rep. Susan M. Lawrence, (R) Salt Lake City, has introduced a bill she hopes will give girls like Lu Ann added protection under the law.  House Bill 307 would make it a second degree felony if a married adult takes an additional spouse under the age of 18.  A person convicted of child bigamy would face one to 15 years in prison.  "These young girls need our help," says Rep. Lawrence.  "We need to buy them enough time to reach adulthood before they are asked to make this choice, when they have few other options open to them."  Attorney General Mark Shurtleff asked Rep. Lawrence to sponsor the legislation.  "Our focus has been and will continue to be on protecting children," says Shurtleff.  "Regardless of where they live or what they believe, this law will make it clear that we will prosecute anyone who commits a crime against a child."  Shurtleff says he has talked to some polygamous leaders who support the bill.  "They tell me that child brides give polygamy a black eye and have encouraged me to do something about it. I intend to do something about it."     Read more

Proposed bill to protect child brides

By Meagan Hansen BYU NewsNet Originally published February 25, 2003

Lu Ann Kingston received her first proposition for marriage at the age of 15.  "I told them I was too young," Kingston said.  "They told me that if I wasn't ready to get married it was because I wasn't a good person."  Despite her objections, Kingston's mother, religious leaders and future husband all pressured her to say yes.  After two months of intense pressure, Lu Ann agreed, and three days later became the fourth wife of her new husband.  Kingston and girls like her are the target of new legislation that would increase the penalty for child bigamy.  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, whose office is responsible for prosecuting these cases, was concerned for the safety of young girls and approached Rep. Susan Lawrence, R-Salt Lake, to sponsor legislation.  House Bill 307 would make it a second-degree felony for a married adult to take an additional spouse under the age of 18.  It would also make it illegal for a parent or religious leader to pressure or force an underage girl into marriage.  "Many have turned an eye to it for too long," Lawrence said. "These girls need our help.  We want to buy them time to reach adulthood before they have to make this choice."     Read more

Utah House Ups Underage Polygamy Penalty

By C.G. Wallace The Associated Press Originally published February 28, 2003

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Legislature is debating whether to increase the penalties for married men who wed underage girls, an attempt to protect teens from being married into polygamist relationships.   A bill overwhelmingly approved by the House on Tuesday makes marrying a second wife who is under the age of 18 a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.   The 68-4 vote sent the legislation to the Senate.   "I think it's many, many years too late," said state Rep. Sheryl Allen.  "Late is better than never, let's get this passed."   The marrying of teenage girls is common among some of Utah's isolated polygamist communities, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has said.  The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long outlawed the practice.     Read more

Leavitt adds new polygamy offense to crime books

The Associated Press Originally published April 1, 2003

Salt Lake City -- Gov. Mike Leavitt quietly signed into law a tougher criminal sanction for men who take young girls as their polygamist wives.   House Bill 307 created the new crime of child bigamy - marrying a second wife who is under the age of 18.  The second-degree felony is punishable by one to 15 years in prison.   The penalty for ordinary bigamy is zero to five years.   Without any fanfare he reserves for other bill signings, Leavitt gave his approval March 14.   The marrying of teenage girls is common among some of Utah's isolated polygamist communities, said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.  His office drafted the legislation.     Read more

Read House Bill 307

Members Only

Arizona and Utah officials decide to curb underage marriages by erecting a sheriff's substation in polygamy country

By John Dougherty Phoenix New Times Originally published May 22, 2003

KINGMAN -- A simple eviction trial in Mohave County has evolved into a battle over the scope of power a religious group can exert to control its members including their behavior, their relationships and even where they live.   The leaders of a fundamentalist Mormon polygamous sect could have kicked Milton Holm out of their church years ago because of a drinking problem and domestic turmoil.   Such behavior is not in "harmony" with church doctrine and is grounds to strip Holm of his "priesthood" status in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.   The FLDS is a renegade branch of the Mormon Church and is based in the remote Arizona Strip town of Colorado City.   The congregation is the single largest concentration of polygamists in the country.   Losing one's FLDS religious standing can have devastating consequences far beyond the spiritual realm.  Being tossed out of the FLDS also could have jeopardized Holm's right to stay on church-owned land where he had invested 25 years of his life, building and paying for a 5,000-square-foot home for his family.     Read more

Utah cracks down on multiple marriages to protect underage brides

The Observer (UK) Originally published August 3, 2003

The Mormon state of Utah has launched a crackdown on polygamists who for generations have used their religious beliefs to justify marriage to underage relatives.   Although multiple marriages are illegal, state attorney Mark Shurtleff insists it is not a witch-hunt against Utah's estimated 20,000 to 50,000 polygamists, who live mostly in large family groups or cults.   "The bottom line is that we have to protect the children, especially the young girls, who are the victims here.  People have looked the other way for too long," he said.     Read more

Polygamy drawing scrutiny

Ariz., Utah officials to discuss issues

By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic Originally published August 22, 2003

As law enforcement officials and legislators from Arizona, Utah and Canada gather in St. George, Utah, today for a summit on polygamy, proponents of multiple marriage are facing their worst crisis since the state of Arizona raided the enclave of Short Creek, now Colorado City, 50 years ago.   Consider:    -- A former Colorado City policeman, Rodney Holm, was convicted in Utah district court last week of unlawful sexual contact and bigamy.  He wed his third wife, who was 16 at the time, in 1998.     -- Support groups for underage victims of polygamy say that about two dozen female teenagers have fled Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah, during the past eight months.    -- A group called the Citizens' Coalition to Protect the Children formed in Mohave County earlier this summer and is well on its way toward acquiring 5,000 signatures on petitions.  Its goal is to try to prod the state to enforce its child-abuse laws in the town of about 4,000 located on the isolated Arizona Strip.     Read more

Polygamist Women Jam First Ever Summit Meeting

KSL-TV Channel 5 Original broadcast August 22, 2003

The first ever polygamy summit involving officials from Utah and Arizona turned into an extraordinary event today. The extraordinary summit meeting was the first such effort in a half century.   Dozens of polygamist wives and fundamentalists jammed the meeting room insisting they have a right to practice their religion.   Although the women are upset about the trend to prosecuting polygamous they did find common ground with state officials today on many issues.   Utah and Arizona are developing a joint strategy to enforce the law and provide social services in the polygamous community that straddles the Utah Arizona line.   So many polygamists jammed the summit meeting that it had to be moved to the Dixie Center.  An hour before the summit began, fundamentalist women began showing up, many with babes in arms and wearing the distinctive dress and hairstyles of polygamist communities.  By the time officials and invited guests arrived, the room was jammed and the meeting had to be moved.   The purpose of the summit was to thrash out a two state strategy for enforcing the law and for dealing with social problems in polygamist communities.  Fundamentalists say it's time for society to simply accept their culture.     Read more

AG opens polygamy summit

Shurtleff convenes meeting in St. George on abuse, illegal activity in polygamist communities

By Rachel Olsen The Spectrum Originally published August 23, 2003

ST. GEORGE -- It's only a beginning, but Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff feels it's a beginning that eventually will help eradicate any child abuses, tax fraud and other possible crimes occurring within religious polygamist communities, such as Colorado City and Hildale.   The Utah Attorney General's office organized Friday's polygamy summit in St. George, the first of its kind where government agencies from Arizona and Utah came together in open and closed meetings to start the process of rooting out illegal activities.   "Fifty years ago may have been a mistake, but it's a bigger mistake to ignore it," Shurtleff said.  "(We are) calling on people outside and within polygamy.  We all need to get involved ... to protect our children."   In the open meeting, with those involved in polygamist communities and those outside polygamist communities, Shurtleff called on those who knew of abuses to come forward and, on sheets provided outside the meeting room, write down information to assist agencies in finding abuses.     Read more

Women seek polygamy rescues

Officials from Arizona, Utah and Canada hold a summit to find ways to put legal pressure on such communities

By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic Originally published August 23, 2003

ST. GEORGE, UTAH - Carla Holm said she was one of the lucky ones when she ran away to Seattle from her polygamist household in Colorado City, Ariz., at age 15 in 1996.   Holm said she eventually was able to make it on her own.  She even earned a high school degree two years ago.   But more typical, Holm said, was the plight of her three teenage cousins.   They all fled their surroundings six months ago, couldn't make it elsewhere and were all forcibly married within a week upon their return.   Holm said yesterday during the first polygamy summit of Arizona, Utah and Canadian law enforcement officials and elected leaders that more safe havens are needed to keep the teens who choose to leave off drugs and off the streets.   During a two-hour meeting behind closed doors, the officials discussed a wealth of subjects concerning Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah, including child safety and sex abuse, potential legislation, penalties for bigamy, welfare and school district fraud and certification of police officers in the two communities.     Read more

Getting the Message

By Duane Cardall KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally published August 23, 2003

By now, people who practice plural marriage in Utah ought to be getting the message: sexual abuse of children perpetrated under the cloak of religion in polygamous communities or elsewhere won’t be tolerated.   A St. George jury delivered that message when it convicted Rodney Holm on unlawful sex and bigamy charges for having three wives, including a 16-year-old girl who was a minor half his age when they married in 1998.   Holm’s is just the latest in a series of child-bride polygamy related cases.   David Ortell Kingston served a prison term after being convicted in 1999 of having sex with his 16-year-old niece.  She was identified as his 15th wife.   Avowed polygamist Tom Green is serving time for marrying and impregnating a 13-year-old girl.   And another Kingston clan member has been arrested and charged with incest for allegedly marrying his first-cousin when she was 15 and he was 24.   KSL endorses the message state prosecutors like Kristine Knowlton are sending those who abuse children in the name of religion:   "We will prosecute you.  We’re going to hold you accountable."   The prosecution of these cases is not religious persecution, as defense attorneys have charged, but a matter of upholding laws designed to protect children.  Those who think they can ignore such laws with impunity need to get the message.

Polygamy Summit a "Historic Turning Point"

John Hollenhorst Reporting KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast August 26, 2003

Many of those involved in last week's suprisingly overcrowded polygamy summit are calling it a "historic turning point".  In spite of sharp divisions, various factions seem to agree on a general blueprint for government action.   However, a parallel effort long ago in Salt Lake City didn't turn out so well.   The polygamists who jammed last week's summit demanded freedom to live their religion.  Anti-polygamy crusaders demanded a legal crackdown.  But Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says there was a surprising amount of agreement.   Mark Shurtleff, Utah Attorney General: "We have the same goal, at least, in this.  And that is to protect children and women who are being victimized."   The result is a suggested action plan for the polygamist border town of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah.  Law enforcement will not target bigamy but it will target welfare abuse and sex abuse, particularly of child brides.   The state no longer recognizes the legal authority of the local police force controlled by polygamists   The Washington County Sheriff will likely establish a sheriff substation right in town.   Mark Shurtleff, Utah Attorney General: "The county sheriff has a duty to be there and be present and protect those people."     Read more

County plans to increase presence in polygamous community

By Marvin Robertson Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Mohave County could more easily investigate allegations of sexual abuse in polygamist Colorado City and better serve residents if a county court and office facility were built there, officials said.   Mohave County Supervisor Pete Byers said he is working with Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow about putting a county facility near the state line, visible from the highway, on land that has utility service.   Colorado City is in Byers’ supervisor district.   The plan for a county facility near the community has the support of several top county officials.   “We have four deputies covering all of the thousands of square miles in the (Arizona) strip and they are located at Beaver Dam/Littlefield,” Sheriff Tom Sheahan said.   “A location near Colorado City could serve individuals not comfortable with the city law enforcement.”     Read more

Victims' Refuge

Arizona and Utah officials decide to curb underage marriages by erecting a sheriff's substation in polygamy country

By John Dougherty Phoenix New Times Originally published August 28, 2003

Arizona and Utah authorities plan to join together for the first time in an effort aimed at curbing the widespread sexual abuse of minors within a Mormon polygamist enclave that straddles the border between the two states.   Law enforcement officials have agreed to open a sheriff's office substation close to Colorado City, Arizona, that is independent of the polygamist-controlled town police department.  Hildale, Utah, is adjacent to Colorado City across the state border and is also patrolled by the same police force.   The Colorado City Police Department has lost credibility with other law enforcement agencies in the area, and with state officials in Arizona and Utah, for failing to protect underage girls from coercion into plural marriages.  Utah authorities have suspended the department from operating in Hildale because most, if not all, of its officers have failed to maintain mandatory continuing education requirements.     Read more

St. George Summit

By Buster Johnson Mohave County Supervisor MohaveCountyNews.com Originally published September 3, 2003

Wheels are starting to turn on investigating the abuse of women and children along with monies for the schools and welfare in the Colorado City area.  This past spring, a tentative meeting was set up between Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Senator Linda Binder.  As the summer progressed new developments came into play.  AG Shurtleff successfully prosecuted Rodney Holm, ex-police officer of Hilldale/Colorado City.   With this court decision, the summit grew in attendees.  The meeting was a chance for Utah and Arizona to finally sit down and make a plan that could possibly combine the efforts on both sides of the border.  A joint task force was seen as the best solution to the tremendouse amount of investigation that needs to take place and would help with jurisdictional problems.  Government decision makers, as well as law enforcement officials, were in attendance.   The meeting, while not meant to be secret, was scheduled to be a working session to find out what everyone had to offer and combine efforts, if possible.  Word did get out and a sizable number of polygamists as well as anti-polygamists showed up.   It was decided to take public comment.  Nothing new was introduced by this testimony but it did give everyone there a chance to be part of the summit.  The drawback was that the summit was to try and get a co-ordinated effort and a plan in place to move ahead with investigations.   The limited time we had together was used up by this public testimony.     Read more

Justice Court Planned for Polygamist Towns

The Associated Press KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally published September 15, 2003

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Arizona and Utah are a planning a justice court with room for sheriff's officers from both states that would serve the polygamist communities straddling the states' common border.   Some polygamy opponents are opposed to the plan to locate the facility in Colorado City, Ariz.   They contend it should be nearby but not where members of that community and adjoining Hildale, Utah, could be seen going for help.   Douglas White, a Bountiful lawyer who represents Tapestry Against Polygamy, which is fighting to stop abuses in the polygamous community, said the plans are positive steps, but the substation should be where residents could go without being spotted.   He also contends the polygamist law enforcement officers in the two towns should be fired.   "People don't think of them as law enforcement," White said.  "They think of them as bodyguards for the prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Most of the 6,000 residents of Colorado City and Hildale are members of the FLDS church, which embraces polygamy.   "If they're looking for a place where victims could come for safe haven, they need to do more study," Mohave County (Ariz.) Supervisor Buster Johnson said.   He fears there could be a backlash if the county builds a center big enough to accommodate all the offices and residents don't come for help because they fear being seen and forced to return home, where they could be punished for trying to leave.     Read more

Officials looking at Colorado City land

By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Mohave County officials are negotiating with Colorado City, Ariz., on a land lease to build a justice courthouse near the border of Colorado City and Hildale, Utah.   No official land deal has been made with Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow, said Pete Byers, who represents the Arizona Strip on the Mohave County Board of Supervisors, the county's governing body.   But he said he is looking at a piece of land north of the main road dividing Hildale and Colorado City.   Prompted by a study sponsored by the court system three years ago, Byers said Mohave County has allocated $500,000 in facility's funds, judge's fines and other money Arizona courts collected to build a justice court in Colorado City.  Housed in a double-wide trailer in Moccasin, the current courthouse is about 20 miles from Colorado City and 90 miles from Littlefield, Ariz.  "We'll put it (in an area) with good visibility," he said. "It's more accessible to the rest of the county if it's there."     Read more

Arizona border towns would be better off in Utah

IN OUR VIEW The Spectrum Originally published Monday, September 22, 2003

A proposal to unite Southern Utah and northern Arizona law enforcement agencies in an attempt to cut down on polygamy abuses in the small border towns in the region is an example of thinking outside the box and looking for a new solution to an age-old problem.   While such new ideas are being exchanged, why not lay a new one on the table -- a restructuring of the border between Arizona and Utah in that region?   Colorado City, Hildale, Littlefield, Beaver Dam, Mocassin, Fredonia and a host of other small dots on the northwestern Arizona map are ill-served by their current position and not only because of polygamy beliefs.   The county seat for most of these communities is in Kingman or Flagstaff, both a good distance away, putting the communities out of sight and out of mind to those who should serve them best.     Read more

Polygamist sect target of Arizona-Utah inquiry

For decades, allegations of child abuse, forced marriage, incest and misuse of public money fell on deaf ears

The Arizona Republic Originally published September 28, 2003

Colorado City -- For most of the past seven decades, authorities refused to listen to the cries of women who claimed their children were being raped in this remote religious community astride the Arizona-Utah line.   They ignored allegations of incest, wife-beating, White slavery and forced marriages.   More often than not, they simply shrugged when insiders whispered about tax dodges, welfare fraud, educational neglect and misspent public funds.   But all that is changing.   For the first time in generations, authorities in Arizona and Utah are coming together to investigate members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, a sect that broke from the Mormon Church 70 years ago in bitter disagreement about the practice of plural marriage.   "We have seen compelling evidence that crimes are being committed, children are being hurt and taxpayers are footing the bill for those who are causing pain," said Mark Shurtleff, Utah's attorney general.  "We respect sincere religious belief, but we cannot tolerate crimes committed under the guise of religion."     Read more

State authorities use joint effort to investigate polygamists

The Associated Press Originally published September 29, 2003

PHOENIX (AP) -- For decades, allegations of wife-beating, forced marriages, child abuse and welfare fraud in polygamist communties were ignored.   But a joint effort by authorities in Arizona and Utah to investigate polygamist sects signals some change.   Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard confirmed last week that a lawyer and investigator are looking full time into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, The Arizona Republic reported.     Read more

County plans courthouse near Colorado City

By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published September 30, 2003

ST. GEORGE -- Mohave County officials are looking to purchase three-quarters of an acre in the Colorado City area, on which they plan to build a justice courthouse to replace the current double-wide trailer in Moccasin.   The county is accepting proposals for land through Thursday.  As of Monday, three parties had expressed interest in selling land, including Colorado City, the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation and Moccasin Justice Court Judge McKay Heaton, who owns property in the area, according to Mohave County Procurement and Central Services in Kingman.   The courts system has allocated $500,000 for the new courthouse, which is estimated to be 3,500 square feet, said Larry D. Imus, presiding justice of the peace for Mohave County Courts.  A partially completed building design was turned over to an architect six weeks ago, he said.  And construction can start as soon as 90 days after the bid selection.   The new courthouse will be closer to bigger cities on the Arizona Strip, especially Colorado City, the justice court's biggest precinct.  The Moccasin Justice Courthouse is 20 miles from Colorado City and 90 miles from Littlefield, Ariz.   "I think we can put it close to the highway," Judge Imus said.  "I think it will better serve the people out there because it will be easier to find.   It will be easier to get in and out of."   Earlier this month, Pete Byers, who serves on the Mohave County Board of Supervisors, expressed interest in leasing land from Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow.  But anti-polygamy activists said they would protest any association the court has with the city administration.     Read more

States turn up heat on polygamists

The Arizona Republic Originally published October 15, 2003

The use of civil litigation is one of a handful of pressures now being applied on polygamists and their communities in Arizona and Utah.   The attorneys general in both states are coming together to crack down on polygamy-related crimes.   Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard confirmed last month that he has a lawyer and an investigator looking full time into the polygamist community of Colorado City, a town of 6,000 that sits on the Arizona line directly across from Hildale, Utah.   Other recent developments include:     Read more

Arizona AG wants safe haven established in polygamous town

By Beth DeFalco The Associated Press Originally published October 29, 2003

Phoenix -- Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard wants a safe haven established in the polygamous town of Colorado City to serve underage brides and abused children.   "The nearest (Child Protective Services) station is 30 miles away, and that's unconscionable given what we know today," Goddard said in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press.   Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah, are heavily populated with members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a splinter offshoot of the mainline Mormon church, which disavowed polygamy in 1890 and excommunicates those who practice plural marriage.   Critics of the sect contend underage girls are sometimes forced into marriage.   Goddard said he thinks that after a year or two, townspeople would realize the state center was permanent and might start calling in anonymous tips and seeking shelter from abusers.   "Absolutely.   I think he's right on target," said state Sen. Linda Binder, R-Lake Havasu City, whose district includes Colorado City.  "There needs to be a place that's not intimidating to victims."     Read more

Colorado City area needs 'safe haven'

In Our View The Spectrum Originally published Sunday, November 2, 2003

An idea presented by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, mirrored by a proposal spearheaded by the Help the Child Brides organization, might provide another important step toward ending abuses in the Hildale/ Colorado City area.   Goddard, in an interview with The Associated Press, said he favored setting up a "safe haven," perhaps in the form of a Child Protective Services office, in Colorado City.  He believes such a presence is necessary to put an end to sexual abuse of teenage girls, who sometimes are taken as spiritual brides by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   That matches the concept promoted by Help the Child Brides, which favors having law-enforcement and women and children services available to girls who want to leave the polygamist lifestyle for one reason or another.   The concept is fairly straight-forward.  If a girl wants to flee, she would have an agency independent of police forces in that area to which she could turn.   Officials working in and for the FLDS church consider such a proposition to be unwarranted.  They have said that girls and women can leave whenever they please.  For the most part, that's true.   But there is an intimidation factor that has to be considered.  How likely is a woman or girl in an abusive situation to call the local police if she knows the police contribute to the problem.  One need only look at the recent case of Rodney Holm -- a man who was a sworn police officer when he fathered children with a spiritual wife who was also a minor -- to see an example of how local authorities can be viewed by distrustful girls as supporting the practices.     Read more

Mojave will not fund Colorado City center

By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic Originally published November 5, 2003

In a setback to the state's immediate efforts to monitor polygamy in Colorado City, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors has killed a proposal to build a new law-enforcement center in the area.   The most surprising aspect of the unexpected decision was that Supervisor Buster Johnson of Lake Havasu City, who has been one of the state's leading crusaders against multiple marriages and alleged child abuse, put the kibosh on the measure.   "I thought the whole thing was a go," said Supervisor Tom Sockwell of Bullhead City of Monday's vote.  "Then Supervisor Johnson pops up and says that he doesn't think it's necessary after all the hoopla he's raised about the issue.   We wanted a courthouse building with a sheriff's substation and room for Child Protective Services."   Johnson said his reasons for opposing the building are purely fiscal.  He said it's much too early to talk about funding a building when no commitment has been made by the state to put its offices in it and no site has been selected.     Read more

Officials decry Colorado City abuse

By Mark Hall Today's News-Herald Originally published January 8, 2004

Arizona Sen. Linda Binder and Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson briefed the London Bridge Rotary Club Wednesday about their efforts to combat polygamy and resulting abuse in Colorado City and Hilldale, Utah.   The elected officials talked about recent allegations regarding sexual and physical abuse surrounding the polygamist group — a fundamentalist splinter group of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.   “As far as I’m concerned we have the Taliban sitting in our backyard,” Binder said of the community.  "It’s Arizona’s dirty little secret."   Binder said she is not attacking alternative lifestyles, but specifically the Colorado City area — an isolated community in which middle-aged men allegedly are marrying and having sex with girls as young as 15 years old.   "I do object to young girls —14 and 15 year olds — being married off to 30- to 40-year-old men," Binder said.  "This is truly a cult."   Both Binder and Johnson said another key issue is the amount of money being given to the community by county, state and federal governments.   Johnson said Colorado City receives $8 for every tax dollar it injects into the county, while Lake Havasu City receives a little more than $1.     Read more

Mayor says Hildale cop crackdown is biased

Utah AG acts quickly to keep 17-year-old safe

By Jane Zhang The Spectrum Originally published Sunday, January 18, 2004

ST. GEORGE -- In the state's first case concerning runaways from polygamist families after the recent shakeup in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Utah Attorney General's Office intervened Saturday morning in St. George to put a Colorado City girl in state protective custody.   The 17-year-old girl, whose name wasn't released for safety reasons, was picked up from home at around 7:35 a.m. by a man driving a Chevy truck, according to police reports.  An undisclosed complainant left her father's cell phone number with the dispatcher, asking officers to "hold the female for return to family."   The girl contacted the DOVE Center, a domestic violence shelter, where calls were made to Bob Curran, founder of Help the Child Brides, a St. George agency that targets abuses in the polygamous culture.   Hours later, said Paul Murphy, spokesman for Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, a state attorney appeared before a judge and put the girl in the custody of Utah State Division of Child and Family Services.     Read more

Utah official's word backed up with actions

IN OUR VIEW The Spectrum Originally published Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff means business. And that's a positive stance for all who have a stake in the recent discord in Southern Utah's polygamist society.   Last year, Shurtleff made it clear that abuses of children and government programs would be investigated and prosecuted.  The prosecution of former Colorado City-area police officer Rodney Holm on sexual misconduct charges provided the first example that the attorney general planned to back up his statement.   The latest example comes in the actions his office has taken to provide safe surroundings for girls who are fleeing the polygamist lifestyle.   In the past week, at least 10 girls have fled the border towns of Hildale and Colorado City.  Some have traveled south, but others sought sanctuary within Utah's borders.   Some of those girls since are feared to have either fled or been taken from their safe houses.  More information on them is likely to surface in the coming days.   Because of the secrecy in that area of the state, few details also are known right now as to why so many girls have chosen to flee in such a short amount of time.  But their actions do coincide with the expulsion of 21 men from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The men were ordered to leave the border towns and to give up their wives and children by the church's leader, Warren Jeffs.   Shurtleff's office has worked with law enforcement officers and others in the legal and social work fields to find these girls safe places to stay.  Too often in the past, girls seeking to leave the polygamist lifestyle were sent back into bad situations.   Now that word is getting out that they can find safe places to stay, more may seek to leave.     Read more

Supervisors meet to discuss tension in polygamist community

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published January 27, 2004

KINGMAN -- Due to continuing tension in Colorado City, the Mohave County supervisors will hold a special meeting this afternoon to discuss the situation.   District 3 Supervisor Buster Johnson is asking to set aside $50,000 in county contingency funds to assist the state in transporting and finding temporary housing in case a large group of women and children flee the polygamist community.   Currently, two teen-age girls have left the community to stay with relatives in St. George, Utah and Phoenix, Johnson said.   "If there is a mass exodus of women and children seeking asylum, the state of Arizona is not equipped to handle these people's needs," Johnson said.   Colorado City has been home to a polygamous sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for more than a half-century.   Last year, former police officer Rodney Holm was convicted of bigamy and sexual misconduct with a minor.   Two weeks ago, church leader Warren Jeffs excommunicated Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow and about two dozen others from the church leading to their removal from the community of about 6,000.   Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan recently dispatched additional deputies and a canine unit to Colorado City for re-enforcement in case of trouble but none so far has existed.   Also under discussion at today's meeting is the progress of the county law enforcement facility proposed to be built in Colorado City.     Read more

New law enforcement facility in works for town

By Dave Hawkins Las Vegas Review-Journal Originally published Wednesday, January 28, 2004

KINGMAN, Ariz. -- Mohave County and the state of Arizona are working together to establish a joint law enforcement facility in Colorado City, home to a religious sect that preaches polygamy.   The town drew national attention after the January ouster of Mayor Dan Barlow and about 20 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by the church's so-called prophet, Warren Jeffs.   The county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to use as much as $200,000 to place a modular facility on land that will be leased from the community college at the southern edge of town.   The town is in a sparsely populated area of northern Arizona, a good distance from many public services.   County Manager Ron Walker said the building could be ready for occupancy within 90 days.   It would provide working space for sheriff's deputies and county attorney's office personnel investigating allegations of the abuse of women and children, and forced marriages of underage girls to older men in the predominantly polygamous community.     Read more

Board ok's multi-use building in Colorado City

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Wednesday, January 28, 2004

KINGMAN, Ariz. - During a special meeting Tuesday, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a multi-use governmental facility to be located in Colorado City.  The modular building, to be located on land leased from Mohave Community College, will house the Sheriff, County Attorney, State Attorney General and Child Protection Services.  In a prepared statement, Mohave County manager Ron Walker said county staff is beginning the process of procuring a suitable modular facility and preparing a workable floor plan to accommodate all users.   Meanwhile county residents are beginning to respond to the reports of alleged abuse of women and children in Colorado City and adjoining Hildale, Utah.  Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, R-Dist. 3, has been collecting cash and other goods to help the women and kids that have escaped the border communities.   "Some people in Kingman have called that had a lot of clothing.  There is a church putting on a program, they're going to bring clothing plus they are going to show an investigative reports movie and some others movies to their people and get more information out.  One of the schools has brought in quite a bit of clothing and that sort of stuff," Supervisor Johnson said.     Read more

County to build police facility in Colorado City

By Linda Stelp Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Thursday, January 29, 2004

The Mohave County supervisors have voted to spend $200,000 for a new law enforcement building in Colorado City.   During a special meeting Tuesday, the three members of the Mohave County supervisors voted unanimously to release the funds immediately because of recent unrest in the polygamist community.   The county will negotiate a land lease with Mohave Community College and develop an intergovernmental agreement with the state of Arizona for shared use of the facility, which will be a modular building.   This month, 21 men were excommunicated from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including Mayor Dan Barlow.   The struggle between two factions has torn the tightly knit polygamist community, which is along the Utah border in the Arizona Strip, north of the Grand Canyon.  Allegations of child abuse, incest and welfare fraud have forced public officials to take a closer look at the secretive society in which teen girls are forced to marry older men.   The building will be shared by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, the county attorney’s office, the State Attorney General’s Office and Arizona Child Protection Services.   The closest sheriff’s deputies have been stationed is the Littlefield area, which can be reached only by about an 80-mile trip through Utah.     Read more

We need to identify the real issues in the border towns

IN OUR VIEW The Spectrum Originally published Sunday, February 1, 2004

As the religious leadership turmoil churns in Colorado City and Hildale, the battling factions and public are losing sight of the real issue at hand, which is not polygamy, but the specter of child abuse and a prevailing mindset that defines the women of this community as chattel that can be assigned from one man to another.   This is not about what consenting adults do or religious freedom, and solutions are not simple.   With members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints feuding over leadership of the sect, church members are being tossed from their homes and families are being scattered.  The legal aspects, of course, are that the church owns the property the people have built their homes on, giving them rights to what goes on there and who can reside on that property.   It gets further complicated when legitimate human rights issues are brought forward, such as the charges that the little border community is repressive in its attitudes toward women -- who many church leaders believe are the property of their husbands -- and the sexual abuse of children.  It's also very easy for the onlooker to pose the obvious question: Why don't these women and children simply leave the culture?     Read more

More youths flee polygamy

Arizona and Utah officials decide to curb underage marriages by erecting a sheriff's substation in polygamy country

By Jason Emerson, Lorraine Whetstone and Betty Webb East Valley Tribune Originally published Tuesday, February 3, 2004

The Fawns in Phoenix opened the floodgate.  Less than a week after 16-year-old redheads Fawn Holm and Fawn Broadbent escaped the polygamist stronghold of Colorado City, Ariz., eight more "absolutely terrified" teens have fled — and more are expected to, activists and officials said Sunday.   "The word spread like wildfire that we had received the court order here in Arizona giving these children safety," said Flora Jessop, executive director of the Child Protection Project, which is based in California.   "It was a ray of hope," said Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, who helped arrange money for the eight to leave.   Jessop, an activist who on Jan. 11 helped the two girls flee, praised the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for a court order late Friday afternoon that put the girls in state custody.   "This is the first time that we’ve successfully created a legal pathway through this system for the children to go to," she said.   Normally, authorities just bring the children back, Johnson said.     Read more

Lawmakers want aggressive AG polygamy action

By Le Templar East Valley Tribune Originally published February 4, 2004

A group of state lawmakers is demanding more aggressive action from Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard on reports of widespread child abuse and welfare fraud in the polygamous community of Colorado City.   A letter to Goddard signed by 26 Republicans and one Democrat in the House of Representatives says Arizona law enforcement must address renewed reports that women and teenage girls have been compelled by the community’s religious leaders into polygamous marriages for years.   "For too long, Arizona has allowed this grave problem to deteriorate," says the letter, which is dated Jan. 27 but was released to the media Tuesday.  "Too many young women have lost their virtue without their consent.  Too many young lives have been shattered.  Too many witnesses have been ignored.  The time has come for Arizona to act."     Read more

AG says steps being made to stop polygamy

By Le Templar East Valley Tribune Originally published February 5, 2004

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard pledged Wednesday that state and local authorities are taking every possible step to end child rape and forced polygamous marriages in Colorado City.  But Goddard wouldn't discuss details of ongoing criminal and civil inquiries of residents and religious leaders in the community on the Utah border, saying he must protect the privacy of victims and the safety of investigators.   Goddard held a news conference Wednesday at his Phoenix office in response to a letter signed by 26 state lawmakers demanding more aggressive action to deal with reports of underage girls being forced to live as wives with members of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   He said Colorado City has been a priority since he took office in January 2003.  But joint investigations with Utah authorities are moving with caution as officials work to build trust with Colorado City residents and encourage them to testify against men who participate in multiple "spiritual" marriages.   Goddard said he and Gov. Janet Napolitano are also building new support among state authorities to openly address the situation in Colorado City after decades of ignoring the isolated community.     Read more

Caleb's Corner: Colorado City now getting attention it deserves

By Caleb Soptelean Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Friday, February 6, 2004

Something is finally being done about Colorado City.   Recent news that the Mohave County supervisors approved funding for a building that will be jointly used by various county and state agencies represents some of the best news in a long time about the northern Mohave County community.   All three supervisors deserve credit for voting for this funding as does state Sen. Linda Binder, who has been on top of this issue for some time.   Although this issue is probably one of the few things I agree with the Lake Havasu legislator about, the soon-to-be-departing state senator deserves credit for keeping this issue on her agenda.   Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has also been very active lately in pressing this issue legally.  His recent remarks that he intends to bring charges against FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs represent a positive sign that something is being done about the problem.     Read more

Honeymoon is over for US polygamists

Katherine Biele in Salt Lake City The Scotsman - Scotland NEWS.scotsman.com Originally published Sunday, February 8, 2004

FOR decades they have thought nothing of marrying a 15-year-old cousin who is also an aunt, but the 100,000-strong polygamist community in the United States is facing a new crackdown as those no longer willing to turn a "blind eye" confront what many consider to be no more than criminal behaviour.   A number of recent events in Arizona and Utah have refocused attention on plural marriage which has gone on quietly for many years despite being outlawed by mainstream church leaders and state authorities.   Most controversially a power struggle within the polygamy-orientated sect that dominates the town of Colorado City in Arizona has seen some men ex-communicated and their wives and children simply "reassigned" to other men.   And last week a member of the Kingstons, a large clan in Utah that has long-practised bigamy, was sentenced to a one-year prison term for taking as his wife a 15-year-old cousin who was also his aunt.   Now authorities in Arizona and Utah, with an eye on Colorado City, are stepping up investigations into the sect there - so-called fundamentalist Mormons - including concerns about forced marriages involving underage girls.   "We have all just turned a blind eye to what’s going on," said Utah attorney-general Mark Shurtleff.  "It’s an embarrassment."     Read more

AG Shurtleff visits S. Utah to push hotline

By Rachel Olsen The Spectrum Originally published Friday, February 13, 2004

ST. GEORGE -- Outside the Washington County Courthouse on Thursday, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff reminded polygamists of the resource of the Utah Domestic Violence Information Line.   The Utah Domestic Violence Information Line answers calls and provides help and information when individuals find themselves in a violent situation.  As part of the effort to make the hotline more useful to those seeking help in polygamist cultures, the staff answering phone calls received sensitivity training for plural wives from those who live in and those who have left the polygamist lifestyle, said the hotline's coordinator, A.J. Hunt.   While Shurtleff said abuses are not unique to polygamist communities, the hotline would help the government and agencies reach out to everyone in the state -- even those in closed societies.   "This is the beginning of our efforts to provide assistance to those underserved in the community," Shurtleff said.   "The state and county are here to help ... we are not the enemy," he said.     Read more

Outreach assists plural wives and children

State promoting use of toll-free domestic violence help line

By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published February 15, 2004

ST. GEORGE — It's confidential and it's free.   "This is the beginning, not the end, of our efforts to provide assistance to women and children in polygamous communities," Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said of the state's effort to promote the use of a toll-free Domestic Violence help line.  "We want to help.  We are not the enemy.  We just want to get the information out."   The hotline, 1-800-897-LINK (5465), has been around for a long time, but Shurtleff and others who work with domestic violence victims believe thousands of plural wives are unaware of the resource.   "Without intervention we can't end the abuse," Shurtleff told a small gathering of reporters, attorneys and plural wives Thursday during an afternoon press conference held on the steps of Fifth District Court in St. George.  A similar press conference was held in Salt Lake City earlier in the day.   Current and former polygamous wives provided sensitivity training for help line staff so that callers would be treated with dignity, said A.J. Hunt, Domestic Violence Line coordinator.     Read more

Time for Utah to enforce laws against polygamy

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published Sunday, February 15, 2004

To the editor: I agree with Bryce Dixon's column, "Polygamy is a blight on S. Utah." Utah state and local law enforcement officers have been looking the other way for too long. It is time for them to vigorously enforce our Utah Constitution and also state laws against the flagrant abuses taking place in Hildale and other parts of Utah. I believe that polygamy is inherently demeaning to women. Once entrapped into a polygamous society (usually at an age too young to vote or even drive a car), it is almost impossible to escape. Such a woman would have to admit that her "marriage" was not valid, that her children were illegitimate and that she would some day have to answer to the outside world and even to God for living an adulterous life. How many women can stand up to this much shame? She is trapped. She is not free to change her mind. It is no wonder that most of those defending polygamy at the recent Utah Attorney General's conference on polygamy here in St. George at the Dixie Center were women from Colorado City and Hildale. Arza Evans St. George

Bill targeting polygamy involving minors advances

The Associated Press Originally published February 23, 2004

The Arizona Senate approved a proposal intended to combat the forced marriages of teenage girls in polygamist enclaves.   The full Senate voted 29-0 Monday to create the crime of child bigamy.   The bill (SB1335) now moves to the House.   Modeled after a Utah law, the legislation would make it a felony for a married adult to marry a child or otherwise cohabit as husband and wife with a child.   It also would make it illegal to arrange marriages or cohabitation under those circumstances.     Read more

Smith seeks Colorado City probe

By Linda Stelp Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith said he plans to ask the county to hire a special investigator for the Colorado City area.   An investigator will follow up on allegations of child abuse within the polygamous Colorado City community, Smith said.   "No one really knows what is going on up there.   I have to believe they are not making up allegations of sexual abuse," he said of teenage girls who have come forward with allegations of forced marriages and other abuses.   The secretive polygamist community along the Utah border has come under increased scrutiny by officials from both states during the past year.   Officials also are looking into allegations of child abuse, incest and the squandering of taxpayer money in the community, where men often have more than one wife with some women with a dozen or more children receiving welfare payments.   Smith said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard is looking into reports of welfare abuse, but because Colorado City is within Mohave County, it is the county's responsibility to investigate all claims of child abuse.     Read more

Supes approve Colorado City investigator position

e-Press The Tri-State News Network Murphy Broadcasting, Inc. Originally published Tuesday, April 6, 2004

KINGMAN, Ariz. - Mohave County Supervisors have approved use of more than $30,000 to hire an investigator to probe allegations of abuse in the remote border community of Colorado City.   The Board approved the expenditure Monday after hearing from county attorney Matt Smith.  "I think there's a general consensus that we have a serious problem in Colorado City right now," Smith said.   He said police in Colorado City are under pressure from the community-controlling church and are disadvantaged from objective handling of abuse allegations.  Smith suggested hiring someone from outside the community would better ensure fair and impartial investigations involving alleged abuse of women and children and forced marriages of teenagers to adults who have other wives in the polygamous community.     Read more

Investigator being added to check Colorado City

Arizona News Briefs The Arizona Republic Originally published April 7, 2004

LAKE HAVASU CITY - Mohave County supervisors agreed to hire a special investigator to look into allegations of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse in the polygamist community of Colorado City.   Creation of the position was recommended by Mohave County's top prosecutor.   "I think there is a general consensus that there is a concern up there in Colorado City," said County Attorney Matt Smith.   Polygamy is practiced openly in Colorado City, a remote enclave on the state line with Utah that is dominated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   The sect split from mainstream Mormonism after the broader church renounced polygamy more than a century ago.   The fundamentalist group touts plural marriage as a key to reaching the highest place in heaven.

Legislators out to ban child bigamy

House gives tentative nod to felony bill

By Robbie Sherwood The Arizona Republic Originally published April 16, 2004

The Legislature is poised to strike a blow against the forced marriages of teenage girls in polygamist enclaves such as Colorado City in northern Arizona.   The House tentatively approved a bill Thursday that makes child bigamy, a religious marriage between a minor and an adult who is already married, a felony.  Senate Bill 1335 would also allow authorities to prosecute the religious leader who performs the marriage ceremonies and the parents of the minor.   The bill still faces a formal House vote and a final vote in the Senate before moving to the governor.   "I'm not going to speculate if this will stop the practice, but I think it will have a chilling effect," said Attorney General Terry Goddard, who pushed for the bill.  "This gives us a legal tool to bring prosecutions in cases we can't prosecute now.  In other words, right now we can only go after the bigamist husband for child abuse, which is extremely difficult to prove."     Read more

House OKs bill targeting polygamy

The Associated Press Originally published April 20, 2004

The House unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that is intended to help combat forced marriages of teenage girls in polygamist enclaves.   The bill (SB1335), approved 56-0 and modeled after a Utah law, would make it a felony for a married adult to marry a child.   Other provisions are aimed at holding parents responsible for forced marriages of their children.   The proposal has already cleared the Senate but now returns there for consideration of changes made by the House.   The Arizona Constitution already prohibits polygamy.   But Arizona's bigamy law addresses only state-sanctioned marriages, not those recognized only by churches.   Polygamy is practiced openly in Colorado City, a remote enclave on the state line with Utah that is dominated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   The sect split from mainstream Mormonism after the broader church renounced polygamy more than a century ago.

Polygamy fight

Our Opinion The Tucson Citizen Originally published April 21, 2004

It's about time Arizona officialdom recognized the forced marriages of teenage girls in polygamist Colorado City are wrong and should be outlawed.   The state House of Representatives unanimously has approved a bill, modeled after a Utah law, that makes it a felony for a married adult to marry a child.   A similar proposal, which already has cleared the Senate, also would hold parents responsible for forced marriages of their children.   The Arizona Constitution prohibits polygamy, but state law does not address marriages recognized only by churches.  Differences between the House and Senate versions will have to be ironed out before the bill could become law.   The polygamy practiced in Colorado City has drawn national attention and condemnation for being one step removed from pedophilia.  Young girls there often are forced against their wills to marry much older men who have dozens of wives and children.  The group split from mainstream Mormonism after the church renounced polygamy more than a century ago.   Arizona should follow Utah's lead and outlaw this despicable practice.

Governor gets bill targeting forced teenage polygamist marriages

The Associated Press KVOA News 4 - Tucson Originally published April 27, 2004

The Arizona Legislature approved a proposal to combat the forced marriages of teenage girls in polygamist enclaves.   The bill creating the crime of child bigamy now goes to Governor Janet Napolitano.   The bill would make it a felony for a married adult to marry a child.   Other provisions are aimed at holding parents responsible for forced marriages of their children.   The Arizona Constitution already prohibits polygamy.  But Arizona's bigamy law addresses only state-sanctioned marriages, not those recognized only by churches.   Proponents of the proposal say the state doesn't have a law specifically outlawing child bigamy.   Opponents say the proposal targets people because of their religious beliefs.

Child-bigamy law explained

Goddard outlines strategy

The Arizona Republic Originally published May 21, 2004

A state law banning child bigamy was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Janet Napolitano this month.   The law makes religious marriages or cohabitation between a married adult and a minor a felony.   It also gives the state the ability to charge church pastors who perform the ceremonies and the minors' parents with felony crimes.   Modeled after a Utah law, the statute grew out of reports of teenage girls being forced into marriages in Colorado City, a remote community near the Arizona-Utah line dominated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   It goes into effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.  Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard advocated the law and discussed it recently with Arizona Republic reporter Amanda J. Crawford.     Read more

County building update for Colorado City

e-Press The Tri-States News Network Murphy Broadcasting, Inc. Originally published Monday June 7, 2004

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. - The building being proposed for a Mohave County resource in Colorado City is currently being worked on. The site plan, utility location, and one line electrical drawing have been reviewed by Colorado City. The City has indicated GE Modular should receive the reviewed drawings by Friday, June 7th. GE Modular will be attaching their detailed building drawings and specifications to the site, utility and electrical drawings, and will overnight them to the State Fire Marshall's office. Once State Fire Marshall approval is obtained, the package will be resubmitted to Colorado City for final approval.     Read more

Group Seeks Help For Ousted FLDS Boys

ABC 4 News Originally published August 1, 2004

Fundamentalist prophet Warren Jeffs has pushed hundreds of young men out of the two polygamous communities on the border of Utah and Arizona.   About 50 of the cast-offs took to the Utah Capitol today to support the nonprofit group Diversity, which announced a program to help the young men.   Polygamist sect member Richard Gilbert was thrown out at age 16 for saying he wanted to attend public schools.   Gilbert says the fathers of these young men aren't to blame; they too are being pushed around by Warren Jeffs.   Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has volunteered to mentor one of the lost boys.   Shurtleff credited Midvale dentists Dr. Dan Fischer for pushing the mentor program.   The effort has the backing of best-selling author Jon Krakauer, who explored fundementalist sects in Utah, Arizona, Mexico and Canada for his book about religious extremism, "Under the Banner of Heaven."   If you'd like to help, tax-deductible donations and pledges of mentoring will be accepted at 877-GET-A-DAD.  For more information on FLDS boys and how to help them, call Barb Rohrer at (801) 867-2489 or Lynette Phillips at (801) 597-6080.

Investigation launched into polygamous sect dubbed 'Canada's dirty little secret'

By Catherine Elsworth London Telegraph Originally published August 5, 2004

The peace of a secretive polygamous sect that has quietly practised its controversial - and illegal - way of life in a remote part of Canada for more than 60 years is about to be shattered.   Murmurings about alleged sexual abuse and forced marriage within the 1,000-strong community of Bountiful have reached fever pitch as women have fled the group with tales of exploitation.   The "escaped wives" claim that girls in their early teens have been compelled to wed middle-aged men and have been routinely trafficked between Canada and the group's fellow Mormon communities in Utah and Arizona.   They also complain of biased and truncated schooling that brainwashes children into following the sect's way of life and leaves them ill-equipped to live outside its confines.   Geoff Plant, the attorney general of the western Canadian province of British Columbia, has now launched an extensive investigation into the allegations.   "It's child abuse of the worst kind, within a religious context," said Audrey Vance, co-founder of a support group for former Bountiful wives in the nearby town of Creston.  "One woman who left said what goes on out there is evil.   "This is Canada's dirty little secret, but no one round here wants to believe what's going on."     Read more

Hotline helps men ordered out of polygamous communities

Tri-Valley Central Originally published August 5, 2004

Phoenix -- About 200 people have called a hotline offering money clothing, jobs and housing to boys and men who were thrown out of the nation's largest polygamous community near the Arizona-Utah state line.   The calls came after dozens of young men and boys gathered on the steps of the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Saturday to say how their lives were shattered by the leadership of their polygamous faith, The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.   "We've had a wonderfully large response," said Lynette Phillips, director of Smiles for Diversity, a nonprofit group that launched a nationwide appeal for the boys.   The youths said they represented a fraction of more than 400 males who either were excommunicated or driven from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1998.   Those expulsions coincide with the rise to power of Warren Jeffs, president and self-proclaimed prophet of the church.   Jeffs, who is said to have as many as 50 wives, was accused in a lawsuit last week of serially sodomizing his nephew as a child and covering up widespread sexual molestations by other church leaders for decades.  He denies the allegations.   The men who came forward last weekend said Jeffs personally ordered them out of the twin communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City for perceived violations of church policy ranging from rolling up the long sleeves on their shirts to watching movies or wanting to go to public school.

Polygamy town gets outside aid

By Amanda J. Crawford The Arizona Republic Originally published August 10, 2004

The outside is unassuming: a plain gray, modular building surrounded by red dirt.   It is what the building represents that is important: the first independent outside presence in the community of Colorado City, headquarters of the nation's largest polygamist community.   On Monday, the Mohave County/State of Arizona Multi-Use Facility opened in the community, which is dominated by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The building will be used by Child Protective Services, the Arizona Attorney General's Office, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office and the County Attorney's Office.   Andrea Esquer, spokeswoman for the Arizona Attorney General's Office, said the office will be a resource for victims who want to come forward to report abuse.     Read more

Justice center opens in polygamist town

By Mike Watkiss KTVK NewsChannel 3 - Phoenix Originally published Tuesday, August 10, 2004

In a community rocked by persistent and ongoing allegations of sexual abuse, welfare fraud and forced marriages, suddenly there is a new force in town.  This week, the state of Arizona and Mojave County opened a new justice center in the border straddling polygamist town of Colorado City.   The polygamist enclave has long been isolated by geography and hostile to outsiders, but Monday a new justice center opened its doors.  The building will be used by Child Protective Services, the Arizona Attorney Generals Office, the Mojave County Sheriff's Office, and the Mojave County Attorney's Office.   Officials say they hope the new facility will serve victims who, in the past, have had nowhere to turn in Colorado City.     Read more

Colorado City government center opens

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published August 11, 2004

KINGMAN -- A joint county and state government facility opened for business Monday in the troubled community of Colorado City.   The county placed the 2,000-square-foot modular building on about a half acre of land owned by Mohave Community College.   The building will house Mohave County Sheriff's Office deputies, deputy county attorneys and state officials from the Child Protective Services and the Attorney General's Office.   Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan said his deputies will start rotating in and out of the building between Beaver Dam and Colorado City.   In the past, sheriff deputies were based about an hour away in the Beaver Dam area.  The county justice court is currently located in nearby Moccasin.   Sheriff deputies will also share office space with Washington County (Utah) sheriff deputies.     Read more

Cracking the cult

Paperwork, not police sirens, more likely to foil 'prophet' and his polygamous followers

Opinion The Arizona Republic Originally published August 26, 2004

Sirens scream.  Cell doors slam.  Book 'em, Danno.   Arizona wants justice to blast through the nation's largest polygamist cult.  The outrage at what's being committed in the name of religion by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints demands a response that's appropriately big.   Dramatic.   But it won't happen that way.   Justice will not carry a club into the twin cult towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah.   It can't - no matter how deeply satisfying it is to imagine some swift, sure rescue of those who are being victimized by the self-proclaimed prophet Warren Jeffs.   Those victims include the young girls married off to old men as second and third wives; the teen boys driven out of the community without an education; the women treated as property; and even the men, whose lives are directed and controlled by a theocracy designed for domination.     Read more

News Release

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff For Immediate Release August 30, 2004 Contact Paul Murphy:   (801) 538-1892 pmurphy@utah.gov

SAFE PASSAGE $700,000 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE GRANT TO HELP POLYGAMOUS VICTIMS

Nearly $700,000 is now available to help domestic violence victims from polygamous and rural communities in Utah and Arizona.  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice approved a unique grant to help victims living in "under served" areas.  The Safe Passage Program will provide additional law enforcement, social services, legal aid, housing, transportation and extended hours for a domestic violence hotline.  The program will help victims overcome barriers caused by geographic isolation, poverty, strong social and cultural pressures and lack of available services.  "No matter where you live or what you believe, domestic violence affects everyone. This grant will make it possible to reach the most vulnerable victims and make sure they have the same access to help," says Shurtleff.  The Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women allocated $698,636 to be used for the next two years.  The Utah Attorney General's Office is the fiscal agent for the grant but will partner with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, Utah Domestic Violence Council, DOVE Center, Washington County Sheriff's Office, St. George Police Department, Utah Legal Services and the Mohave County Sheriff's Office in Arizona.     Read more

Domestic Violence Grant to Help Polygamy Victims

Jed Boal Reporting KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast August 30, 2004

There's new assistance for victims of polygamy in Utah, and all victims of domestic violence.  It's called the Safe Passage Program.  It's the first time the state has received federal funding to help.   This is a unique Department of Justice grant, nearly $700,000 to help domestic violence victims from polygamous communities in Utah and Arizona.   Safe Passage will expand services for all victims of domestic violence with a focus on polygamous communities.  Many victims of polygamy struggle to get help; they are isolated, poor, and have to battle cultural pressures.   St. George and Washington County law enforcement will add patrols and victim advocates in the twin polygamous towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.  Safe Passage will also provide social services, legal aid, housing, and extended hours for a domestic violence hotline.   The Attorney General's Office says it's a good start in tackling a problem with complex solutions.     Read more

Polygamy Victims Get Help

The Associated Press KPHO News 5 - Phoenix Originally published August 30, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The feds are kicking in money to help victims of domestic violence in polygamous communities along the Utah-Arizona border.   Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says the Justice Department has approved a $700,000 dollar grant for the Safe Passage Program.  The program will provide additional law enforcement to rural areas, including the twin polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona.  It will also help provide social services, legal aid, housing, transportation and additional hours for a domestic violence hotline.   The Utah A.G.'s Office will work with the Utah agencies, as well as the Mohave County sheriff's office in Kingman to distribute the money.

Grant to help domestic violence victims in polygamous communities

By Mark Thiessen The Associated Press Originally published August 30, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY - A federal grant worth nearly $700,000 will be used to help the victims of domestic violence in rural Utah, especially targeting women and children who have fled the nation's largest polygamous enclave in southern Utah.   The money will be used for the state's Safe Passage program, which will coordinate law enforcement, social services, legal aid, housing and transportation, and expand a domestic violence hotline.   "Hallelujah," proclaimed Rowenna Erickson, a co-founder of Tapestry Against Polygamy, a Salt Lake City group that counsels women after leaving polygamous relationships.  "This is just the beginning of what can be done."   The $698,636 grant announced Monday was from a U.S. Justice Department program designed to assist rural communities.   The department noted the unique nature of the state's application when targeting problems in Utah's rural polygamous communities, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told The Associated Press on Monday by telephone from the Republican National Convention in New York.   "We thought it might be a long shot," he said, but officials decided to try because "we've been so frustrated that we didn't have finances."     Read more

Ousted from sect, 'lost boys' start anew

2 former believers offer helping hand

By Angie Wagner The Chicago Tribune Originally published September 7, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY -- Cast out by his religion, denied by his family and left with nowhere else to go, the teenager slept in a tool shed just steps from a company owned by relatives.  They went home at night while Tom Sam Steed stole bread and nutrition bars from a gas station to survive.  He tried several times to kill himself, convinced, he said, that he was worth nothing.  His salvation came when he got a job cleaning carpets and finally left the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or FLDS, and its leader, Warren Jeffs.  The FLDS is different from the mainstream Mormon church, which has denounced the FLDS.  Former FLDS members describe a religion that thrives on domination.  Every detail of their life, they say, was scripted -- from plural marriages to what they could wear, whom they could associate with and what job they could have.     Read more

Police standards board vows to punish bigamists in their ranks

The Associated Press KVOA Channel 4 - Tucson Originally broadcast September 22, 2004

SANDY, Utah Officials with the Utah law enforcement standards board say they'll remove officers from duty if they're breaking bigamy laws.   The Peace Officer Standards and Training council met today in Sandy, Utah.   On the agenda was how to deal with the thorny issue of officers in the twin polygamist communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.   Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says investigators believe at least two officers in the area are practicing polygamists.   Police officers must vow to uphold the laws of Utah.  The state constitution prohibits the practice of polygamy.   In an unanimous decision, the board says that officers breaking the law would face revocation of their law-enforcement certification.

Utah Appears Close to Yanking the Badges of Polygamous Police Officers

KUTV Channel 2 Originally broadcast September 22, 2004

Utah appears closer than ever to yanking the badges of polygamous police officers.  A state panel moved to investigate cops in the polygamy enclave of Hildale.   Brian Mullahy has more.   Hildale Police Chief Sam Roundy is one officer Utah's attorney general believes is a practicing polygamist along with at least one other Hildale officer.   If they refuse to leave polygamy Mark Shurtleff says they should lose their badges.   "Then revocation is the only option.   They ought to be revoked.  They ought not to ever be police officers again," said Shurtleff.   The POST council made up largely of police administrators has the power to pull polygamists off the Hildale force.   "If they're polygamists, should they be police officers?" Mullahy asked.     Read more

Utah Police Standards Board Vows To Punish Bigamists In Their Ranks

By Debbie Hummel The Associated Press Originally published September 22, 2004

SANDY, Utah (AP) -- The state board that sets police standards on Wednesday vowed to punish officers who break Utah's bigamy law.   The issue has grown over the past year since the sentencing of a former southern Utah officer who was convicted of bigamy and an unlawful sex with a minor.  Despite the conviction, some officers who are sworn to uphold the state Constitution violate it by practicing polygamy, officials told the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.   "There are some cases where we could proceed with disciplinary action," Assistant Attorney General Cheryl Luke said.   The council voted unanimously that officers breaking the law would face revocation of their law-enforcement certification.   "I can't believe that any citizen would think that practicing polygamy ... is anything that would make law enforcement look good," said Ogden Police Chief Jon Griener, vice chairman of the board.  He said the men were giving law enforcement a black eye.     Read more

Slow Start for Mohave County Justice Center

The Associated Press KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast October 5, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Arizona officials concede that they have had a slow start for the Mohave County Justice Center in the polygamous community of Colorado City.   But they tell The Salt Lake Tribune that it will not stop them from trying to help suspected abuse victims.   The recently opened justice center is the first time the Arizona state government has had a presence in town.   The building has just two offices so far, one for a victim advocate and a caseworker to help with issues like food stamps and child care.   There's also space for police officers, government attorneys and child protective services, but office furniture for those haven't arrived yet.   Mohave County Supervisor Pete Byers says it has been slow going because of trouble getting land and then utilities to the site.   Also, a local construction crew first hired to set up the building walked off the project after learning of its purpose.

County close to hiring investigator of practices in Colorado City

By Caleb Soptelean Kingman Daily Miner Originally published October 6, 2004

KINGMAN – Mohave County is close to hiring an investigator to look into problems in polygamous Colorado City.   On Monday, County Attorney Matt Smith said that a decision was made to hire an investigator on Friday but that the man must pass a background check.   Smith said the investigator, who likely will be hired this week, will look mainly into reports of child sexual abuse and sexual conduct with minors.   Another possible facet of the investigation is crimes associated with the state’s new child bigamy statute.   In bigamy cases, Smith said it’s usually necessary for the victim, such as a second spouse, to come forward.  But in case of child bigamy, the state doesn’t necessarily need a witness.   Smith said if a man has fathered a child with a minor and is married to the woman the state can prosecute without testimony from the minor.   Sheriff Tom Sheahan said the Mohave County Sheriff’s office is now investigating child sexual abuse in Colorado City.  Previously, the Colorado City town marshal’s office handled the investigations.     Read more

Interviews begin in Colorado City abuse investigation

By Caleb Soptelean Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Wednesday, November 10, 2004

KINGMAN – Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith gave an update to the Miner on Monday about an investigation into possible illegal activity in Colorado City.   Smith said newly-hired investigator Gary Engles has begun interviewing people in the polygamous Arizona Strip community in relation to possible child sexual abuse and sexual conduct with minors.  Engles interviewed Flora Jessop during the last week of October, and has since interviewed "many people," Smith said.   Jessop, 34, is involved with "Help the Child Brides," an organization that was founded in 2001 in an effort to help girls who are forced into marriage.  Jessop was born into a polygamous family in Colorado City and has 28 brothers and sisters.   Jessop said her father began sexually abusing her when she was 13 and her life became a living hell, according to a previous Miner report.  She walked away from the community one day when she was 16.   Engles previously worked as a police officer in Bullhead City.  His first day was Oct. 18, and he will be employed for up to six months at a salary of $15,267.

Investigation Into Missing Polygamist Girl

A new investigation into a Southern Utah polygamous church. Authorities in Arizona say they'll look into claims about a 17-year-old girl, and her possible connection to leader of the fundamentalist LDS church.

KSL 1160 NewsRadio Originally published November 16, 2004

(KSL News) -- Authorities are now investigating allegations surrounding a 17-year-old girl from the Fundamentalist LDS Church.   Janetta Jessop's sister claims the girl is a bride of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.   FLDS lawyer Rod Parker tells KSL Newsradio Jeffs is not paying attention to these accusations.   Parker says anti-polygamy activists are pushing this to authorities to further their agenda.   The Washington County Sheriff has interviewed someone believed to be the girl.   The Mohave County Attorney is investigating if she is, in fact, married to Jeffs.

Sister reports FLDS girl missing

Teen thought to be spiritual wife of Warren Jeffs allegedly calls for help

By Rachel Olsen The Spectrum Originally published November 16, 2004

ST. GEORGE -- In the bordering polygamist towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., the report of a missing 17-year-old girl thought to be a spiritual wife of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prophet Warren Jeffs has prompted an investigation from the Mohave County Attorney's Office.   The girl's parents live on the Mohave County side of the community and an attorney with the Mohave County Attorney's Office said he had been authorized to look into the report, although the alleged call for help occurred in Washington County.   Suzanne Johnson, the sister of 17-year-old Janetta Jessop, reported Thursday to the Washington County Sheriff's Office that her sister called Nov. 5 asking to be picked up, yet Johnson never heard from her sister again.  Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith said Friday a deputy contacted the minor girl's parents who said she was fine and at home with them.   That answer wasn't good enough for Johnson and some of those researching the polygamist culture, who contacted multiple agencies.     Read more

Colorado City girl missing?

e-Press Tri-State News Network A Production of Murphy Broadcasting, Inc. Originally published Wednesday, November 17, 2004

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – Reports that a 17-year-old Colorado City girl had been missing since Nov. 5 are being called inaccurate by the Washington County Sheriff’s office in Utah.   "Well it’s wrong according to the child the parents produced," said Washington County Chief Deputy Robert Tersigni.   According to Tersigni, deputies observed the alleged missing girl, Janetta Jessop, at her parent’s house yesterday.   Due to the fact the parents live in Arizona, the investigation is now in the hands of the Mohave County Attorney’s Office, and according to Assistant County Attorney Jace Zach they will not be releasing any information on the ongoing investigation.

Girl Reported Missing Found and Interviewed

Afternoon Update The Spectrum Originally published November 17, 2004

Gary Engels, of the Mohave County Attorney's Office, said Wednesday he organized an interview with a girl reported missing last week by a concerned sister.  The girl, reported to be married to a polygamist as a minor, told investigators she did not want to say whether she was married or where she had been for the last year.  The investigation is ongoing and welfare checks will continue.

Investigators find missing FLDS girl

By Rachel Olsen The Spectrum Originally published November 18, 2004

ST. GEORGE -- Investigators Tuesday identified and questioned a 17-year-old girl who was reportedly missing and rumored to be married to Warren Jeffs, prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   Gary Engels, with the Mohave County Attorney's Office, said although the girl was questioned and returned to her parents, the investigation into the allegations of the minor being married and missing for more than a year is still open.  Officers will also continue to conduct welfare checks on the girl until her 18th birthday.   The girl's parents live on the Mohave County side of the twin communities of Colorado City and Hildale, and Engels said Monday he had been authorized to look into the report, although the alleged call for help occurred in Washington County.   Suzanne Johnson, the sister of the 17-year-old girl, reported Nov. 11 to the Washington County Sheriff's Office that her sister called Nov. 5 asking to be picked up, but Johnson hadn't heard from her sister again.  Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith said Friday that a deputy contacted the minor girl's parents, who said she was fine and at home with them.     Read more

Colorado City Gets New Law Enforcement

KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally published November 28, 2004

New law enforcement is going to the Arizona polygamous town of Colorado City.   The building will house the Arizona Attorney General's Office, Child Protective Services and Mohave County authorities.   The offices are the first independent governmental presence since National Guard troops raided the area to rout out polygamy half a century ago.

State enters polygamy area

Unassuming trailer a sign of change in Colorado City

By Joseph A. Reaves The Arizona Republic Originally published November 28, 2004

COLORADO CITY - Not far from the mountaintop where the prophet promised his people would be lifted into heaven, the state of Arizona has plopped down a triple-wide trailer.   It isn't much to look at.   But its mere presence is stunning.   Critics long have claimed that the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints uses polygamy to justify a wide range of evils, from child rape and underage marriage to bilking public payrolls.  And the isolation of Colorado City only helps perpetuate those suspicions.   That's why some consider the new state and county "multiuse" facility could be significant if it ever becomes fully operational.   And it's the latest in a series of signs that the nation's largest polygamous community may be unraveling.   "There is a way and a means to create change if there is a desire," said Mohave County Supervisor Pete Byers, whose district includes Colorado City, a five-hour drive from his office in Kingman.   "If you constantly pay lip service and never move forward, nothing is going to change.   At least now we are moving forward."     Read more

State facility set to open in polygamous community

The Associated Press Arizona Daily Sun Originally published November 29, 2004

PHOENIX (AP) -- An unassuming doublewide trailer is bringing a state presence to the polygamous town of Colorado City.   The trailer is set to house a long-delayed, multi-use facility that will provide space for the Arizona Attorney General's Office, Child Protective Services, the Mohave County sheriff, Mohave County Victim Witness Program and the county attorney.   The offices are the first semi-permanent, independent governmental presence in this remote area since National Guard troops and state police staged a highly criticized raid to rout out polygamy 51 years ago.   "The intent of the facility is really to bring the state and the county into Colorado City," said Richard Travis, special assistant attorney general, who visited the new offices this week.   Polygamy is practiced openly in Colorado City.     Read more

Colorado City facility almost ready

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published November 30, 2004

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – The new multi-use facility in Colorado City is ready for it’s occupants.  The double-wide trailer will provide space for a number of agencies working to bring change to the polygamous community, according to Mohave County special investigator Gary Engels.   "The AG’s Office will have an office in there, and we have people that are in there a few days a week from CPS (Child Protective Services), and another one in there for disabled children and stuff and the sheriff’s department from Mohave County" said Engels.   Engels said hopes are high for the new facility.   "You know I’m not sure that it’s going to encourage anybody to come forward, but hopefully our presence being there will have some affect on the things that are going on" said Engels.

Judge Orders Public Notices Targeting Warren Jeffs

KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast December 4, 2004

A judge has ordered public notices placed in newspapers to try to force a reclusive church leader to respond to a lawsuit.   The ads target Warren Jeffs ... leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   The judge ordered the notices in St. George ... Colorado, Texas and British Columbia.   In his lawsuit, Jeffs' nephew says he sexually assaulted him years ago when he was a child.

FLDS leader ordered to respond to lawsuit

Jeffs accused of sexually abusing nephew in '80s

By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published December 7, 2004

ST. GEORGE — Warren Jeffs, the reclusive leader of the nation's largest polygamous church, has been ordered by a Utah judge to respond to a civil lawsuit filed against him by one of his nephews.   Third District Court Judge Stephen L. Henriod ruled in early October that attempts to serve Jeffs in person had failed and it appeared the 48-year-old Utah man was avoiding service.   An order allowing service by publication was filed, and legal notices have since been published in four newspapers in Utah, Texas, Colorado and one Canadian province where Jeffs is believed to have residences.   Jeffs assumed leadership of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its estimated 10,000 followers upon the death of his father, Rulon Jeffs, a couple of years ago.   The FLDS church preaches polygamy as a central tenet, which critics charge includes the marriage of young girls as a plural wives to older men.   Most members of the FLDS church live in Hildale, Washington County, and Colorado City, Ariz., although there are polygamous enclaves in Bountiful, British Columbia, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and Eldorado, Texas.   In the lawsuit, 21-year-old Brent Jeffs alleges he was sexually abused as a child by three of his uncles at a private school where Warren Jeffs was the principal.     Read more

Another resource for Colorado City

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published December 17, 2004

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Victims of abuse in the polygamous communities of Colorado City, Ariz. and neighboring Hildale, Utah now have a confidential source of help.   Childhelp USA has teamed up with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Public Safety to offer a 24-hour crisis help line for abuse victims in the area, according to Childhelp spokesperson Casey Hines.   "The people up there don’t understand that it is abuse and a lot of these young people don’t relate abuse to what they are going through" said Hines.   Hines said staff is available 365 days a year by calling 866-9-SAFE-99 and this is another step toward making things better in the area.   "It’s another step in the much larger process that has to take place," said Hines.   "It’s not going to be the solution to all of the problems up there and we would never claim that it will be."

Tillman, migration among '04 top stories

Arizonans also recall O'Brien's conviction, state prison standoff

By Joseph A. Reaves The Arizona Republic Originally published December 26, 2004

The death of a hero in a faraway land.   Child brides and plural wives.   A bishop convicted of a fatal hit-and-run accident.   And the longest prison hostage standoff in U.S. history.   This year's top news stories in Arizona were mostly tragic and troubling.   But political developments and social change drew attention as well.   Arizona voters approved Proposition 200, touted as a way to curb illegal immigration, then watched as the courts put the act into limbo and later into law.   Jerry Colangelo, the godfather of professional sports in Phoenix, was ousted from the Diamondbacks front office.   And a fire at a Phoenix-area transformer station forced utility executives to plead with the public to conserve power to avoid rolling blackouts.   Here are the Top 10 news stories in Arizona for 2004, ranked in an unscientific, informal poll by respondents to www.azcentral.com.     Read more

Polygamists to get Arizona offices

The Associated Press Deseret Morning News Originally published Monday, December 27, 2004

PHOENIX — An unassuming doublewide trailer is bringing a state of Arizona presence to the polygamous town of Colorado City.   The trailer is set to house a long-delayed, multi-use facility that will provide space for the Arizona Attorney General's Office, Child Protective Services, the Mohave County sheriff, Mohave County Victim Witness Program and the county attorney.   The offices are the first semi-permanent, independent governmental presence in this remote area since National Guard troops and state police staged a highly criticized raid to rout polygamy 51 years ago.   "The intent of the facility is really to bring the state and the county into Colorado City," said Richard Travis, special assistant attorney general, who visited the new offices this week.   Polygamy is practiced openly in Colorado City and the twin border town of Hildale, Utah.   The remote enclave straddling the state line is dominated by Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints members.

A "Polygamy Primer"

A new guide out today from the Utah Attorney General's office to help state employees work with polygamists.

KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast January 6, 2005

(KSL News) -- The Utah Attorney General's Office is publishing a handbook to help state agencies deal with polygamists.   Utah Attorney General's spokesman Paul Murphy says it explains beliefs, terms and the history of polygamous groups.  "There's a glossary that has been eye opening for everyone who's had a chance to read it.   It explains the difference between a "sister wife" and an "other mother."  It explains why the term "clan" might be offensive or why the term "plyg" is considered offensive."   Murphy says the handbook was created with the help of many polygamous groups in Utah who want to help stop abuse within their communities.

Manual to help polygamy victims

The Associated Press Provo Daily Herald Originally published January 7, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY -- A manual intended to help those helping people from polygamous backgrounds is now available, Utah and Arizona officials said Thursday.   "The Primer -- Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities" was created to instruct case workers, law enforcement officers and others about the unique beliefs, practices and terms used by various polygamous groups.   It includes a brief history of polygamy, guidelines and training exercises, an extensive glossary, descriptions of fundamentalist groups, characteristics, practices and unique factors to consider when dealing with domestic violence and child abuse.   It also has resource guides and law charts for both Utah and Arizona.   "We have learned that some victims are not getting help because they fear the people who are offering it don't understand them," Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said.  "The Primer is the beginning of what I hope will be many efforts to break down barriers."     Read more

Primer offers peek into polygamy's world

By Joseph M. Dougherty Deseret Morning News Originally published January 8, 2005

Carolyn said she was being watched at all times, so she fled at 4 a.m. in a minivan without insurance, without a license and with only enough gas to drive three miles out of town.   She told her children they were going to get a family portrait.  When her children finally figured out what was going on, one child said, "Mother is taking us to hell."   That is the story of a seventh-generation polygamous wife with eight children who fled the only life she had ever known — a life of abuse, secrecy and the threat that her children could be given away to another family.   Her story is just one of many that prompted the attorneys general of Utah and Arizona to create a manual to help prepare authorities to help people such as Carolyn, who seem not to fit in the system.   Titled "The Primer — Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities," the guide is intended to educate police officers, social workers and others.   "We have learned that some victims are not getting help because they fear that the people who are offering it don't understand them," Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said.  "The primer is the beginning of what I hope will be many efforts to break down barriers."     Read more

Polygamy victim’s handbook

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published January 10, 2005

PHOENIX, Ariz. – It’s called The Primer and the Arizona and Utah Attorney General’s hope it is the next step in protecting victims of polygamous abuse.   The handbook, titled "The Primer – Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities", is designed to help those charged assisting victims understand the particular practices and terms used by members of these communities.   "This training manual will serve as a valuable resource to law enforcement and human services personnel serving these communities and charges with assisting victims of child abuse and domestic violence," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.   A statement from the Arizona Attorney General’s office said the Primer would be continuously updated to reflect changes in laws and resources available.   The handbook can be found at http://www.azag.gov/victims_rights/links.html.

Supervisors OK bypass study

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published Monday, February 7, 2005

KINGMAN - The Mohave County Board of Supervisors approved Monday the state Route 95 realignment study finalized late last year.   The county, along with the state Department of Transportation and the federal Bureau of Land Management, conducted a study on where to put a new highway that will connect Highway 68 with Interstate 40 at the Highway 95 exit.   After several public hearings, ADOT recommended the best route for the highway in October.   The limited-access highway will be built east of Bullhead City and Mohave Valley but avoiding the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge near Golden Shores.   More than 30,000 cars a day travel on the existing highway.  The development of Laughlin Ranch and other subdivisions are also destined to double or triple Bullhead City's population.   ADOT will now create a design concept and an environmental impact statement, which should take several years.  The highway is expected to take more than a decade to complete.   In other action, the Board approved a request by Thunder Lanes bowling alley for an off-track betting license.     Read more

Residents of polygamous community thankful for investigator

The Associated Press KOLD News 13 - Tucson Originally broadcast February 10, 2005

KINGMAN, Ariz. Four Colorado City residents wrote letters to the Mohave County attorney thanking him for having an investigator work in their polygamous community.   One of the letters predicted "there will be bloodshed" unless there's outside intervention.   But another notes many of the most devout members of a local cult are moving elsewhere.   The Mohave County Supervisors hired an investigator last October.  Much of the work has focused on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its leader, Warren Jeffs.   Jeffs presides over the border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, where men have multiple wives and dozens of children.   He's also accused of hiding wide-scale sexual abuse of children.

Progress in troubled community

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Monday, February 14, 2005

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – The hard work, frustration and time are paying off in the troubled community of Colorado City.   According to Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith, his office has received six or seven letters from residents of the town expressing their feeling of trust and confidence in special investigator Gary Engels.   "They (residents) feel that Warren Jeffs is ruling by intimidation and it’s nice to have Gary’s presence up there," said Smith.   Smith added he thinks the pressure being exerted both investigatively and privately through hot lines and tips is having an effect and cites Jeffs lack of visibility in the area and the movement of some church members to a compound in El Dorado, Texas.

POLYGAMY AT CENTER OF TOWN HALL MEETING

MARK SHURTLEFF & TERRY GODDARD TO HOST EVENT

News Release Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff Originally published February 23, 2005

For Immediate Release February 23, 2005 Contact Paul Murphy: (801) 538-1892 Utah attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard are inviting the public to attend a Town Hall Meeting in St. George on March 3 to discuss efforts to help victims of domestic violence and child abuse in polygamous communities.  The meeting will include an open forum to talk about what has happened in the past and to seek input on future endeavors.   "We need to break down more barriers so people living in closed communities have the same access to safety and justice as everyone else," says Shurtleff.  "We have come far---but we still have a long way to go."   The Town Hall Meeting will also feature comments from Utah Division of Child and Family Services Region Director Todd Minchey and Arizona Department of Economic Security Director David Berns.  Both agencies have been taking part in regular meetings to help overcome the unique issues facing victims from polygamous communities.   Here are some of the highlights of what Utah and Arizona has been involved with during the past year: Utah received a $700,000 grant to provide additional law enforcement, social services, legal help, shelter and education for domestic violence victims from polygamous communities. Arizona built a multi-use facility in Colorado City that is being used by social workers, law enforcement officers and victims advocates in both states.     Read more

Terry Goddard and Mark Shurtleff to Host Colorado City/Hildale Town Hall

Press Release Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard Originally published February 23, 2005

(Phoenix, AZ) Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff will host a Town Hall meeting to discuss what Arizona and Utah are doing to help victims of domestic violence and child abuse from polygamous communities.  The Town Hall will be held on March 3 at 7:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in St. George, Utah.  The meeting will include an open forum for discussion and questions from the audience.   This Town Hall is part of a continuing outreach effort by Arizona and Utah to address the issues facing the residents of Colorado City and Hildale.  These efforts include the creation of the Arizona Safe Passage Program that provided approximately $80,000 for: A victim advocate in the Mohave County Attorney’s Office. Funds for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office to provide transportation assistance to domestic violence and child abuse victims from Colorado City to nearby shelters or locations outside Mohave County.     Read more

AGs Hosting Polygamy Summit

By Ben Winslow KSL 1160 NewsRadio Originally broadcast February 24, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY-(KSL News) -- Utah and Arizona's Attorneys General are hosting a special summit on polygamy.  Next week's meeting in St. George will include polygamists, anti-polygamy groups and state authorities.   Utah Attorney General's Spokesman Paul Murphy says their focus will be on abuse and domestic violence within polygamy.   He says he wants both sides of the polygamy debate to understand each other.

Utah judicial commission recommends unseating polygamous judge

The Associated Press San Diego Union-Tribune Originally published February 25, 2005

ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Utah Judicial Conduct Commission has recommended that a judge be removed from the bench because he is a polygamist.   The order was reached after Judge Walter Steed and his attorney Rod Parker held a confidential meeting with commission members in January.  It now goes directly to the Utah Supreme Court.   Steed, who has served as Justice Court judge in the polygamous border town of Hildale since 1980, is legally married to one woman and spiritually married to two other women, and has 32 children.  He is a member of the reclusive Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which dominates Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz.   The hearing panel concluded that Steed violated his oath of office because he was breaking the law.   "Judge Steed has willfully engaged in bigamy ... which is a third-degree felony in the state of Utah," the panel wrote.  "By engaging in bigamy, Judge Steed has brought the judiciary into disrepute."   Both the Utah attorney general and Washington County attorney declined to file criminal charges against Steed.   Steed has raised complex constitutional issues in his defense, which the Supreme Court will likely address once it has received the commission's recommendation.   Parker said he believes the cohabitation prong of Utah's bigamy law – which allows prosecutors to pursue people who consider themselves plurally married but have only single legal marriage – is unconstitutional.

Meeting planned on abuse claims in Colo. City

By Mark Hall Today's News-Herald Originally published February 26, 2005

Arizona and Utah authorities will meet in St. George, Utah, next week for a town hall meeting to discuss what officials are doing to help victims of abuse in the polygamist enclave of Colorado City and its sister city of Hildale, Utah.   Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff will host the meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Holiday Inn.   The meeting will include an open for discussion and questions from the audience, to help officials better address the issues facing people living in the community.  In the past few years, the closed society has become a hotbed of allegations, including sexual abuse, domestic violence and fraudulent uses of government aid.   Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, who will be attending the meeting, said it is good both states are following up to a similar meeting that was held two years ago.  Although he said the last meeting was not as productive as it could have been.   "We had the last meeting and it was split into two groups, law enforcement and public hearings.  It could have been a lot more productive than it was," he said.  "(However) it is good to have follow up.   It's good to see that both agencies are working to see that the abuses are brought to an end, especially the abuses of government money."   Since that last meeting, agencies in both states have instituted programs to help prevent, treat and investigate alleged abuses in the communities.     Read more

Town hall to hash out social issues with polygamy

By Rachel Olsen The Spectrum Originally published February 28, 2005

ST. GEORGE - Domestic violence and unique issues in polygamous communities will be hashed out Thursday at a Town Hall Meeting in St. George.   Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and others hope to break down barriers and discuss future endeavors to help victims in the meeting that will be moderated by News Talk 890 KDXU host Cliff Donovan.   Since the summit on polygamy that took place in St. George in August 2003, Utah Attorney General Spokesman Paul Murphy said government agencies, nonprofit groups and polygamist groups have met and worked to accomplish different goals to end domestic violence and child abuse in communities known to be closed to outside sources.   Now, Murphy said, they want to move forward with open communication and, by opening the meeting to the public, the Attorney General's Office hopes that will happen.   "We have people talking about each other and not talking with each other," Murphy said.  "The meeting will probably not be long enough for everyone who wants to speak to speak, but the hope is that it starts a dialogue so this isn't the last time we talk."     Read more

Polygamy summit key to dialogue

IN OUR VIEW The Spectrum Originally published March 1, 2005

There's no election on the line, so both should be applauded for their continued effort to conduct a rational discourse on a subject that does not often lend itself to such debate.   The problem, as pointed out by Utah Attorney General spokesman Paul Murphy, is "We have people talking about each other and not talking with each other."   The reason, of course, is the mountain of distrust that has grown between the two camps.   Polygamists are asking for a fair shot in pursuing their religious beliefs.  They say that the majority of practitioners do not harm children and pay their own way in society.   Those opposed to the practice are backing up their stand with arguments that, for the most part, are based on allegations of child abuse and welfare fraud - the elimination of which is a primary goal, we understand, of this dialogue that Shurtleff began pushing for in 2003.   This, we hope, is a legitimate attempt to bring greater understanding and, hopefully, some solutions.     Read more

Polygamy meeting in Utah draws divided crowd

The Associated Press KVOA News 4 - Tucson Originally broadcast March 3, 2005

ST. GEORGE, Utah Attorneys general of Utah and Arizona addressed a town hall meeting on polygamy this evening.   Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told the crowd of about 350 that they would pursue criminal charges against those involved in forced or underage marriages, sexual abuse and welfare and tax fraud.   That drew an angry reaction from polygamy opponents.   They say the practice is against the law and the law should be enforced.   The meeting drew both polygamous families and those who oppose the practice.  Some were in suits and ties, others in the pioneer-like dresses and elaborate braids common in the polygamous communities.

Officials meet to discuss polygamy

Mohave Daily News Originally published March 4, 2005

ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) - Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard were scheduled to host a town hall meeting Thursday night to discuss efforts to help victims of domestic violence and child abuse in polygamous communities.   Heavy turnout was expected for the meeting, and both polygamists and those concerned with the practice were slated to attend.  On Thursday before it started, the phone number for the group Hope for the Child Brides answered with a message that there was no seating left for those who hadn't already made reservations.   Security for the event was also expected to be high, with both Attorneys General present and a potentially contentious crowd.   The meeting is happening about 50 miles from the twin border towns of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., which are dominated by the several-thousand member Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - perhaps one of the largest polygamous sects remaining.   Shurtleff has put increasing pressure on prosecuting polygamy, but said he doesn't intend to put people in jail simply because they hold multiple marriages.  Instead, he said he's concerned with crimes the polygamous lifestyle is said to encourage, like forced child marriages and tax and welfare fraud.     Read more

Abuse in Polygamy is Topic of Meeting

KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast March 4, 2005

(KSL News) Anti-polygamists, polygamists, and attorney generals look to find common ground on ending abuse in polygamy.   All three groups gathered last night in St. George to discuss the issue.   Supporters say there are several happy families that enjoy the polygamous lifestyle.  Some even said it's their relgious right to practice polygamy.   Prosecutors from Utah and Arizona responded, saying "freedom of religion" isn't an excuse for abuse.   Authorites ended the meeting last night by saying they hope to hold similar meetings soon.

Investigation into FLDS Leader Intensifies

Utah's Attorney General has made no secret that he's named the leader of the Fundamentalist LDS church as the target of a criminal investigation. Now, it appears the noose may be tightening around their necks.

By Ben Winslow KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast March 4, 2005

(KSL News) -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's investigation into Fundamentalist LDS Church Leader Warren Jeffs appears to be intensifying.   Shurtleff says they're interested in talking to Winston Blackmore.  He's the former number three man in the FLDS Church, and made a surprise appearance at last night's polygamy summit.  "Maybe he knows things because he's been high up in the leadership.   We'll go from there."   Shurtleff says it appears Jeffs has left the state.  He says if they bring criminal charges, it won't matter if Jeffs is in Texas or anywhere else.

Polygamy town meeting

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Sunday, March 6, 2005

ST. GEORGE, Utah – Nearly 300 people packed a hotel ballroom Thursday night for a town meeting on polygamy, hosted by Attorneys General from Utah and Arizona.   According to Arizona Attorney General spokesperson Andrea Esquer, the purpose of the meeting was to try and keep communication open with the communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz.   "Part of our effort is to do these meetings in the open where you feel like you can ask any questions that you would like answered," said Esquer.  "I believe that happened."   Esquer said both Attorney General Goddard and Shurtleff stressed the importance of reporting child abuse and other illegal actions within the communities.

Sheahan’s Visit

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published March 16, 2005

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. - Amid growing speculation and analysis that church leader Warren Jeffs is planning to abandon Colorado City and relocate in Texas with his most faithful followers, Sheriff Tom Sheahan planned to visit the north Mohave County community today and tomorrow.   Sheahan said he wanted to talk with deputies and others to get a better feel for what may or may not happen there.  "I'm heading up there for a couple of days to review our policies, meet with staff and cover the finer points of issues we're dealing with in Colorado City," the Sheriff said.   Sheahan said any exodus from Colorado City and abandonment of residents there would likely trigger need of more involvement from the social service sector than law enforcement officers.  But he said his Department will cover other contingencies as well.   "Whenever there are issues of religion and the possibility of dissention or disruption, we're always prepared to respond with a contingent of officers if need be," Sheahan said.   "What would probably happen though would be a major social issue as far as dependency on the state for basic needs if they're abandoned from their so-called church and their so-called leader."   Sheahan said there's reason to believe peace would prevail in any scenario involving exodus and abandonment.   The Sheriff noted there was no unrest or uprising when leaders excommunicated dozens of people, some of them very prominent, from the church in January 2004.

Board of Supervisors to meet

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Saturday, March 19, 2005

Bullhead City, Ariz. – It will be a busy Monday for the Mohave County Board of Supervisors.   Along with their normal agenda, the board will be adopting two proclamations, one on fair housing and the other to set aside the last week in March as National Community Development Block Grant Week.   Also on the agenda is a presentation on federal restructuring of the community and economic development grant programs.  Some other items up for consideration and possible vote include extending for one year the contract of Gary Engels, the special investigator working in the Colorado City area, as well as possible approval of the lease agreement with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for space in the Joint Use Facility in Colorado City.   The meeting will be held in the Bullhead City Council chambers and begins at 9:00 am.

Supervisors to meet in Bullhead City Monday

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published Saturday, March 19, 2005

KINGMAN - The Mohave County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing Monday to discuss a proposed ordinance regulating the use of county parks.   Monday's meeting will be the first of two Board meetings held in Bullhead City this year.   Several dozen employees from Bullhead City area recreational vehicle dealers attended a Board meeting in February expressing concerns about regulating the use of county public parks, especially Davis Camp County Park.   The issue was brought up when Bullhead City refused to issue a temporary use permit to La Mesa RV to hold a recreational vehicle sales event at Davis Camp.  The county issued La Mesa a use permit.   A Superior Court judge ruled in the county's favor, which allowed La Mesa RV to hold the show.   Local recreational vehicle dealers opposed commercial sales event such as put on by La Mesa RV.   Also on the agenda, the supervisors will also be asked to transfer $64,844 from the county general fund to cover the cost of this year's West Nile Virus season.     Read more

Supervisors OK new park use law

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published Monday, March 21, 2005

KINGMAN - The Mohave County Board of Supervisors approved a new county ordinance Monday regulating the use of county parks.   Meeting in Bullhead City for the first of two scheduled meetings this year, the supervisors heard arguments concerning a new ordinance that grew out of dispute when Bullhead City refused to issue a temporary use permit to La Mesa RV to hold a recreational vehicle sales event at Davis Camp.   La Mesa RV also held a similar sales event in November.   A Superior Court judge ruled in the county's favor in January, which allowed La Mesa RV to hold the show later that month.   Charles Stickerod of Paul Everts RV County in Bullhead City said he is opposed to the recent recreational vehicle shows held at Davis Camp.   Stickerod said any out-of-area businesses that holds RV or any sales events generally take millions of dollars from the area for its own personal use and is not a benefit to the local economy.   Stickerod spoke of the amount of money donated to local schools, police and fire departments by his and other local recreational vehicle businesses.     Read more

One more year

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published March 23, 2005

MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. – Mohave County special investigator Gary Engels will continue his work in Colorado City.   According to county supervisor Buster Johnson, the board voted to extend the contract of Engels for another year at Monday night’s Board of Supervisors meeting held in Bullhead City.   Johnson said he has heard nothing but positive things about Engels and the work he has accomplished in Colorado City.   "The people up there seem to trust him quite a bit right now and he’s making good in roads so I think it is a position that needs to be looked at as a permanent position," said Johnson.   Johnson added that Utah officials are also pleased with the progress Engels has been able to make.

Lease

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published March 23, 2005

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – The Mohave County Board of Supervisors approved the lease agreement with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for space at the Joint Use Facility in Colorado City, according to Mohave County Manager representative, Yvonne Orr.  County offices run half the building, while the other half is state offices.   "It’s related to the polygamist activities, is why there’s a presence of both state and county up there," said Orr.   Orr stated, "The Attorney General’s office is joining the Department of Economic Security (DES), the Sheriff’s office, and Victim’s Witness."   Andrea Esquer from the Attorney General’s office stated, "Even though we have no full time staff up there, attorneys and investigators are in and out of that office when needed."

Study group to look at human trafficking, polygamy

The Associated Press KOLD News 13 - Tucson Originally published April 1, 2005

BOISE, Idaho Idaho lawmakers will appoint a committee to study human trafficking in their state.   Officials in northern Idaho are concerned by reports of a polygamous religious group moving from Canada to Boundary County.   They're hearing rumors that the group is trading child brides with another polygamous group in Utah.   And some southern Idaho lawmakers have heard rumors about men bringing home wives from other countries and then exploiting them for prostitution or slave labor.   The committee will study the issue over the summer and may hold hearings on the matter.   Next winter, that information may be used to develop new legislation.

Getting Tough on Polygamy in Texas

Texas lawmakers want to get tough on polygamy. They're proposing a series of new laws that crack down on child bride marriages.

By Ben Winslow KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast April 11, 2005

(KSL News) -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is going to Texas this week to testify before their state legislature.   He's pushing them to pass legislation aimed at polygamy.   Shurtleff says, "Certainly they should be concerned about practices that we found within this group and other groups like them.  And that's my understanding.  From what I've looked at the bill so far and from what I've discussed with them, they're just focusing on what would be considered criminal conduct within these groups."   The proposed bills raise the marriage age in Texas from 14 to 16.  It also outlaws polygamy and child bride marriages.  The Fundamentalist LDS Church is building a temple in the Texas prairie town of Eldorado.

Lawmaker files bill raising age of marriage consent

The Associated Press KVIA ABC 7 - El Paso, Texas Originally broadcast April 13, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas A state lawmaker has proposed raising the age of consent to marriage from 14 to 16.   The proposal from state Representative Harvey Hilderbran responds to a polygamous religious sect's move from Utah and Arizona to West Texas.   The Kerrville Republican's proposal also would outlaw the marriage of stepparents to stepchildren and toughen requirements for running for office.   The bill was assigned today to the House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues.   It's aimed at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which has built a new complex just about 40 miles south of San Angelo.  Members are forbidden access to newspapers, radio, television or the Internet and to speak to outsiders.   Utah lawyer Rod Parker has represented reclusive prophet Warren Jeffs and other members of the sect Jeffs leads.  He says the bill results from misinformation and stereotyping by those who aim to destroy the church.   The FLDS is one of several groups that split from the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the decades after it renounced polygamy in 1890.   Hilderbran's bill is HB 3006.

Panel looks at polygamous sect

By Mark Lisheron - Cox News Service The Oxford Press - Oxford, Ohio Originally published Thursday, April 14, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas — Expert witnesses warned a House committee Wednesday that a polygamous sect taking root in West Texas is led by a man who poses a danger to women and children in the sect and has the capacity to incite religiously inspired violence.   The witnesses included Mark Shurtleff, the attorney general of Utah, who told the House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee that he has spent most of his last term in office trying to bring charges of pedophilia, child sexual abuse and welfare fraud against the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints.  The church, based in two twin communities on the Utah and Arizona border, is currently completing the infrastructure for a town four miles north of Eldorado, south of San Angelo.   The attorney general told the committee that a code of silence, intimidation and the statute of limitations on sex crimes in Utah have thwarted his efforts to prosecute Warren Jeffs, who refers to himself as the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church.  But his ongoing investigation of the sect and a decision by the state of Utah to increase penalties for crimes alleged to have been committed by Jeffs and other sect leaders led to the sect's move to Texas, Shurtleff told the committee.   Shurtleff urged the committee to approve House Bill 3006, introduced by Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrvile, which would change Texas law in areas directed at the practices of the church.  Hilderbran called on the committee to raise the age of parental consent for marriage in Texas to 16 from 14, to ban people from marrying their stepparent or stepchild and increase residency requirements for people running for local and district offices.   "This is an evil culture," author Jon Krakauer told the committee Wednesday.     Read more

Polygamist church placed on hate-groups list

The Associated Press KLTV Channel 7 - Tyler, TX Originally broadcast April 21, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY Recently ported comments made years ago by the leader of a polygamous church held that blacks are the "seed of Cain" and "uncouth or rude and filthy."   Warren Jeffs is president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  His comments have resulted in the church being placed on a list of hate groups compiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center.   Mark Potok is director of the Montgomery, Alabama-based center's Intelligence Project.  He says listings are done strictly based on ideology and have nothing to do with a record of criminality.   The comments by Jeffs were in tape recordings apparently made in the mid- to late-1990s.  Church attorney Rodney Parker of Salt Lake City says the remarks come from a strict interpretation of the early teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He says they're not racist.   The polygamous group came to the center's attention through news reports about its purchase of a ranch near Eldorado, Texas, and construction of a small community there.

Lawmaker takes aim at polygamist sect

House provision would strengthen marriage restrictions

By Karen Brooks The Dallas Morning News Originally published Thursday, April 21, 2005

AUSTIN – A lawmaker bent on reining in a polygamist sect in West Texas pushed a provision through the House this week to tighten restrictions on marriages and give the state broader powers in investigating child abuse.   An amendment tacked onto the massive overhaul of the state's protective services this week targets members of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints who moved from Utah and Arizona onto a ranch outside Eldorado more than a year ago.   The legislation passed with no floor debate or opposition.  It still must pass the Senate.   The sponsor, Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, had filed a separate bill with support from Eldorado and Schleicher County officials and the Utah attorney general.   The church was originally part of the mainstream Mormon church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but broke away in the 1800s after the Mormons denounced plural marriage.   Attorneys for the sect have said the group has done nothing wrong and is being persecuted for its religious convictions.     Read more

Polygamist sect on hate groups list

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published April 24, 2005

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – The polygamist group in Colorado City led by Warren Jeffs has been named to a hate group list by a civil rights organization.   According to Southern Poverty Law Center project director Mark Potok, the group has been named to the hate group’s list because of specific remarks made by Jeffs about blacks that were recorded in the mid to late 90’s.   "Hate groups for us are groups that either in their platform or in the writings or speeches of their leader or leaders espouses some kind of ideology that says a whole group of people are wicked basically; are somehow less."   Potok said there are a total of 762 groups that are on the latest list, which comes out this week.   The list includes all the areas where the polygamist group controls property, which are Colorado City; Hildale, Utah; Eldorado, Texas; and Mancos, Colo.

Senate rejects broad authority for state

The Associated Press KVOA Channel 4 - Tucson Originally broadcast April 28, 2005

PHOENIX Legislators broke a logjam today on an issue arising from a polygamist community's troubled school district.   That happened as the Senate voted to limit the possible grounds for state takeovers of dysfunctional districts and to allow appointment of receivers only for financial mismanagement.   The Senate rejected a proposal that also would have allowed takeovers for such reasons as failing to hire certified teachers or have students take a state-required test.   The bill now awaits a formal Senate vote.  Passage would send it back to the House for consideration of changes made by the Senate.   The legislation is a reaction to problems experienced by the Colorado City Unified School District.   Its teachers went unpaid for two months last year because the district ran out of money.

Local lawmen meet with Utah, Arizona authorities

The Eldorado Success myeldorado.net Originally published May 5, 2005

Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran and Chief Deputy George Arispe traveled to Arizona and Utah last week where they met with local, state and federal law enforcement officials to discuss issues connected with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The group, which practices polygamy, broke away from the mainline Mormon church more than a hundred years ago.  The FLDS has come under intense scrutiny in recent months from Utah and Arizona law enforcement agencies.   Doran and Arispe met in Kingman, AZ on Wednesday, April 27, 2005 with authorities from the Arizona and Utah Attorney General offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as officials from Mohave County, AZ, Washington County, UT, where they exchanged information and reviewed several ongoing investigations.   Doran declined to comment on specifics of the meeting but did acknowledge that he received updates from Utah and Arizona officials.   "I know that people here are concerned about all the allegations that have been made against the FLDS." Doran commented.   "I want them to know that we are continuing to monitor things at the YFZ Ranch and that we are staying in touch with other law enforcement agencies."     Read more

Napolitano signs receiver bill

The Associated Press KOLD Channel 13 - Tucson Originally broadcast May 11, 2005

PHOENIX Governor Napolitano says she hopes a bill she has signed into law will allow state officials to clean up financial troubles of a school district serving a northern Arizona polygamist community.   Napolitano on Monday signed a bill passed last week by the Legislature to allow the state to appoint receivers to take over operation of school districts deemed to be financially dysfunctional.   The bill is a response to the financial troubles of the unified school district serving Colorado City.   Napolitano says she thinks the bill gives the Department of Education and the Attorney General the authority to act on the Colorado City district's problems.

Ariz., Utah put squeeze on sect

States seize polygamists' school financial records

By Dennis Wagner The Arizona Republic Originally published May 26, 2005

The seizure of financial records Tuesday at Colorado City Unified School District signals another turn of the legal vice being used to squeeze religious leaders out of a community of polygamists along Arizona's border with Utah.   School district papers and computers were confiscated using a search warrant issued under seal by a court.  Attorney General Terry Goddard confirmed that the maneuver is part of "a strategy to apply pressure in any legitimate way we can" against prophets within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, a breakaway sect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  "It's beginning to pay off," Arizona's top prosecutor added.   The sect and its estimated 6,000 members are not affiliated with mainstream Mormonism.  Through elections and a religious trust, they control the school district, municipal government and most property in the isolated towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah.   More than a half-century ago, law enforcement efforts to root out polygamy in the area culminated in the Short Creek raid, a political and public relations disaster.  In 1953, Gov. Howard Pyle sent scores of peace officers into the community to protect children and put down an "insurrection" against public law.  News photographs of tearful children being taken from their mothers prompted a national backlash.  Most of the criminal charges were dropped.  Pyle lost the next election.   Goddard said he and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff agreed two years ago to try again based on numerous complaints of sexual exploitation, welfare fraud and tax evasion.     Read more

Arizona Cracking Down On Leaders Of Polygamist Community

The Associated Press KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast May 26, 2005

PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona authorities are putting pressure on leaders of a community of polygamists along the state's border with Utah.   Armed with a search warrant, authorities seized boxes of financial records, other documents and computers Tuesday as part of a two-year-old criminal investigation into alleged financial mismanagement of the Colorado City Unified School District.   Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said the maneuver was part of "a strategy to apply pressure in any legitimate way we can" to leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   The sect and its estimated 6,000 members control the school district, municipal government and most property in the isolated towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah.   Goddard said he and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff agreed two years ago to try a coordinated crackdown on the sect's leaders after numerous complaints of sexual exploitation, welfare fraud and tax evasion.   Goddard said a new action is planned this week in Utah seeking to wrest control of the United Effort Plan, a church trust that controls FLDS property.     Read more

Truckload of records seized

The Associated Press KOLD News 13 - Tucson Originally broadcast May 27, 2005

PHOENIX State authorities are investigating questionable spending and possible misuse of vehicles and equipment owned by a polygamist community's financially troubled school district.   That's according to newly released records related to Tuesday's search of Colorado City Unified School District offices.   Assisted by other law enforcement officers, Attorney general's investigators on Tuesday seized a truckload of computers and paper records from district located in the isolated community in extreme northwestern Arizona.

A Court Decision Could Bring More Trouble to the FLDS

KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast May 27, 2005

A court decision could bring more trouble for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   Today a judge approved the state's request for independent parties to take control of the polygamous church's assets.   The decision brings more trouble for FLDS church leader Warren Jeffs.   The trust is estimated at 100-million dollars.   Tim Bodily Asst. Attorney General "THE STATE IS NOT NECESSARILY ASKING THE ASSETS TO BE FROZEN, IT JUST TO ASK THAT CERTAINLY THE ASSETS NOT CONTINUALLY BE DISBURSED."   The Attorney General's Office will ask a judge next month to remove the FLDS leaders as trustees.

Judge Approves State Request To Hamstring Polygamous Trust

KUTV 2 News Headlines Originally published May 27, 2005

A judge on Friday installed an outside auditor to take control of a polygamous church's assets, which state officials argued was necessary to keep its reclusive president from selling assets below market value to insiders.   Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's office had sought the order against trustees for a fund operated by the southern Utah-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its president, Warren Jeffs.   Virtually all property in the twin border communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. - where a majority of the area's 10,000 residents are members of the FLDS church - was at one time transferred to the United Effort Plan trust to be shared by church members.  Jeffs has been accused of leveraging that control to oust members that might threaten his authority.   Shurtleff alleges Jeffs is liquidating church assets under intensified pressure.   Assistant Attorney General Tim Bodily argued Friday the trust has transferred from $3 million to $5 million in land holdings to shadow companies set up by Jeffs' close associates, leaving only the land under which the lower-level church members live in its real estate portfolio.   Some ousted church members have sued the trust, and won the right to either remain living in their homes or be compensated fair market value from the UEP if they decide to leave.   Bodily said if the sell-off continued, there wouldn't be any funds left for church members who sought compensation.     Read more

Utah: Judge Allows Temporary Shift on Church Assets

Associated Press The New York Times Originally published May 28, 2005

A judge approved a state request for independent parties to take temporary control of the assets of a polygamous church.   Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff had sought the order against a trust operated by the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its leader, Warren Jeffs.  Virtually all property in the twin communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., where a majority of the 10,000 residents are members of the church, was at one time transferred to the trust, the United Effort Plan.

Judge grants an order to suspend FLDS trustees

Fiduciary is appointed to track any improper financial dealings

By Linda Thomson Deseret Morning News Originally published Saturday, May 28, 2005

Third District Judge Robert Adkins on Friday granted a temporary restraining order suspending the trustees who oversee a special trust owned by a polygamist church and appointed an independent financial supervisor to track the trust's assets.   Adkins' actions were in response to arguments from the Utah Attorney General's Office regarding assets of the United Effort Plan, a trust owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   The polygamist group is based primarily in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., with a new compound being built in Eldorado, Texas.   Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has voiced concerns that the church's leader, Warren Jeffs, and five trustees handling the funds may be shedding trust assets below market value, which would not benefit all church members.  Shurtleff said this court action is needed to protect church members.   The value of the trust is unknown, although estimates are between $100 million to $200 million.   "Most of the real estate appears to be related to the homes of individuals (who are members of the church).  I don't know what is left in the trust right now," said assistant attorney general Timothy Bodily.   The judge appointed Bruce Wisan as a special fiduciary on a limited basis to trace and recover any proceeds from the trust that may have been improperly liquidated.     Read more

Ariz. gets standing in church fund case

By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic - Flagstaff Bureau Originally published June 7, 2005

A Utah judge on Monday extended a temporary restraining order by 10 days on a polygamist faction living in the area of Colorado City in an attempt to keep it from liquidating millions of dollars in assets.   "The only other thing that came out of the hearing was giving a member of the Arizona Attorney General's Office legal standing to participate in this case," said Paul Murphy, a spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.   Another hearing will be held June 16 to attempt to get another restraining order against the United Effort Plan of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, court officials in Salt Lake City said.   A full hearing is scheduled for June 22 on an action filed by the Utah Attorney General's Office appointing a special fiduciary to take control of the church trust, which has been estimated to be worth as much as $200 million, including cash, real estate and other business ventures.   Despite the court order, leaders of the sect have been accused of removing buildings and taking other church assets from Hildale, Utah, and neighboring Colorado City, Ariz.   Warren Jeffs, leader of the FLDS church, is believed to be living at a church compound near Eldorado, Texas.  Jeffs has been named as a defendant in two Utah civil suits.  One was filed by a nephew, accusing him of sodomy, and the other, by former members of the church, alleges a cover-up of child-sex abuse.     Read more

Grand Jury Indicts Warren Jeffs

The Associated Press KUTV Channel 2 Originally broadcast June 10, 2005

The leader of a polygamous sect was indicted on charges that he arranged a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a man who was already married, prosecutors said Friday.   Warren Jeffs, president of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was charged with conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.   Jeffs, 49, didn't have sex with the teenager but arranged her marriage to a 28-year-old man who was already married, said Mohave County Attorney Matthew Smith.   "He can't marry someone else," Smith said.   The 28-year-old man, whose identity won't be released until the indictment is delivered to him, was charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual conduct with a minor.   If convicted, Jeffs would face a jail sentence ranging from four months to two years.   Jeffs’ whereabouts were unknown.  He hasn't been seen publicly in more than a year and is thought by some to be in Texas on a new church ranch.   Prosecutors asked a judge to allow authorities to release Jeffs’ name in hopes that it would help apprehend the church leader, Smith said.     Read more

Prosecutors say more charges could be leveled against polygamist leader

The Associated Press KOLD News 13 - Tucson Originally broadcast June 10, 2005

KINGMAN, Ariz. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith says more criminal cases could build against Warren Jeffs, now that the leader of a polygamist church in Colorado City and neighboring Hilldale, Utah, has been indicted.   Smith says more alleged victims of arranged marriages and underage sex could come forward now that the first case has been filed.   Smith earned a grand jury indictment charging Jeffs with conspiracy and sexual conduct with a minor.   Jeffs allegedly arranged a marriage and encouraged the underage female and her ceremonial adult husband to "multiply and replenish the Earth."   Smith says the prosecution and related publicity could lead to more cases against the 49-year-old church leader as other victims may be encouraged to share their stories. (thanks to Dave Hawkins, KGMN)

Office of Attorney General Terry Goddard

STATE OF ARIZONA ANDREA M. ESQUER DEPARTMENT OF LAW PRESS SECRETARY 12 75 W. WASHINGTON STREET PHONE: (602) 542-8019 PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85007-2926 CELL PHONE: (602) 725-2200 WWW.AZAG.GOV     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Goddard Commends Indictment of Warren Jeffs

(Phoenix, Ariz. - June 10, 2005) Attorney General Terry Goddard today commended Mojave County officials for obtaining an indictment of Warren S. Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints in Colorado City, Ariz. The indictment included one count of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. Both charges are Class 6 felonies. The Mohave County Attorney's office has primary jurisdiction in prosecuting this case. "This was a courageous move by the Mohave County Attorney Matthew Smith to pursue an investigation and get an indictment," Goddard said. "This action makes it clear that Arizona law enforcement is serious about prosecuting child abuse cases and other crimes committed in Colorado City area. It is my hope this case will encourage other victims from the Colorado City/Hildale area will to come forward and report these crimes." Goddard said his office will continue to work with the Mohave County Attorney and Sheriff's offices and the Utah Attorney General's Office in ongoing investigations in the Colorado City/Hildale area.

Shurtleff: Indictment could force Jeffs out of hiding

The Associated Press KVIA ABC 7 - El Paso, Texas Originally broadcast June 11, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY A reclusive church leader believed to be in Texas has been charged with arranging a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a man who was already married.   Forty-nint-year-old Warren Jeffs is the leader of a polygamous sect.   He was indicted in Arizona with sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.   Utah officials also have been trying to serve Jeffs with court papers severing his control over a wealthy trust.  But a process server was turned away at a Texas ranch where Jeffs is believed to be sequestered.   Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says Arizona is likely to ask Texas authorities to execute an arrest warrant for Jeffs.  That would force him answer a series of civil complaints.   Jeffs is the subject of several civil complaints filed by residents in the polygamous enclaves of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.   His nephew claims Jeffs sexually assaulted him when he was a child.   Six other men say Jeffs banished them and other young men from the community.

FLDS leader indicted on 2 felony counts

Did Jeffs arrange marriage of girl to a married man?

By Nancy Perkins and Wendy Leonard Deseret Morning News Originally published Saturday, June 11, 2005

A criminal indictment issued by an Arizona grand jury for the arrest of Warren Steed Jeffs alleges the polygamous church leader committed two felony counts of child sex abuse in 2002.   Jeffs is accused of arranging a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a man who was already married.   The indictment was issued Thursday after a Mohave County, Ariz., grand jury met for an hour and fifteen minutes to hear the allegations against Jeffs, said Mohave County Attorney Matthew Smith.   "The charges are sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor," Smith said Friday after receiving permission from an Arizona Superior Court judge to release the indictment information to the public.  "Jeffs is not charged with personally having sexual contact with the girl but with arranging the marriage of a 16-year-old girl with a man who was at least 10 years older than she."   The warrant for Jeffs includes one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, both class 6 felonies under Arizona law.   A warrant for the arrest of the unnamed then-28-year-old man for whom Jeffs allegedly arranged the marriage, was also issued by the grand jury.  He is charged with two counts of sexual assault on a minor and one count of sexual conduct with a minor, all class 6 felonies.   Smith said it wasn't necessary to have a victim available to testify to a grand jury, "But we did."   The alleged victim is now 19 years old, he added.   The Mohave County Attorney's Office also has recently obtained indictments against two other men accused of taking part in arranged marriages with minors.     Read more

AG's Office is addressing polygamy issues

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published June 12, 2005

Let me get this straight, does The Spectrum now want to see every polygamist prosecuted?   In its June 5 editorial, The Spectrum stated, "Illegal activity is illegal activity and Shurtleff is being paid by taxpayers to enforce the laws."   Last year The Spectrum endorsed the opposite approach in a June 13, 2004 editorial, with the comment, "Perhaps it is time for the state to consider decriminalizing polygamy as a practice between consenting adults.  What adults do in the privacy of their own homes is their business."   Despite the newspaper's flip-flopping, our message has been consistent: The Attorney General's Office investigates and prosecutes crimes within polygamist communities, but the primary focus is on crimes involving abuse, domestic violence and fraud.  We have acknowledged that we don't have the resources to investigate and prosecute consensual adults living in bigamous relationships.   Likewise, our office does not prosecute routine robberies or drug crimes - local law enforcement has primary jurisdiction on those kinds of cases.   We save our limited resources for the most serious and complex crimes.   For 50 years, the people living in polygamous communities have been ignored and have not had equal protection under the law.  This is the first time that the Attorney General's Office, or any other law enforcement agency, has made such a commitment to bring the rule of law to these closed communities, including:     Read more

Warrant out for polygamist leader

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published June 13, 2005

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – A warrant for the arrest of Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamy-endorsing church in Colorado City, Ariz. and the neighboring border town of Hilldale, Utah, has been issued by a Mohave County Superior Court Judge in Kingman, following the indictment of Jeffs and another man on sex offense charges.   Jeffs, 49, is charged with sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor in a five-count indictment handed up Thursday by a grand jury in Kingman.  The other three counts charge an unidentified man with sex offenses involving the same alleged victim, according to Mohave County attorney Matt Smith.   Smith said he cannot detail the other counts or identify the other man because the defendant has not been served the indictment or been arrested, though an arrest warrant has issued in his case as well.  He said Judge Steven F. Conn made in exception in the case of Jeffs.   Judge Conn granted a prosecution motion Friday allowing the state to disclose the indictment and warrant involving Jeffs in an effort to locate and arrest him.  "The only hope to execute the warrant is with public input," the motion said.   "It is very difficult to find him," Smith said of Jeffs during a Friday interview.  "He is not readily available and he has not been seen for quite some time in Colorado City."     Read more

Resident of polygamous community named in arrest warrant

The Associated Press KPHO News 5 - Phoenix Originally broadcast June 14, 2005

KINGMAN, Ariz. A judge has issued an arrest warrant for a Colorado City man who failed to appear for arraignment after being indicted.   Prosecutor Steve Wilson says 38-year-old Kelly Fischer fled when an investigator recently tried to contact him.   It's not known if the charges are polygamy-related.  That's because the indictment against Fischer has been sealed.   A warrant for Fischer's arrest was issued yesterday in Kingman by Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steve Conn.   (Thanks to Dave Hawkins at KGMN)

Arizona prosecutor promises more sex-crimes prosecutions

Associated Press The Arizona Republic Originally published June 15, 2005

KINGMAN - A prosecutor promises more sex-crimes prosecutions involving men in the northern Arizona polygamous community of Colorado City.   Targeted will be men who have sex with underage girls they've taken in plural marriages.   Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith told county supervisors yesterday that his office has indicted two other Colorado City men in addition to polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs and an unnamed co-defendant.   Smith also said his office would seek indictments against as many as 15 additional men over the next six weeks.   Jeffs heads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, most of whose members live in Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah.   Last Thursday, a Mohave County grand jury indicted Jeffs on charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.   Jeffs isn't accused of having sex with a minor, only of arranging the marriage of a 16-year-old girl to a 28-year-old married man.

Boulder author aims to find sect leader

By Deborah Frazier Rocky Mountain News Originally published June 17, 2005

Boulder author Jon Krakauer, who wrote a best-seller on a polygamous sect, is actively involved in searching for the group's fugitive leader, law enforcement officials said Thursday.   The offices of the Utah and Arizona attorneys general said Krakauer has continued to follow the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints since the book was published in 2003.   "Krakauer is actively investigating a lot of things, including the whereabouts of Warren Jeffs," said Paul Murphy, spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.   Jeffs, 49, heads the sect that has lived on the Arizona-Utah border for nearly a century.   It is sometimes confused with the mainstream Mormon church, which has excommunicated polygamists since 1890.   Krakauer, who wrote Under The Banner of Heaven: A Story Of Violent Faith, a history of Mormon fundamentalism, was unavailable for comment Thursday.   Jeffs, pursued by Arizona and Utah authorities, bought a secluded retreat in southwestern Colorado near Mancos and has established a new community for the sect in West Texas.  Jeffs hasn't been seen in public since January, when Krakauer took his picture at the site of the sect's first temple on the West Texas ranch.   "Jon Krakauer did a lot of investigation when he wrote his book and he's kept actively involved," said Gary Engels, a Mohave County, Ariz., sheriff's investigator.     Read more

Colorado City Discussion

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published June 19, 2005

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – An overview of Colorado City was the topic of discussion at Tuesday’s Lake Havasu City Republican Men’s Club meeting.   Margaret Nyberg talked about what goes on in Colorado City and handed out different statistics and articles about the area.  Nyberg said the polygamist sect is spreading to many different areas.   "It is not just here in Arizona the biggest ones are in Bounty Canada and then down in Mexico and they are also building a new place in Colorado and Texas," said Nyberg.   Club member Maury Coburn expressed his opinion on the coverage of Colorado City.   "There are things and people that ought to be prosecuted and they should be but I think that people that write these things are picking up a lot of rumors and innuendos and isolated cases," said Coburn.   Nyberg also retold stories that Flora Jessop shared in a meeting last week in Lake Havasu City.

A tragic drama unfolds

Justice must play the starring role in saga of polygamist cult

Opinions The Arizona Republic Originally published June 22, 2005

The characters are right out of a central casting:   The reclusive leader of a cult with a $100 million trust fund.  Child brides forced into polygamous marriages.   Lost boys run out of town so they can't compete for wives.  Prosecutors whose efforts may seem slow, but whose tenacity is essential.   The setting is Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, twin towns where secrets like domestic violence, incest, child abuse and the sodomizing of little boys are only revealed in the hesitant voices of those who escape, and the cold phrases of civil lawsuits filed against a cult called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   The plot includes hideaways in Texas, Canada, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada and Mexico, where the now-missing FLDS leader Warren Jeffs may be holed up.  It includes soothing promises from a Texas sheriff that he will not storm the cult's Texas compound in response to an Arizona criminal warrant issued against Jeffs earlier this month.  That's because this thriller of sex, violence and greed in the name of God also includes the potential to explode into another Waco.   At least that's the fear.   Fear has long protected a group built on polygamy and cult strategies of mind control.   For five decades, law enforcement officials feared the consequences of moving against a cult leader whose followers allow him to control every aspect of their lives.     Read more

FLDS Leader Removed From Church Trust

The Associated Press KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast June 22, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Today, a judge removed polygamist Warren Jeffs and five other church leaders as managers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints trust.   The trust includes the property and homes of the church members, who mainly live in the twin cities of Hildale and Colorado City, Arizona.  But in the last year, Jeffs had begun selling off the assets.   Last month, the Utah Attorney General's office stepped in, asking the courts to protect church members by freezing the trust assets and appoint new trustees.   So far, eight people, including two women, have been suggested to replace Jeffs and four others.   Next month, a judge will determine which of the suggested people will be appointed to manage the trust.

Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Still Missing

KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast June 22, 2005

Police still haven't found polygamist Warren Jeffs.   But, they've cut off his money supply.   A judge today removed Jeffs and five other high-ranking leaders of the FLDS Church as managers of a trust held by the church.   The trust controls most of the land, buildings and businesses in Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.   A judge froze the trust last month following reports Jeffs had started selling off the assets.   A few weeks ago, Arizona authorities charged Jeffs for arranging a polygamist marriage between a teenage girl and a 28 year old man.

Judge removes UEP leaders from trust

Order withdraws leaders' control of more than $100 million in assets

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published June 23, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY - A Salt Lake City judge signed an order Wednesday morning removing Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prophet Warren Jeffs and five other members of the church as trustees of the United Effort Plan.   The Utah Attorney General's Office had asked for and was granted a temporary restraining order against the trustees last month to prevent UEP trustees from transferring assets - including land, equipment or funds - out of the trust.   Although it isn't certain how much the UEP trust is worth, it is estimated that it controls about $100 million in funds and assets.   Third District Court Judge Glenn Iwasaki signed the order permanently removing the six trustees, which includes Jeffs, Leroy Jeffs, Winston Blackmore, James Zitting, Truman Barlow and William E. Jessop, also known as William E. Timpson.  With the exception of Blackmore, none of the other trustees appeared in court.   Two weeks ago, Warren Jeffs, the leader of the FLDS church, was indicted on two separate felony charges in Mohave County, and an arrest warrant was issued for Jeffs' arrest.  The charges against Jeffs include sexual misconduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct with a minor for reportedly arranging a marriage between a 28-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl.     Read more

Sect loses grip on towns

Judge severs polygamist leaders' control of trust fund

By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic - Flagstaff Bureau Originally published June 23, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY - A Utah probate judge stripped the powerful polygamist leaders of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, from financial control of their sect, a move expected to bring about widespread changes in the nation's largest multiple-marriage community.   A hearing is scheduled for July 21 to appoint new trustees to oversee the neighboring towns' estimated $150 million United Effort Plan trust.  The new board is expected to be considerably different from the patriarchs of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who have financially controlled the towns since the trust was formed 65 years ago.   Wednesday's action removes six people from the trust including FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who still enjoys widespread religious backing in the two towns.   "We're pleased with the court's decision to take the trustees out of the picture," said Andrea Esquer, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Attorney General's Office.  "Our biggest concern is if all the FLDS leadership leaves Colorado City, what kind of a safety net will be left behind."   The trust was formed in 1940 based on utopian, frontier Mormon concepts of all possessions being shared within a community by the faithful.  The trust maintains legal control of all property and buildings while church members tithe their work earnings to the sect.     Read more

Attorney General Terry Goddard

‘... We Get To Be On The Right Side Of Litigation’

By Don Harris Arizona Capitol Times Originally published June 24, 2005

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard sees his role as protecting those who are unable to protect themselves.   That explains why his office is playing a role in investigating the polygamist community of Colorado City and methamphetamine labs that pose a danger to youngsters living in those contaminated environments.   Mr. Goddard, a Democrat 2 1/2 years into his term as the state’s chief law enforcement officer, also targets consumer fraud and is embroiled in controversy over implementation of Proposition 200, a voter-approved measure aimed at illegal immigrants.   Arizona Capitol Times interviewed Mr. Goddard in his office June 14. What’s the situation in Colorado City, comment on legislative action related to that polygamist community, and where do you go from here? We’ve made some significant progress in the last month.   It’s the result of two years of very hard preparation.  The last piece to fall into place is Matt Smith’s indictment, the Mohave County attorney’s indictment of Warren Jeffs [president of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — no relationship to the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints] for sexual crimes with a minor.  It’s something we all hoped would happen.   We thought there was probably grounds for it, but my office does not have the jurisdiction so it’s up to the county attorney in Mohave County or in Utah to bring charges if they felt they were valid.  The grand jury in Mohave County made that determination, so that added to our search warrants of the school district in Colorado City.  We’re really striking at three different important parts of the power of Warren Jeffs.     Read more

FBI Seeking Polygamous Community Prophet

KPHO News 5 - Phoenix Originally broadcast July 8, 2005

Special Agent in Charge Jana D. Monroe of the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced today Friday that the FBI and the Mohave County Attorney's Office are requesting the public's assistance with information concerning the whereabouts of Warren Steed Jeffs.   Jeffs, prophet of the polygamous community known as the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, is being sought in a joint effort by the FBI and the Mohave County Attorney’s Office.  An arrest warrant was issued by the Mohave County Attorney on June 9, 2005 charging Jeffs with sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.   Jeffs was subsequently charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, in a federal arrest warrant, issued by the United States Magistrate Court, District of Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona, on June 27, 2005.   Jeffs is described as being 6’4" in height, weighing 150 lbs, and having brown colored eyes and hair.  Investigation indicates Jeffs has previously been in Texas, Colorado and British Columbia.   The FBI requests anyone with information concerning Jeffs’ whereabouts to contact the FBI, Flagstaff Office, 928-774-0631, or the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office 1-800-526-1911.

Law officers descend on polygamists

The Associated Press Tucson Citizen Originally published July 11, 2005

COLORADO CITY - Residents of this polygamous town turned out for a public forum organized by the attorneys general for Utah and Arizona, but the real action came after the meeting.   A half-dozen sheriff's cruisers and a helicopter carrying Arizona Department of Public Safety officers descended on Colorado City on Friday as part of an investigation into the fundamentalist church that also rules the border town of Hildale, Utah.   The Mohave County sheriff's office confirmed their arrival was part of an investigation into church dealings but refused to release details.   About 80 people showed up for Friday's forum on the court-ordered takeover of the United Effort Plan, the trust once controlled by Warren Steed Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Reporters weren't allowed inside.   Jeffs was indicted by a Mohave County grand jury last month on charges of arranging a marriage between a teenage girl and a 28-year-old man who already had one wife.   It was revealed Saturday that the FBI joined the search for Jeffs, a fugitive who hasn't been seen in public in nearly two years.  The FBI has added a charge of unlawful flight against the church leader.

Arrangements made for several men to surrender

The Associated Press KVOA Channel 4 - Tucson Originally broadcast July 11, 2005

KINGMAN, Ariz. A half-dozen or more residents of the polygamous community of Colorado City - all sought on alleged sex offenses involving underage girls - are expected to surrender today in Kingman.   Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan says County Attorney Matt Smith and a Flagstaff lawyer representing the men are making arrangements to have the suspects booked and then released on bond.   The charges against the men stem from underage girls they're accused of taking as polygamous wives. (Thanks to Dave Hawkins at KGMN)

MEDIA RELEASE

Mohave County Sheriff's Office co.mohave.az.us Originally published July 11, 2005

+++ SPECIAL +++ SPECIAL +++

On Thursday, July 7, 2005, the following individuals were indicted by a Mohave County Grand Jury for the listed offenses. David Romaine Bateman, 48 years of age, "Sexual Conduct with a Minor," and "Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Conduct with a Minor", both class 6 felonies; Rodney Hans Holm, 38 years of age, 3 counts of "Sexual Conduct with a Minor", all class 6 felonies; Donald Robert Barlow, 48 years of age, "Sexual Conduct with a Minor" and "Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Conduct with a Minor", both class 6 felonies; Vergel Bryce Jessop, 45 years of age, "Sexual Conduct with a Minor" and "Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Conduct with a Minor", both class 6 felonies; Terry Darger Barlow, 23 years of age, "Sexual Conduct with a Minor", and "Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Conduct with a Minor", both class 6 felonies. Friday, July 8, 2005, a team of Mohave County Sheriff's deputies and a Mohave County Attorney Investigator responded to Colorado City to attempt to apprehend those charged in the indictments.   Arrested that afternoon was David Bateman, who was located at his residence in Colorado City and taken into custody and transported to the Mohave County Jail in Kingman without incident.  The other four (4) suspects wanted in the indictments surrendered to Sheriff's officials at the Mohave County Jail this morning.  Surrendering along with those who were indicted last Thursday were the following individuals who were indicted several weeks ago by a Mohave County Grand Jury:     Read more

Eight men indicted in polygamous community

The Associated Press Tucson Citizen Originally published July 11, 2005

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. - Eight men in this community dominated by a polygamous church have been indicted on charges of sexual misconduct with a minor and conspiracy, prosecutors said Monday.   One of the men was arrested Friday, while others turned themselves into Mohave County authorities on Monday.  One man had not yet been served with an arrest warrant, Mohave County prosecutors said.   Five men were indicted on Thursday.  Three others were indicted on June 16, said Andrea Esquer of the Attorney General's Office.  The men are accused on various counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and conspiracy related to spiritual unions in Colorado City.   One of the men indicted last week, Rodney Holm, is a former police officer in neighboring Hildale, Utah.  He was previously convicted in Utah of bigamy and illegal sex with a teenage girl that he had taken as a third wife.     Read more

Eight Men Indicted in Polygamous Community

KPHO News 5 - Phoenix Originally broadcast July 11, 2005

Eight Colorado City men have been indicted by a Mohave County Grand Jury on charges of sexual misconduct with a minor.   The indictments of seven of the eight were the result of investigative leads provided to the Mohave County Attorney's office by the Attorney General's Office during the last year.   "Seven of the indictments announced today are the direct result of the Attorney General's Office working with local law enforcement to investigate cases of child abuse," Attorney General Terry Goddard said.   "Matt Smith has done an admirable job in taking investigative leads and aggressively pursuing charges of child abuse.  Today's announcement makes the point that no community is outside the law."     Read more

MEDIA RELEASE

Mohave County Sherrif's Office co.mohave.az.us Originally published July 12, 2005

WARRANT ARREST – COLORADO CITY (ARIZONA STRIP)

Mohave County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Harvey Joseph Dockstader Jr., 39, of Centenial Park, Monday (7/11) morning on a fugitive from justice felony warrant issued out of Harris County Texas on original charges of fraud – pyramid schemes. Approximately 8:20 a.m., Dockstader came into the Mohave County Colorado City Substation regarding MCSO attempting to contact him. Dockstader was informed of his outstanding warrant and taken into custody without incident. Dockstader was transported and booked into the Mohave County Jail.

Colorado City men surrender in child-sex cases ARRESTED IN GRAND JURY INDICTMENT

Former policeman Holm among those indicted; Jeffs still at large

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published July 12, 2005

ST. GEORGE - Seven Colorado City men, including former Hildale/Colorado City police officer Rodney Holm, voluntarily turned themselves in to Mohave County authorities on Monday after being indicted on charges of sexual conduct with a minor.   Last Friday, a team of Mohave County Sheriff's Office deputies and a Mohave County Attorney investigator arrested David Romaine Bateman, 48, at his residence in Colorado City on charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.   All of the men who surrendered to authorities were booked into Mohave County Jail and released on bond.   Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith has been successful in getting grand jury indictments against nine men in Colorado City on charges stemming from their participation in spiritual marriages to girls younger than 18.   Of the nine, only Warren Jeffs, prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is still at large.  The FBI is assisting the Mohave County Sheriff's Office in the hunt for Jeffs, whose location is unknown.     Read more

News update

The Arizona Republic Originally published July 13, 2005

A news conference has been scheduled for 11 a.m. today by Attorney General Terry Goddard to talk about new tactics in the search for fugitive Colorado City polygamist leader Warren Jeffs.  Jeffs was indicted by a Mohave County grand jury last month on sexual misconduct counts and later was indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for felony flight.  Jeffs has been spotted in Texas, Colorado and British Columbia in recent weeks, law enforcement officials said.

$10,000 reward being offered for head of polygamous church

The Associated Press KVOA News 4 - Tucson Originally broadcast July 13, 2005

PHOENIX A ten-thousand-dollar reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of polygamous leader Warren Jeffs.   The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was indicted in June on one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.   The Mohave County grand jury indictment accuses Jeffs of arranging a marriage between an underage girl and a 28-year-old man who already had one wife.   He remains a fugitive.   The FLDS church is based in the neighboring polygamous communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.   The ten-thousand-dollar reward is being offered jointly by the attorneys general of Arizona and Utah.  Arizona A-G Terry Goddard says "bringing Jeffs to justice is a top priority."

$10,000 Reward Offered For Warren Jeffs' Arrest

The Associated Press KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast July 13, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah and Arizona are offering a reward for the arrest of polygamous leader Warren Jeffs.   Today, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard announced a ten-thousand dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of Jeffs.   Jeffs was indicted in June on one count of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.   If convicted, Jeffs could face up to two years in prison.   If anyone has information about Jeffs' whereabouts they're asked to call the Mohave County Sheriff's Office at 1-800-522-4312 or 928-753-2141.

Wanted: Polygamist leader

By Robert Anglen The Arizona Republic Originally published July 13, 2005

For the first time in Arizona history, the attorney general's office is offering a reward to track down a fugitive.   Wanted posters were distributed Wednesday offering $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of Warren Jeffs, the self proclaimed prophet and leader of a polygamous sect of Mormons who was indicted last month on child-sex charges.   "We simply need to zero in on this guy," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said in a news conference.  "This is part of a long-time effort-a slow and methodical effort-to put pressure on this individual."   Jeffs, 49, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has been in hiding for two years as authorities work to dismantle his financial control over the school district, municipal government and most of the property in the isolated towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah.   "Jeffs' influence over the members of the FLDS church has led to numerous child abuse charges," Goddard said.  "His hold on the community continues to hurt its members, and it is time he answered to these charges in a court of law."   Goddard acknowledged that the wanted poster and the reward are extraordinary, but said they were warranted because of Jeffs' influence over as many as 10,000 followers and his repeated disregard of the legal system.     Read more

Lighting dark corners

Justice is opening the curtains on polygamy cult

Opinions The Arizona Republic Originally published July 13, 2005

In Colorado City, Ariz., three towheaded children peer through a window with solemn expressions.  They stare until a woman in a 1880s-style dress pulls them back and yanks the curtains shut on a sun-lit morning.   In the darkness of isolation, a polygamous cult festers amid allegations of brutality and abuse of people, and fraud and misuse of public money.   Deep suspicions of the outside world made it hard for law enforcement to build cases against the power brokers of a cult called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   But now things are happening.   Gary Engels, a special investigator for the Mohave County Attorney's Office, has been operating out of an office in Colorado City and collecting evidence.  As a result, a group of polygamous men appeared Monday in a Mohave County Court on charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.   In other words, they were forcing little girls to become child brides.     Read more

Busy week in Colorado City

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Sunday July 17, 2005

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – A team of Mohave County Sheriff’s Deputies have had their hands full in Colorado City.  On Friday, a team of deputies arrested David Romaine Bateman at his home in Colorado City.  Bateman was wanted for sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, both class 6 felonies.   "Bateman, age 48 was arrested for the offenses after a grand jury indicted him, Thursday," said Carter.  "According to the Mohave County Attorney’s office, the charges stem from sexual conduct with a minor, from an unlawful, unrecognized marriage."   Monday eight other Colorado City residents surrendered to Mohave County sheriff’s deputies.  All were wanted on outstanding child abuse warrants.   Mohave County Attorney, Matt Smith is expected to release names sometime Monday.  Most of those charged are believed to be part of a polygamist sect that follow leader Warren Jeffs, also wanted, who has yet to be apprehended.

Enforcement of laws is not persecution

Editorial The Spectrum Originally published July 18, 2005

We commend all law enforcement officials who have taken action in the communities of Colorado City and Hildale recently.   Last week saw several men surrender to Arizona authorities after being indicted on charges of sexual conduct with a minor.  Both Utah and Arizona are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Warren Jeffs on one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.  The Utah Attorney General's Office has gone to court to have trustees of the United Effort Plan removed and independent trustees will soon be appointed by a court.   Note that nothing in the previous paragraph had anything to do with a person's religious belief that a man may marry more than one woman or a person's membership in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  There have been no arrests of anyone for being married to more than one consenting adult.     Read more

Arraignments continued for 7 Colorado City men

The Associated Press KOLD News 13 - Tucson Originally broadcast July 26, 2005

KINGMAN, Ariz. Arraignments for seven Arizona polygamists accused of sexual misconduct with underage girls they had taken as wives have been continued.   The seven Colorado City residents had faced arraignments yesterday in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman.   They didn't show up.  Instead, their attorney attempted to handle their arraignments by mail, waiving his clients right to be present.   However, the three judges handling the cases ruled that the men must appear in person because none had made an initial court appearance. (Thanks to Dave Hawkins at KGMN)

MC anti-polygamy movement

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Wednesday July 27, 2005

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – What started out as an informal lunch for a group of friends, blossomed into a large organizational meeting of concerned citizens in Lake Havasu City on Monday.  All were concerned about the alleged abuse of underage girls being ceremonially married off to much older men in the Fundamentalist Later Day Saints community of Colorado City in Mohave County.   "That was the key to why we did this meeting," said Widell.   "We wanted to mobilize ourselves, and our resources, so that we could respond when something needed to be done."   Colleen Widell, President of the American Institute on Domestic Violence, expressed her surprise that so many people quite unexpectedly arrived to meet Flora Jessup, and demonstrate their concern, and willingness to get involved with the effort.   The meeting touched on many of the aspects of suspected abuse within the community, from alleged sexual assaults, and sexual conduct with minors, which is the Arizona equivalent of statutory rape, to the alleged gross financial abuse of the state and federal welfare system by the community.     Read more

Symposium Tackles Modern Polygamy Problem

The Associated Press KUTV Channel 2 Originally published July 29, 2005

The symposium program frames the question this way: How is the state of Utah dealing with contemporary polygamy?   The answer is: differently than ever before, Utah Attorney General Office spokesman Paul Murphy says.   Raids on the families of Short Creek in 1953 -an area known today as the border towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz., - were a mistake, Murphy said.  But the state's decision to ignore those communities for the 50 years that followed "was an even bigger mistake," he adds.   These days the attorney general's approach is two-pronged.   "There's the law enforcement track and the safety net track," Murphy explains, adding that both require - and have had- the active involvement of many practicing polygamists.   "It is no longer us talking about them and them talking about us," Murphy said, recounting a discussion with a polygamist woman with whom he consults.  "It's about all of us coming together and trying to come up with solutions."   Murphy's remarks were made Friday during a breakout session of the annual Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City.     Read more

How fast will things change in Colorado City?

By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic - Flagstaff Bureau Originally published August 4, 2005

COLORADO CITY - The change is coming slowly, like the tiny twigs of sand sagebrush breaking through the bright-red, high-desert soil.   Laura Timpson recently opened a beauty salon and tanning parlor in this frontier, polygamist town, where women traditionally have not cut their hair, and both men and women are clothed from wrist to ankle.   Colorado City's insular high school put a basketball team on the court for the first time last season and it played nearby communities Fredonia and Littlefield, and Hurricane, Utah.   The next business planned for Colorado City's frontage along Arizona Highway 389 is a bakery with upscale pastries and fancy coffee.  One local resident is even pondering opening a bed and breakfast with a polygamy theme.   But beyond these signs, there is a more long-lasting move toward changing the culture in Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah, the largest polygamist community in the country: A hearing is scheduled today in Salt Lake City before Utah District Judge Denise Lindberg, to pick a new board of trustees of the communal United Effort Plan, which controls most assets in the two towns.   About 25 people have been nominated for the board.  But more than 200 pages of objections in court records have been filed against virtually all the nominees, and officials in both states will seek to delay appointment of the new board.     Read more

'Tenacious' investigator finds success in tough job

By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic - Flagstaff Bureau Originally published August 4, 2005

COLORADO CITY - The blinds are always drawn in Gary Engels' darkened office in a triple-wide trailer that fronts the main drag in this polygamist town.   He quickly swivels in his chair and peers through a crack in the blinds when he hears the noise of an engine in the parking lot.  He wonders aloud about the security in the state-owned building.   Such is life for the man entrusted with one of the most difficult law enforcement assignments in America: bringing down the older men who take underage brides in arranged marriages.   He does this in a bunker-mentality society taught nothing but disdain for the outside world.   Engels, a special investigator for Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith, has had remarkable successes during his 10 months in town.   He built a case that led to the indictment June 10 of Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, on sexual-misconduct charges of arranging the spiritual marriages of underage women to polygamist men.   Engels' investigative skills also led to the indictment July 11 of eight other local men on sexual-misconduct charges.  All surrendered to authorities and were arraigned in Mohave County Superior Court. Several other cases also are in the works, Engels said.     Read more

Number of abuse victims could be on the rise

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published August 8, 2005

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. - Gary Engels, the Mohave County special investigator assigned to Colorado City, believes many women would leave the polygamous lifestyle if they knew there was hope for a new life afterwards.   "Do I think there are women here who would leave if they had the opportunity, most definitely," said Engels.  "Getting the word out amongst these people is not easy, especially the ones, you know, that are close inside of the church.  And it's hard too, it's to get them out.  Their movements are pretty closely monitored."   A new organization of concerned citizens, being formed in Mohave County, is focusing on exactly how to get the word out and then help victims escape.

Arizona AG to file against Colorado City School District

The Spectrum Originally published August 11, 2005

COLORADO CITY – Citing gross financial mismanagement, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard will file a petition on Friday requesting the appointment of a receiver for the Colorado City Unified School District No. 14.   In a petition to the Arizona State Board of Education, Goddard outlined the case against the school district, which includes being in arrears on debts in the amount of $1.4 million, paying for numerous cellular telephones for several district employees and directly helping to fund the United Effort Plan, the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through the forfeiture of pre-paid rent on several buildings the district leased.   Goddard is asking the Board of Education to turn over the management of the school to a receiver who would not only develop a plan of action, but also have the ability to hire and fire school personnel and overrule decisions made by the Colorado City School Board.   Andrea Esquer, press secretary for Goddard’s office, said the soonest a meeting could be set to determine if the school should be placed into receivership is early October.

Smith: Colorado City work paying off

By Jennifer Bartlett Kingman Daily Miner Originally published August 17, 2005

KINGMAN ­ County Attorney Matt Smith said he is pleased with the progress the county has made with regards to the polygamist community of Colorado City and is cautiously optimistic about further progress.   In recent weeks, eight Colorado City men have been charged for alleged sexual abuse of minors, all related to "spiritual" but unlawful unrecorded marriages to girls younger than 18.   Smith was aware of the Colorado City situation when he took office.   "It's not about their beliefs," Smith said.  "We're not going after polygamy from a legal standpoint.  It is the underage 'pseudo-marriages' we're interested in putting a halt to.  I think it's ridiculous for 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds to be married off to much older men and having babies."   Smith stresses that Mohave County is not out to strike against religious beliefs centering around Colorado City.   Sexual relations with a minor by someone over the age of 21 is a crime that Smith and his office are trying to stop.   The appointment of investigator Gary Engels was what Smith believes got the ball rolling.     Read more

FBI puts polygamist Jeffs on most-wanted list

By Mark Shaffer The Atizona Republic - Flagstaff Bureau Originally published August 19, 2005

The FBI said Thursday that it has placed fugitive polygamous-sect leader Warren Jeffs on one of its most-wanted lists and that he and 30 of his followers could be in north-central Florida.   Deborah McCarley, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Phoenix, said the agency had received information that Jeffs and his followers in Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, were looking into buying property in the area of Leesburg, Fla.   The city of 16,000, located 45 miles northwest of Orlando, is situated among three scenic lakes and is popular among retirees, according to Leesburg's Web site.   "This is the first time he (Jeffs) has been on any of our most-wanted lists," McCarley said.   "There's no definitive proof that this information is true about Leesburg, but we wanted to put it out to make people aware in that area."     Read more

Effort underway to unearth domestic violence

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published August 22, 2005

KINGMAN, Ariz. - Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard spoke up Sunday about Colorado City and the amount of domestic violence there, since virtually none is ever reported.   "Not zero," said Goddard.  "No, not in any community.   Many people, many women in particular, have been reluctant, in fact adamantly opposed, to speaking out because they're afraid of both eternal damnation and physical retribution from their spouse or from somebody else in the church."   Goddard said the Attorney General's office is placing billboards in the community, offering women safe haven if they report abuse, as well as passing out cards with the office's number so victims can reporting any incidents.  He made his comments at the annual Mohave County Democratic picnic.

Fugitive polygamist leader facing more charges

By Mike Watkiss / 3TV reporter FOX 11 - Tucson Originally broadcast Monday, August 22, 2005

3TV has learned Monday that additional charges have been filed against fugitive polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs.   Jeffs already faces two criminal counts of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor stemmming from a case in which he allegedly gave an underage girl to an already married adult male follower.   3TV has learned Jeffs now faces similar charges in at least two other incidents where he allegedly gave underage girls as "plural" brides to adult male followers, confirms Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith.   Jeffs is currently on the FBI's most wanted list and several law enforcement agencies throughout the country are searching for him.   Mike Watkiss will have more on this story tonight on "Good Evening Arizona."

Holm, Barlow plead not guilty at arraignment

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published August 24, 2005

KINGMAN, Ariz. - Two more polygamists from the northern Arizona town of Colorado City pled not guilty Monday morning in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman.  Rodney Holm, 38, and Terry Barlow, 23, and six other Colorado City men have all been arraigned in recent weeks on charges involving alleged sex offenses involving underage females.   Church leader Warren Jeffs, 49, faces prosecution as well, but not for actually offending young women.  Instead, county attorney Matt Smith said Jeffs was indicted under the theory that he arranged and performed marriages in which minors were violated by other married adult men.   Jeffs is the the only one of the nine Colorado City defendants who has not been served legal papers in the months-old indictments.  Likewise, he's the only one of the group that has not appeared for arraignment.   Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a church that endorses the practice of polygamy in the northern Arizona city and the neighboring Utah town of Hilldale, remains the subject of an arrest warrant and an FBI manhunt.

Education programs helping teens displaced from polygamous groups

The Associated Press KPHO News 5 - Phoenix Originally broadcast August 29, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY Two separate programs are being offered to help teens displaced from polygamous communities get their high school diplomas.   Mohave Community College and the Washington County, Utah, School District are offering GED classes tailored to the so-called "Lost Boys."  Although, administrators expect girls to sign up as well.   Hundreds of teens, mostly boys, have fled the twin cities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona, which is home to The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   Brian Cheesman with the Washington County School District says many of them were denied schooling early in their lives and put to work, so they need educational help.

Byers seeks to avoid media circus

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Sunday, September 4, 2005

KINGMAN, Ariz. - Mohave County Supervisor Pete Byers, R-Dist. 1, is taking a page out of the Boy Scout handbook and wants to "be prepared."  He's asking the Board to plan for an onslaught of media if FLDS leader and "prophet" Warren Jeffs is captured.  Although a change in venue is expected initial arraignment will be in Mohave County Superior Court.  Byers is asking the Board to create a committee of county and Kingman officials, law enforcement and court personnel to work on a plan to handle the potential media crush.   Jeffs is on the FBI's 10 most wanted list and he faces criminal charges for allegedly arranging marriages between adult men and underage girls in Colorado City, Ariz. and Hildale, Utah.

Goddard asks U.S. help with Colo. City police

The Arizona Republic Originally published October 1, 2005

Arizona's attorney general is asking for a federal civil rights review of the police department in Colorado City, saying officers there are acting as agents of a polygamous church instead of serving the law.   Terry Goddard said many complaints from other law enforcement officials and citizens prompted him to ask U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to have the Justice Department conduct a preliminary inquiry, a step that could lead to a formal investigation and possible legal action.   "I believe that the officers of the Colorado City Police Department have engaged in a pattern of practices of conduct that deprives individuals of their constitutional and civil rights," Goddard wrote in a letter to Gonzales.     Read more

Documentary looks into polygmany

By Jessica Gurnsey Daily Universe Staff Reporter BYU NewsNet Originally published October 18, 2005

A new documentary film, "Banking on Heaven," takes an in-depth look at Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint communities which practice polygamy in Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz.   Premiering last week at the Vancouver International Film Festival in Canada, the documentary received positive public response and was sold out for all three of its screenings, said Helen Yagi, spokeswoman for the festival.  Producer Laurie Allen hopes to eventually release the film in Utah and Arizona, the homes of the two largest fundamentalists communities.   The film’s goal is to raise awareness of the problems associated with the polygamist sect located in Arizona, Utah and British Columbia, said Allen, who not only produced, but wrote and narrated the documentary.   Allen will donate a portion of the money made by the film to supporting victims of polygamy.   "We know a lot of women and children would leave the FLDS church if they knew they had help on the outside," Allen said.   Help on the outside includes long-term programs to house, educate and provide counseling for those leaving the fundamentalist sect.     Read more

Ex-police chief loses Ariz. backing

Violations of bigamy statute alleged by board

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published October 20, 2005

Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training board members voted unanimously to revoke the certifications of former Colorado City Police Chief Sam Roundy and former officer Vance Barlow at its charging board meeting on Wednesday because of violations of the bigamy statute.   In Utah, Hildale Justice Court Judge Walter Steed, who has been charged with bigamy and recommended for removal from office, has decided to fight his case in the Utah Supreme Court.   Arizona Post executive director Tom Hammarstrom said the outcome of the meeting means the two men already decertified in Utah no longer hold peace officer certification in Arizona.   Post's decision followed in the footsteps of the Utah division of Peace Officers Standards and Training, which revoked certification for the two officers in Utah in March.  Barlow was decertified due to bigamy violations while Roundy was decertified for violating the bigamy laws as well as improper handling of a child sex abuse case.     Read more

Utah pushes B.C. to act on polygamous group

Flow of women to Bountiful sparks concern

By Petti Fong The Globe and Mail Originally published Friday, December 2, 2005

VANCOUVER -- Utah's chief law officer is heading to British Columbia next week to discuss how to stop young women facing pressure within their church from entering into polygamous marriages in the religious community of Bountiful, B.C.   Attorney-General Mark Shurtleff of Utah requested the meeting with his B.C. counterpart, Wally Oppal, and other legal and advocacy groups to plan how the two jurisdictions can better monitor exchanges between the communities, both of which practise polygamy.   Utah has between 30,000 and 50,000 polygamists, while B.C. has just a fraction of that number.   The Creston valley in southeastern B.C. is home to the polygamous community of Bountiful, where about 1,000 residents once belonged to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints .  The residents are descendents from a breakaway sect that came north in the 1940s.   One of the tenets of the FLDS is that a man must marry at least three wives.     Read more

State, Colorado City district reach pact on receivership

The Associated Press KGBT Channel 4 - Harlingen, TX Originally broadcast December 2, 2005

PHOENIX - A small northern Arizona school district dominated by a polygamist sect will be placed under the state's financial control.   That's under an agreement today between the Arizona Attorney General's Office and the Colorado City School District.   The Arizona Board of Education meets Monday to consider the settlement.   Under the agreement, the school district doesn't admit any wrongdoing.   But Colorado City's school superintendent must retire as of December 31st.   The district's business manager also must resign by that date.   Arizona state claims that taxpayers and students have been harmed by mismanagement by the district.   Colorado City, located north of the Grand Canyon, is dominated by the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   The sect also has a presence in Hildale, Utah, and in Schleicher County, Texas, and Bountiful, British Columbia.

Board takes control of district

By Jeff Pope Kingman Daily Miner Originally published December 8, 2005

KINGMAN -- The Arizona Board of Education accepted a consent agreement on Monday that places the Colorado City Unified School District in receivership under the board's control.   The board voted 8-1 to approve the settlement between the school district and state officials and to immediately place the district's $4.7 million budget under the supervision of an appointed receiver.   "This agreement represents a giant leap forward for taxpayers of Arizona and the children of Colorado City," Attorney General Terry Goddard said in a news release.  "It will put an end to the serious mismanagement of the district and the waste of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars.  It will place control of the district in competent hands and put it on the road to financial recovery."     Read more

Canada, U.S. to probe forced-marriage allegations

By Allan Dowd Reuters Originally published December 8, 2005

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - U.S. and Canadian prosecutors vowed on Thursday to co-operate in pursuing allegations of sexual exploitation by a polygamist group that has settlements in both countries.   Utah attorney general Mark Shurtleff met with officials in British Columbia, who are under pressure to join the United States in a crackdown on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).   Men in the FLDS need three wives to enter highest realm of heaven, according to the group's teachings.   Polygamy is illegal in both countries but still practiced by religious sects that broke away from the Mormon church, such as the FLDS, which is believed to have about 10,000 members in Utah, Arizona, Texas and British Columbia.   Shurtleff said the crackdown is aimed less at the practice of plural marriage, which polygamists say is a religious right, than against allegations about the treatment of women, including forcing young girls to marry older men.   "By co-operating and working together we can resolve some of these problems and protect women and children who have been victimized," Shurtleff said after meeting with Wally Oppal, British Columbia's attorney general.   Canadian prosecutors have refused to file criminal charges against polygamists in British Columbia out of fear the cases would be dismissed on constitutional grounds, but Oppal said he may follow the U.S. lead of using civil litigation.     Read more

Canada, U.S. meet to discuss polygamists

By Jeremy Hainsworth The Associated Press Seattle Post-Intelligencer Originally published December 8, 2005

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- U.S. and Canadian justice officials exchanged ideas Thursday on how to investigate reports of sexual abuse in polygamous enclaves in both countries.   British Columbia Attorney General Wally Oppal said authorities were concerned about reports of sexual abuse and exploitation of children among members of the Bountiful compound in southwestern British Colombia.   The compound's 1,000 members are followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect that broke away from mainstream Mormonism after the broader church renounced polygamy more than a century ago.   Oppal met with visiting Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff to discuss investigations against members of the sect, which has enclaves in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.   "It's not so much about polygamy as it is about crimes committed against women and children, primarily, in some of these groups," Shurtleff said.   As the attorneys general spoke to reporters, Bountiful's leader, Winston Blackmore, stood at the back of the room taking notes.     Read more

Top News Stories of 2005

KSL-TV Channel 5 Originally Broadcast December 20, 2005

10.  Eight Aggie students and an instructor were killed when their Utah State University van blew a tire and rolled over on the way back to campus from a farm field trip. 9.  Brennan Hawkins, 11, who vanished from a Boy Scout camp, was found alive and in good condition after spending four days lost in the rugged Utah wilderness. 8.  Brian David Mitchell and wife Wanda Barzee are found incompetent to stand trial in the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart. 7.  Mark Hacking pleads guilty to first-degree murder for killing his wife, Lori, and is sentenced to six years to life in prison.     Read more

Polygamist sect remains controversial

By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic Originally published December 25, 2005

As the year draws to a close, the twin polygamist towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, remain in the eye of a storm of controversy.   Warren Jeffs, the indicted leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has a $10,000 bounty on his head and hasn't been seen publicly in nearly two years.   The Colorado City Unified School District has been turned on its head by a state investigation of misuse of money.   A new board has been appointed to oversee the communal United Effort Plan, which controls nearly all the land, homes and buildings in the two towns after Jeffs and other sect leaders were stripped of their powers last summer.   Meanwhile, sect members who have moved to rural west Texas are putting the finishing touches on a huge marble three-story temple to the faith and a number of other building projects near the town of Eldorado.

Utah's Top 10 News Stories Of 2005

The Associated Press KUTV Channel 2 Originally published December 25, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY  Here are the top 10 state news stories of 2005 as voted on by Utah members of The Associated Press: 1) The misery of flooding in southern Utah – first in January and then again in August – forced dozens of people from their homes, knocked out utilities and washed out roads and bridges.  Beleaguered Gunlock also was evacuated in June because of wildfires. 2) Mark Hacking was sentenced in June to six years to life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder for shooting his wife, Lori, in the head and dumping her body in a trash bin.  The state Board of Pardons and Parole set his first parole hearing for 2034.     Read more

Immigration voted top story in state

The top 10 stories in Arizona during 2005, according to a vote by members and staff of The Associated Press:

The Associated Press Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, Inc. TriValleyCentral.com Originally published December 31, 2005

1. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: From the statehouse to the broiling southern Arizona desert, stopping illegal immigrants takes on a higher profile in 2005.   Gov. Janet Napolitano declares a state of emergency in Arizona's four border counties, civilians from across the region descend on the border to try to help the Border Patrol and state legislators push several measures aimed at illegal immigrants.  Still, illegal immigrants continue to pour across the border and to die in record numbers in the desert.     Read more

FBI adds to reward for FLDS leader Jeffs

By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, January 18, 2006

ST. GEORGE — The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday it would offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of fugitive polygamous leader Warren Jeffs.   Jana Monroe, the Phoenix FBI special agent in charge, announced the reward during a 2 p.m. press conference held jointly with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.  The FBI's reward enhances a $10,000 reward offered in July by the Arizona and Utah attorneys general, bringing the total reward to $60,000.   "I hope this larger reward will help bring Warren Jeffs to justice," Goddard said.   "He continues to exert his harmful influence over the Colorado City/Hildale community, and he must answer the serious charges against him in a court of law."   The search for Jeffs, who has not been seen in public for nearly two years, is a multi-jurisdictional effort by various law enforcement agencies crossing state borders and into Canada.     Read more

Emancipation Bill Could Help 'Lost' Youth

The Associated Press KUTV Channel 2 Originally published January 19, 2006

Teenagers who want at age 16 to be emancipated from their parents will be able to do so under a bill advanced unanimously Thursday by the House Health and Human Services Committee.   Sponsored by Rep. Roz McGee, D-Salt Lake City, the bill would set up a legal procedure for emancipation, something that currently doesn't exist in Utah law.  It would also and set the criteria under which minors would have to prove they could take care of themselves.   "We do find a fair number of youth in the homeless population that because of their circumstances are either no longer welcome or may have fled from their homes that are in need of services, but they cannot access them," said McGee.  "They may have stayed in school, they may have jobs and be managing fairly well on their own ... but their legal status is fuzzy."     Read more

Big changes at Colorado City schools

The Associated Press KPHO News 5 - Phoenix Originally broadcast January 24, 2006

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. The state is making changes within the Colorado City School District's administrative staff. So far, the state has canceled 52 district credit cards, sold nine of its 18 vehicles and sliced the administrative staff in half.   A state-appointed receiver also cut the district's 35 cellphones down to seven and closed a 60-thousand-square-foot office building.   The staff cuts and disposal of property are part of a state takeover triggered in December.   Investigators say the district "grossly mismanaged" its money.   The 378-student district sits in a remote community on the Arizona-Utah line that is home to several polygamist religious sects. ___ Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

HB 30 finds Lost Boys

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published February 1, 2006

They've been kicked out of their communities; declared to be a danger in the very towns they grew up in; criticized for failing to adhere to the standards of their society; and told their souls are destined for eternal damnation.   Although this group of people might sound like hardened criminals, the above description is actually of a group of innocent boys - "The Lost Boys" of Utah.  They are guilty of nothing more than being an inconvenient fact of life for the powers that be in the polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz.   It is sometimes the practice in those towns for middle-aged men to take younger women as their plural wives.   With one older man having several younger wives, the result is that young men who are raised in the polygamous culture are left without dating or marriage prospects.  When these boys are at a vulnerable stage in their lives, their communities treat them like trash and throw them away.     Read more

Enforce or repeal law

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published February 14, 2006

Utah lawmakers recently chided Attorney General Mark Shurtleff for not taking a stronger prosecutorial stance on the issue of polygamy.   The comments came during a hearing on legislation that would allow "The Lost Boys" (a group of more than 400 teen males who have been banished from polygamous communities) to seek emancipation from their parents.  Lawmakers, including Rep. Brad Last of St. George, questioned why Shurtleff did not support a proposal to allow the state to prosecute the parents of The Lost Boys.   Shurtleff responded that most of the boys would not want to see their parents prosecuted, and would instead rather become emancipated to move on with their lives.  The AG acknowledged his office could do more on the issue, but also pointed out, "In the meantime we have a lot of kids who need help."   We agree with Shurtleff's reasoning, but feel it is important to point out all that has been done recently to help other victims of polygamy.   In the past, we have taken Shurtleff to task for comments he made on a daytime talk show where he stated, in effect, that he did not have the resources to effectively prosecute polygamy.     Read more

Polygamy conditions repeating in Texas

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published February 22, 2006

I applaud the editorial, "Enforce or repeal law." I also applaud the efforts of Mark Shurtleff, Smiles for Diversity and other organizations that have banded together to clean the social inadequacies associated with Hildale and Colorado City. It is essential that youth are allowed and encouraged to pursue education. People in general must be free to pursue love, happiness and personal fulfillment. I only hope that Utah, Arizona and British Columbia are opening a dialogue with Texas because we all know a repetition of conditions is in the works. Peter Growes Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Colorado City investigator donates salary to help victims of polygamy

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published Thursday, February 23, 2006

KINGMAN - An investigator for the Mohave County Attorney's Office is donating his salary from a made-for-television movie to a county organization that helps victims of polygamy.   Gary Engels was hired almost two years ago to investigate crimes especially against underage girls in the polygamist community of Colorado City, County Attorney Matt Smith said.   The community is home to a polygamist sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Colorado City near the Utah border.   The sect is an offshoot of the main Mormon Church that outlawed polygamy to attain statehood.   The Arts and Entertainment Network is in preproduction on a movie that will be filmed in the northern Mohave County city based on the experience of Carolyn Jessop, who escaped the polygamist community, Smith said.   Engels was given $5,000 as a technical consultant in the upcoming movie.   He stands to earn another $5,000 when the movie is completed.   Engels will review the movie's script to scan for accuracies, Smith said.     Read more

Polygamist Judge Ordered Off Utah Bench

By Debbie Hummel Forbes Originally published February 24, 2006

A small-town judge with three wives was ordered removed from the bench by the Utah Supreme Court on Friday.   The court unanimously agreed with the findings of the state's Judicial Conduct Commission, which recommended the removal of Judge Walter Steed for violating the state's bigamy law.   Steed has served for 25 years on the Justice Court in the polygamist community of Hildale in southern Utah, where he ruled on such matters as drunken driving and domestic violence cases.   The commission last year sought his removal from the bench after a 14-month investigation determined Steed was a polygamist and had violated Utah's bigamy law.   Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.   Steed scheduled a news conference for Friday afternoon to discuss the ruling.     Read more

TOWN HALL II

A.G. & SAFETY NET COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS POLYGAMY ISSUES

News Release Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff Originally published February 24, 2006

For Immediate Release February 24, 2006 Contact Paul Murphy: (801) 538-1892 pmurphy@utah.gov Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and the Utah/Arizona Safety Net Committee are inviting the public to join a discussion about efforts to end the isolation and increase safety in polygamous communities.  The Town Hall Meeting in Salt Lake City is following up on a similar gathering held in St. George last year.  Panelists with a wide array of opinions about polygamy will offer input on what has happened in the past and what still needs to be done, especially concerning ways to help victims of domestic violence and child abuse.     Read more

'Safety net' spread out for polygamists

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Saturday, February 25, 2006

Utah's attorney general will hold a town hall meeting in Salt Lake City next month to discuss how to reach out to people inside and outside of polygamy.   The meeting is the latest in a series of forums that have evolved over the past two years, giving government insight into Utah's polygamous communities and soliciting public comment on how to solve some of the unique issues surrounding plural marriage.   The March 1 town hall meeting at the University of Utah is being organized in part by a special Safety Net Committee made up of polygamists, government officials and social service workers that has quietly worked to bring everyone to the same table to talk.   "I was there at the first summit in St. George, where (Attorney General) Mark Shurtleff met to talk about the polygamy problem," said Marlyne Hammon, who lives in the polygamous community of Centennial Park, Ariz.  "I thought, 'For crying out loud, they've got all these people coming in and they don't have any polygamists invited.' "     Read more

Utah to Remove Judge for Bigamy

The Associated Press New York Times Originally published February 26, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 25 (AP) — The Utah Supreme Court on Friday ordered that a small-town judge with three wives be removed from the bench.   The court unanimously agreed with the findings of the state's Judicial Conduct Commission, which recommended last year that the judge, Walter K. Steed, be removed for violating the state's bigamy law.   Judge Steed said he accepted the decision. "I had hoped that the court would see my case as an opportunity to correct the injustices that are caused by the criminalization of my religious beliefs and lifestyle, and I am disappointed the court did not reach those issues in my case," he said in a statement.     Read more

County battling financial giant

By Brian DiTullio Today's News Herald - Havasu City Originally published Monday, April 3, 2006

Two county officials dedicated to prosecuting polygamy in Colorado City explained some of the obstacles they face Monday night.   County Attorney Matt Smith and Special Investigator Gary Engles spoke at the London Bridge Republican Women dinner on Monday, telling the tale of a young girl who escaped Colorado City who still is being manipulated by forces from within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   Smith said it's been difficult getting indictments and moving trials forward as the church's fugitive leader, Warren Jeffs, still controls the church from his various hiding spots around the country.   "We're fighting a financial giant," said Smith.  "He has two to three million dollars a month coming in from his congregation.  He has more resources than we have."     Read more

Byers new chair of Mohave board

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published Monday, April 4, 2006

KINGMAN - Mohave County supervisors elected Dist. 1 Sup. Pete Byers of Kingman as the new chairman of the Board Monday.   Former chair Dist. 2 Supervisor Tom Sockwell of Bullhead City was also appointed vice-chair for 2006.  Byers served as the chair of the Board last year.   Unlike previous years, Dist. 3 Sup. Buster Johnson of Lake Havasu City did not object.   In other action, the Board appointed Larry Sinagoga to replace Noel Labonte on the planning and zoning commission for District 2, which includes Bullhead City, Mohave Valley and Golden Valley.   Sinagoga will fill Labonte's unexpired term on the commission until July 6, 2009.   Alex Cariaga of Fort Mojave, who ran against Sockwell in the last election, asked the Board where Sinagoga stood on applying impact fees on developers for new subdivisions.   Byers had to tell Cariaga several times to lower his voice or he would be removed from the meeting.   The Board also approved an agreement between the county and Bullhead City for $768,417 in flood control improvements.     Read more

New problems for fugitive polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs

Mike Watkiss KTVK NewsChannel 3 - Phoenix Originally broadcast April 6, 2006

This afternoon, the Washington County Attorney's Office in Utah is scheduled to hold a news conference focusing on fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. Sources tell 3TV that additional charges will be filed against the 50-year-old leader of the polygamist sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Details will be updated as they become available.

JEFFS CHARGED

County joins filings

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published April 7, 2006

ST. GEORGE — Charges continue to pile up against Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is based in the polygamist communities of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz.   The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed two counts of rape as an accomplice against Jeffs on Thursday and a 5th District Court slapped a $500,000 cash-only warrant on the fugitive who has been on the run since he was charged with two counts of sexual assault on a minor last June by the Mohave County Attorney’s Office.   After he disappeared, the federal government charged Jeffs with one count of unlawful flight.   The charges led to the attorneys general of Utah and Arizona combining for a $10,000 reward for information leading to Jeffs’ arrest.   The FBI has also offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to Jeffs’ arrest and conviction.   Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap held a press conference Thursday afternoon to announce the latest charges that came on the heels of an investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.     Read more

Office of Attorney General Terry Goddard

Press Release AZAG.gov Originally released April 7, 2006

STATE OF ARIZONA ANDREA M. ESQUER DEPARTMENT OF LAW PRESS SECRETARY 12 75 W. WASHINGTON STREET PHONE: (602) 542-8019 PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85007-2926 CELL PHONE: (602) 725-2200 WWW.AZAG.GOV     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Goddard Commends Washington County Attorney in Jeffs Case (Phoenix, Ariz. - April 7, 2006) Attorney General Terry Goddard today commended Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap for filing new charges against Warren Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints in Colorado City, Ariz. The charges include two counts of first-degree felony rape as an accomplice. "Mr. Belnap's actions reinforce the point that law enforcement officials in Arizona and Utah are serious about prosecuting abuse cases and other crimes committed in the Colorado City/Hildale area," Goddard said. "These charges are evidence that victims are slowly coming forward, and it is my hope this will encourage other victims from the area to come forward." Jeffs remains a fugitive on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted List. A reward of $60,000 has been offered by the FBI and the Arizona and Utah Attorneys General for information leading to Jeffs' arrest and conviction.     Read more

Colorado City officials held as witnesses

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published April 12, 2006

COLORADO CITY - The assistant post master of the Hildale-Colorado City Post Office and a police officer with the Colorado City Marshal's office are being held as material witnesses following a court appearance on Friday.   Police officer Mica Barlow, 36, and postal employee James Allred, 58, are being held at a private prison facility in Florence, Ariz., said U.S. Deputy Marshal Ray Kondo of the Phoenix office.   "All I can say is the two came in on their own for court and now they are being held," Kondo said Tuesday afternoon.  Barlow has also been employed by the towns of Virgin and Springdale as a part-time police officer for several years.   Kurt Wright, police chief for both Virgin and Springdale, said Barlow has not been on duty for several weeks and didn't know about Barlow's incarceration.   "I have not spoken with Mica for several weeks now and at this point, can't make any further comment about the situation," Wright said.   Attempts to reach Colorado City Police Chief Fred Barlow and Mayor pro tem Terrill Johnson Tuesday night were unsuccessful.   Barlow did give a monthly report during the council meeting Monday night but did not mention that he was down an officer.     Read more

FBI Adds Warren Jeffs To Top Ten Most Wanted List

CBS Broadcasting KUTV Channel 2 Originally published May 6, 2006

(KUTV) SALT LAKE CITY The FBI has placed polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, hoping the additional exposure and reward money leads to an arrest in the long-running investigation.   Jeffs is wanted in Arizona on criminal charges of sexual conduct with a minor.  He also was charged in Utah with rape as an accomplice.   He is accused of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men.   "We are doing everything we can to track him down," said Tim Fuhrman, special agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City field office.   "We just made the determination that this is the next step that we can take as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to potentially result in the apprehension of Mr. Jeffs."   The FBI's announcement in a rare Saturday evening news conference coincided with Jeffs' case appearing on the television program "America's Most Wanted."  Although Jeffs, who is 6-foot-4 and 150-155 lbs, isn't considered armed, he believed to travel with armed bodyguards.     Read more

Police, prosecutors gather in Colorado City

Residents don't put out the red carpet as manhunt intensifies

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, May 10, 2006

As the nationwide manhunt for fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs intensifies, police, prosecutors and other major players in the battle over the Fundamentalist LDS Church met Tuesday in the eye of the storm — the polygamist border town of Colorado City, Ariz.   Law enforcement officers described the atmosphere in the town as "tense."   "I sense that people are wound pretty tight right now," Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith said.   Some people were seen leaving town as law enforcement arrived.   "People weren't exactly waiting for us with open arms in the front yard," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told the Deseret Morning News.  "There's an awful lot of fences that have been built."   Goddard said his staff tried to serve Arizona grand jury subpoenas (see related story) at City Hall and the town marshal's office and found no one there.   "In the middle of the week no one is in City Hall," he said.   "They were avoiding us."     Read more

Utah Court Upholds Anti-Polygamy Law

Oks Conviction Of Former Police Officer For Having Three Wives

By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press CBS News Originally published May 16, 2006

(CBS/AP) The Utah Supreme Court upheld the 2003 bigamy conviction of a former police officer Tuesday, ruling that the state law banning polygamy is not unconstitutional.   The court said that religious protections of the U.S. and Utah constitutions "do not shield (Rodney) Holm's polygamous practices from state prosecution."   Holm was convicted of felony bigamy and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and had argued that the state's bigamy statute violated his right to practice his religion.   County prosecutors began an investigation after one of Holm's "spiritual" wives left the faith and sued him over the custody of their two children.  The woman said she married Holm in a 1988 religious ceremony when he was 32 and she was 16.  At the time, Holm already was legally married to the woman's sister and claimed another "spiritual wife."     Read more

Cops Confront Polygamists

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published May 26, 2006

COLORADO CITY, AZ - Mohave County Sheriff's deputies visited Colorado City yesterday morning, assisted by the county attorney’s office and Coconino County Sheriff's deputies.  Sheriff spokesperson Trish Carter says officials served four warrants in the community simultaneously.   "It’s just basically an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse cases within the community," said Carter.   Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheehan said, "We are looking for specific evidence.  We are also serving subpoenas for upcoming court cases."   No arrests were made and all warrants were served without incident.

Can't get away from Utah, even in Hawaii

By Chris Hicks Deseret Morning News Originally published Friday, May 26, 2006

KAUAI, HAWAII — Vacations are for getting away from it all.  Am I right?   But a couple of weeks ago, as my wife and I were fortunate enough to spend a week in Kauai, we just couldn't seem to escape Utah.   Well, on TV anyway.   I'm not sure I grasped how wide a net is thrown out by our fair Beehive State until we returned to our condo each night after a long day of beach-hopping, flipped on the TV to wind down, and there was Utah.  Or at least some Utah connection.   The TV was all basic-cable channels, and not many of those.  If there had been a movie channel, say TCM, we would have just stayed there and not been surfing (channel, not beach).  But we went from channel to channel and wound up focusing pretty much on CNN.   And what did we see on CNN that first night?  Anderson Cooper (or is that Cooper Anderson?) talking about Warren Jeffs, polygamy, how the LDS Church stopped the practice more than 100 years ago, how the LDS Church excommunicates polygamists within its midst and how Jeffs' church and others like it are distant offshoots with no connection to the Mormons.   Cooper reported this while standing in front of Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  Live.     Read more

Investigators Raid Homes in Polygamous Enclave

By David Kelly The Los Angeles Times Originally published May 26, 2006

Arizona law-enforcement agents investigating charges of underage marriage and sexual abuse raided four houses simultaneously in Colorado City, Ariz., a polygamous enclave on the Arizona-Utah border.   Investigators, in the unusual show of force, seized box loads of records and personal belongings of members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have been indicted on a variety of charges, including sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy.   Eight men are expected to stand trial in July.   The synchronized raids by four separate teams of law officers came Thursday, in the wake of increased public attention to allegations of mistreatment of women and children by members of the religious sect.   A series of Los Angeles Times reports two weeks ago detailed more than 50 years of slow and ineffective response by law enforcement and other public-safety agencies in the face of widespread reports of abuse.   The FLDS, an offshoot of Mormonism, claims 10,000 members and is led by Warren Jeffs, a fugitive on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list.  He is accused of rape, arranging underage marriages and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.   The Colorado City raids were led by the Mohave County Sheriff's Department, which sent in 16 deputies armed with search warrants naming an undisclosed number of targets.   Law-enforcement officials Friday refused to detail what they sought in the warrants.  They were believed to be seeking evidence, including possible DNA samples, that could prove who fathered children with underage mothers.     Read more

Colorado City Mayor Arrested

KSL TV Channel 5 Originally broadcast May 26, 2006

(KSL News) -- The mayor of Colorado City, Arizona has bailed out of jail tonight.   Authorities say Terrill Johnson faces felony charges for lying on his application for a vehicle title and registration.   Sheriff's deputies had to cross state lines and arrest Johnson at a town hall meeting in Colorado City.   As Eyewitness News showed you last night, several law enforcement agencies are in the polygamous border towns to serve warrants for other court cases.     See photo

'HOPE' for those fleeing polygamy

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, May 28, 2006

WASHINGTON, Washington County — When someone leaves the polygamous towns on the Utah-Arizona border, one of the first "outsiders" they encounter is Elaine Tyler.   She has become known as the woman you go to if you need a place to stay, some clothes, diapers for your kids or money to keep your power from getting shut off at the end of the month.   "I didn't have a vehicle and she was running me around, taking me to the WIC office and the welfare division and taking me around trying to get me everything that I needed," said Ailene Runs Through, who left the polygamous community of Centennial Park, Ariz.  "They helped me so much, I don't know if I can repay them."   Tyler runs The HOPE Organization, a nonprofit, ragtag group of volunteers who help people leaving polygamy.  In the last few years, Tyler estimates the group has provided help for dozens of women, children and the so-called "Lost Boys" who have either fled or been kicked out of the polygamous communities of Hildale and Colorado City.   From a tiny office just outside the St. George city limits, she gathers resources together to help them survive in the outside world.   "We try to just cover their basic needs," Tyler said.  "They're coming out with nothing.  The Lost Boys are living out of cars.  They need housing, and once they get into an apartment, they need the furnishings.  They need the pots and pans, they need beds, they need sheets, they need towels.  Right now they need a clothes dryer."     Read more

Consistent enforcement key

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published June 5, 2006

The recent arrest of acting Colorado City mayor, Terrill Johnson, 57, charged with eight counts of false evidences of title and registration adds to the list of unlawful dissidence in the bi-state polygamous communities of Utah and Arizona.   Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints members answered a call from the pulpit in August 2000 by Warren Jeffs, a counselor in the first presidency of the church at the time, to withdraw from public schools after the Washington County School Board voted to close Phelps Elementary because of lack of enrollment.  Investors leased the school with an option to buy at the end of 10 years at the sale price of $1 million and created the seventh private school within the Colorado City Unified School District boundaries.   Since then, the state of Arizona has taken over the school district after teachers went months without pay, and allegations of financial mismanagement surfaced.  Police raided district offices and seized computers, records and files.  A grand-jury investigation revealed last month that subpoenas on four FLDS-linked companies in Utah - Valley Transportation, Valley Truss, Steeds Inc. and the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the FLDS Church - and the church's former lawyer were ordered to supply records pertaining to Jeffrey P. Jessop, the former financial director of the school district.     Read more

FBI chief rallies local agents

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Thursday, June 8, 2006

FBI Director Robert Mueller, meeting with agents in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, vowed to capture fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, who is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.   "My expectation is we will catch him.  He is a fugitive and an important fugitive.  That's why he's on the Ten Most Wanted list," Mueller said.   Mueller was in Salt Lake City as part of a nationwide tour of FBI field offices.  After delivering a pep talk to FBI agents in Utah, Mueller met with reporters for about 13 minutes on a variety of topics: Warren Jeffs Mueller said his visit included a briefing on the nationwide manhunt for the fugitive Fundamentalist LDS Church leader.   The FBI director said they were using a number of resources to find Jeffs.  He defended placing the fugitive polygamist on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, among criminals like terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.   "This is a person that preys on children," Mueller said.  "I would expect that most of the American public would view a person such as this as a person that belongs behind bars."   Jeffs, 50, is charged in Utah and Arizona with sex crimes accusing him of forcing teenage girls into polygamous marriages with older men.  Federal prosecutors have charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.  A $100,000 bounty is being offered for information leading to Jeffs' arrest.     Read more

'Primer' details intricacies of polygamist life

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, June 11, 2006

Boyd Madsen was handling a case involving the Kingston polygamous group when a family member handed him a stack of papers titled "The Primer."   The Division of Child and Family Services caseworker said the Kingston family member wanted him to read it.   "They wanted us to know the terminology they use and understand there are different groups," he said.   "They're not all one homogenous group.  Every family is different.  Even in the groups."  It certainly has been educational for Madsen.  "The Primer — Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities" is a 56-page guide to the plural communities within Utah and surrounding states.  On Thursday, the Utah Attorney General's Office released an updated version.   "We want to keep it current, because we want law enforcement officers and social workers to have the most recent information about some of the changes going on in the different groups," said Paul Murphy, a spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.   "The Primer" has been updated to include the latest developments within the Fundamentalist LDS Church, based in the polygamous border towns of Hildale and Colorado City.  It includes the criminal charges filed against fugitive FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, his status as an FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive and a Utah judge's takeover of the United Effort Plan Trust, which controls homes, businesses and property in the communities.     Read more

Glossary of polygamy

Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, June 11, 2006

Some of the words and terms featured in the glossary of "The Primer," published by the Utah and Arizona attorneys general. clan: The general public sometimes uses this term for different fundamentalist groups or communities. Some fundamentalists consider this an offensive term and say care providers should avoid using it. committed relationship: Polygamous relationships (not legal marriages) that a man has with the mothers of his children. gentile: Anyone who does not have the priesthood or is not a member of the various fundamentalist groups. Some also refer to them as "outsiders." keep sweet: An admonition to be compliant and pleasant despite the circumstances.     Read more

Two Village Voice Media Papers Earn Casey Medals

Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Originally published June 13, 2006

John Dougherty's "Polygamy in Arizona" investigation for Phoenix New Times won first place in the Nondaily Newspaper category of the 2006 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism, it was announced today.  The awards honor distinguished coverage of disadvantaged children and families.  The judges wrote that Dougherty's series "was a tough story to get and the New Times should be applauded for stepping in where authorities failed to go."  An honorable mention was given to Jonathan Kaminsky of East Bay Express for "Wounded Warriors," which the judges called "an insightful, unflinching look at a football team in a bleak neighborhood."

SIGNS OFFER HELP BEYOND BELIEFS

News Release Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff Originally published June 16, 2006

For Immediate Release February 24, 2006 Contact Paul Murphy: Utah Attorney General's Office: (801) 538-1892 pmurphy@utah.gov A new billboard campaign aims to help victims of domestic violence from polygamous communities-but the message will reach people from every walk of life. The highway signs let people know that "When It Hurts At Home" they can call 1-800-897-LINK, the Domestic Violence Link Line, for free, confidential, 24-hour help. Reagan Outdoor Advertising donated 4 billboards in St. George, Cedar City, Parowan and Mount Carmel and offered to put up more signs. The Attorney General's Office planned to put up signs with money from the Safe Passage Grant, part of the federal grant provides funds for a public awareness campaign for domestic violence victims from plural families. However, a single sign in the St. George area would have wiped out most of the public awareness budget.     Read more

New Billboards Target Polygamy Abuses

The Associated Press KUTV Channel 2 Originally published June 17, 2006

HILDALE/COLORADO CITY Four billboards were posted in towns near the southern Utah polygamist community of Hildale on Friday, aimed at getting information about domestic violence to residents who may not know how to get help.   The billboards were donated by Reagan Outdoor Advertising and posted in St. George, Cedar City, Parowan and Mount Carmel, said Paul Murphy, spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.  All are within an hour's drive of Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., where most members of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make their homes.   "The thought was that the polygamist communities have been underserved when it comes to information about domestic violence," Murphy said.  "We don't know if there is more domestic violence in those communities, but we know that they have less access when it comes to education."     Read more

Evictions go to FLDS duo

Notices served to councilman and to suspected Jeffs confidant

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Saturday, June 17, 2006

Two high-profile members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church have been handed eviction notices telling them to pay up taxes or move out.   The eviction notices were served on Colorado City, Ariz., Town Councilman William Shapley and former United Effort Plan (UEP) Trustee James Zitting, who is rumored to be part of fugitive FLDS Church leader Warren Jeffs' inner circle.   "I don't know if this is some kind of a test to see how serious I am about the issues," Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed special fiduciary of the UEP Trust said Friday.  "I don't know if they just don't have the money or don't want to pay.  But in order to keep the momentum of the property tax payments going and to maintain credibility, I'm certainly going to evict."   The two men have five days to respond to the eviction notices or face court action kicking them out of their large-scale Colorado City homes.     Read more

FLDS not sole focus of probes

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, June 25, 2006

Fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist LDS Church are not the sole focus of Utah's criminal investigations into polygamy.   In an interview with the Deseret Morning News, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff put other polygamous sects in the state on notice that they remain under a cloud of suspicion of abuse, fraud, child-bride marriages and other crimes.   "In case anybody wondered," he said, "we're clearly following up on investigations and leads of every other group that we've had allegations of (perpetuating) these crimes that we're focusing on."   Shurtleff declined to say whom he is investigating or if charges are pending.  Sources tell the Deseret Morning News that a number of current and ex-members of different polygamous groups in Utah have been meeting with investigators and providing them with information.     Read more

Carry on courageous fight against polygamous cult

Opinion The Arizona Republic Originally published June 29, 2006

It's not surprising that Mohave County prosecutors are having trouble rounding up witnesses to testify against men accused of sex crimes against underage girls.   The decades-old polygamous cult clinging to Arizona's northern border has made secrecy a tenet of faith.   Getting cult members to testify against one another amounts to getting true believers to rat on the prophet, Warren Jeffs.  This fugitive cult leader is on the FBI's most-wanted list for coercing young girls to become the plural trophy wives of his chosen followers, but his followers remain faithful.   To accommodate polygamous relationships, young boys are driven out of the community.  Like the child brides who have escaped, these "lost boys" tell of an abusive society built on fear of the outside world.   Those who attempt to rock that perverse society - Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith, for one, and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, for another - deserve thanks from a state that, regrettably, has been a longtime haven for the largest polygamous community in the country.   Actually, Arizona shares that dishonor with Utah.     Read more

Kudos Galore

Letters From the Issue of Thursday, July 6, 2006 Phoenix New Times

Highest regards: I just wanted to write in and congratulate John Dougherty and New Times for finally getting a smattering of the recognition that he and it deserve for the eye-popping polygamy coverage the paper has published over the past three or four years ("Dougherty Honored" with the Casey Medal, June 22). Without it, Warren Jeffs, the religion's criminal prophet, would not be on the FBI's Most Wanted List, and none of the rapists of little girls would be indicted and standing trial. That it took law enforcement so long to do anything about this heinous problem — and still the surface has only been scratched — is almost unbelievable. The practice of turning the other way for so long by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Terry Goddard is criminal. I don't know how they can sleep at night. If not for John, this would still be a terrible little secret that mainstream Mormons could keep hidden.     Read more

Siege was not all for naught

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published July 6, 2006

Though law enforcement didn't find fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted, it did follow through effectively on a tip he was seen entering a home in Cedar City on Friday.   A SWAT team was immediately deployed, a judge issued a search warrant and the FBI was contacted.   The situation didn't result in Jeffs' capture but it did precipitate useful experience for the next time a credible tip is received.  The effort was not completely meaningless for officers from Cedar City, Enoch and the Iron County Sheriff's Office that worked together as they arrived at the Pachea Trail home in the Black Rock subdivision.  They talked with residents, executed a temporary evacuation of neighboring homes and conducted perimeter searches of the area, including the inside of the home and a vehicle.   A man and woman police first encountered upon the scene, two or three more women, and as many as seven children were found inside the home.  While there was no evidence that Jeffs had ever been to the home, there was enough evidence to connect the household to Jeffs.     Read more

Arizona polygamist convicted of sex crimes

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Saturday, July 8, 2006

A jury in Kingman, Ariz., has convicted a polygamist man on a pair of sex-crimes charges.   Kelly Fischer was found guilty on charges of sex with a minor and conspiracy to commit sex with a minor, the Mohave County Attorney's Office said Friday.  The 38-year-old Colorado City, Ariz., man is accused of marrying an underage girl in a polygamous union arranged by fugitive FLDS Church leader Warren Jeffs.   With no victims or other witnesses coming forward, Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith used birth certificates and ex-FLDS members' testimonies to make his case.  Fischer faces up to two years in prison when he is sentenced next month.  He is one of eight men scheduled to face trial on these charges.  Dale Barlow, 48, is scheduled to face trial on August 8.   In other developments involving the FLDS Church, 10 men from the polygamous border towns of Hildale and Colorado City — who couldn't be found to be served subpoenas — unexpectedly responded in court Friday.   Three lawyers representing the 10 men showed up in St. George's 5th District Court to receive the subpoenas, which demand documents related to an Arizona investigation into the troubled Colorado City Unified School District.     Read more

Fischer guilty

Colorado City man convicted for sex crimes

By Aibing Guo Kingman Daily Miner Originally published July 9, 2006

KINGMAN ­ An eight-member jury unanimously agreed on Friday that Kelly Fischer is guilty on both charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.  Fischer is the first convicted of eight Colorado City men charged with similar crimes.   Following closing arguments by both attorneys Friday morning, Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steven Conn sent the jury to deliberate at 1:05 p.m.   The jury received 13 pages of instructions and copies of evidence.   Shortly before 2:30 p.m., jury members concluded that Fischer was guilty on both charges.   Asked by Conn to reconfirm their decisions in the courtroom one by one, all of them said "yes" to the decision they had just made.   Terry Head, a long-time Kingman resident and a member of the jury, said after the trial that the jury meeting went smoothly, and fierce discussion rarely happened.   "The fact is more than clear in the first charge.  I think we wasted no time to reach a conclusion on that," Head said.  For him, the only concern has been whether the crime happened in the state of Arizona.  After reading court instructions, he realized the crime did not have to happen in Arizona for Fisher to be considered guilty.     Read more

New film by ex-wife takes aim at FLDS

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, August 27, 2006

As a former polygamist wife, Laurie Allen said it gave her common ground with the people she was filming for her documentary on the Fundamentalist LDS Church in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.  "My family's homestead is three miles away.  I went to school in Colorado City for two months when I was in the second grade," she said.  Allen grew up in the notorious LeBaron polygamous sect.  Her great-uncle Ervil LeBaron ordered a series of murders from prison, where he served a life sentence for killing a rival polygamist leader.  She said she is a cousin of Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron, who was recently added to the FBI's Most Wanted list in connection with a series of murders in 1988.  In an interview with the Deseret Morning News, Allen said she became a plural wife, and after 18 years finally left.  Attending college, she enrolled in film school.  For a project, she began a documentary on polygamy and the FLDS Church.  "Something needs to be done about these fundamentalist polygamous cults.  It's not about religion, it's not about polygamy, it's about the denigrating of women and mind control," she said.     Read more

Polygamy 'prophet' in custody

The Age - Melbourne, Australia Originally published August 30, 2006

Fugitive polygamist sect leader Warren Steed Jeffs, one of the FBI's 10 most wanted men, has been arrested with $50,000 in cash, 15 cell phones and three wigs after a routine traffic stop near Las Vegas, authorities said today.  Jeffs, 50, considered a prophet by his estimated 10,000 followers, was jailed on warrants accusing him of sexual assault and other misconduct on minors in Arizona, and as an accomplice to rape in Utah, the FBI and state law enforcement officials said.  "Now he's going to be held accountable," Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said of Jeffs' arrest.  "Nobody is above the law."  Jeffs, feared as a tyrant by many former members of his sect, is accused of arranging marriages between older men and underage girls in a community that is closed to outsiders.  Young men and boys are often forced out to ensure a supply of young brides for male elders.  The sect, long based in an enclave on the twin border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, split from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the mainstream Mormon Church banned polygamy more than a century ago.  Jeffs' group is believed to be one of the largest polygamist communities in the United States.  A joint Utah-Arizona attorneys general report has estimated that 20,000 to 40,000 Americans still engage in the outlawed practice of plural marriage.     Read more

Matt Smith has made great strides

By Barbara Gruhl Kingman Daily Miner Originally published September 5, 2006

Congratulations to Matt Smith, Mohave County Attorney.  Thanks to his dedication and drive, Mohave County has its first conviction of child-bigamy, and Warren Jeffs, Colorado City polygamist leader, is in jail.  In June, 2004, I sat down with Matt Smith in his office; it was his first full year as Mohave County Attorney.  Things were heating up again in Colorado City, and I wanted to talk to him about his plans for that closed FLDS polygamous community.  Would he take them on when his predecessors would not?  Over a cup of coffee, I questioned and listened as he patiently explained the Colorado City situation.  My questions were mainly about child abuse and welfare fraud, and how can we open up this closed society?  We also talked about our own daughters, and that we cannot allow anyone's daughter to be abused by unlawful patriarchal religious practices.  We just can't!  I asked about the alleged welfare fraud by the FLDS society and learned that it is under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General.  I've been given an estimate by others that welfare fraud likely costs Mohave County six or eight million dollars worth of food stamps and health services each year.  For those who say, "leave the poor people alone," share that bit of information.  This polygamist culture of the FLDS church in Colorado City is a step back in time.  Females have no voice and are taught at an early age to do as they are told.  They do not talk to people outside of the group, which is the reason the group continues to exist.  How can you know that you are a victim when you know no other way of life?  Matt Smith knew then as he knows now that it will be a long, slow slog to change this 200-year-old culture.  I asked, "How do we begin?" Matt Smith told me that we begin by enforcing the law.     Read more

Sen. Reid asks for polygamy task force

The Associated Press Houston Chronicle Originally published September 12, 2006

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The U.S. Senate's top Democrat called Tuesday for a federal investigation into the activities of polygamists in Western states.  Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that a task force should be formed to look into interstate activities of polygamists.  He also asked the Justice Department to help state prosecutors dealing with polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs.  "For too long, this outrageous activity has been disguised in the mask of religious freedom," Reid said.  "But child abuse and human servitude have nothing to do with religious freedom and must not be tolerated."  Reid, a Mormon, added that Jeffs is part of a sect that broke away from the Mormon Church more than a century ago and has been disavowed by leaders and mainstream members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  A reporter's call to the Justice Department's after-hours command center was transferred to the department's press office, where there was no answer.     Read more

U.S. Senator Harry Reid's letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

September 12, 2006 The Honorable Alberto Gonzales Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 Dear Judge Gonzales: I write to urge that the Department of Justice provide all necessary assistance to state prosecutors in the case of polygamist sect leader Warren Steed Jeffs. More generally, the federal government should work with state officials to address the broader pattern of serious criminal conduct by all those who use multiple marriages to abuse women and children. As you know, Jeffs was recently apprehended by Nevada state troopers and has been extradited to Utah, where he faces rape accomplice charges for arranging the marriage of a teenage girl to an older man in Nevada. Jeffs is also under indictment in Arizona for sexual assault on a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. The charges in both states involve an ongoing course of conduct in which Jeffs arranged marriages between teenage girls and older, married men. Jeffs himself is said to have at least 40 wives and dozens of children.     Read more

Polygamy in West requires inquiry, Nevadan says

Reid urges creation of federal task force

By Tina Reed Stephens Washington Bureau Las Vegas Review-Journal Originally published September 13, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Tuesday urged creation of a federal task force to investigate polygamy in the Western states, a practice he equated to "child abuse and human servitude."  Reid called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to be prepared to press charges against polygamist Warren Jeffs if he escapes conviction on charges pending in Utah and Arizona.  "There is a substantial federal interest in preventing the systematic child abuse involved in this modern-day polygamy movement," Reid, a member of the Mormon church, said in a letter sent to Gonzales.  Reid said the fundamentalist sect led by Jeffs had been disavowed by the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members.  "For too long, this outrageous activity has been masked in the guise of religious freedom.  But child abuse and human servitude have nothing to do with religious freedom and must not be tolerated," Reid said.  Reid's request followed the arrest of Jeffs just outside of Las Vegas more than two weeks ago.     Read more

Reid's Polygamy Investigation Request Redundant

By Julie Rose KCPW Utah Policy Daily Originally broadcast September 14, 2006

(KCPW News) Nevada Senator Harry Reid is asking the U.S. Attorney General to investigate polygamy in the Western States.  And while that's a nice idea, Utah Deputy Attorney General Kirk Torgensen says Reid's a bit late to the party:   "I applaud Senator Reid's bringing focus to this and making the inquiry," says Torgensen.  "Obviously the more resources the better.  But in Utah, we have already been working with the federal agencies - the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's office - and that's been working well."  In fact, Torgensen says it was local FBI agents who helped get polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs on the 10 Most Wanted List, resulting in his recent capture. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Reid asks for a task force to look into interstate activities of polygamists.   Torgensen says it would be more helpful to enlist support from the Internal Revenue Service dealing with federal income tax issues in polygamist communities.

Matheson Joins Call for Polygamy Crackdown

KSL NewsRadio 1160 Originally broadcast September 14, 2006

(KSL News) -- A Utah Congressman is joining in the call for the federal government to become more involved in prosecuting polygamy. Representative Jim Matheson has released a statement saying he supports federal intervention because "crimes against children cannot be tolerated."  This comes on the heels of a letter from Nevada Senator Harry Reid to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, asking for a special federal probe into polygamy.  Other Utah Congressmen and Senators have said they have faith in state government to take on the issue.

Polygamy needs federal probe

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published October 4, 2006

I escaped polygamy 20 years ago and now help others who want to escape and have been working with the states of Utah and Arizona for seven years trying to obtain services for victims of polygamy.  Utah and Arizona were brought kicking and screaming into this issue by activists determined to protect children.  State and local officials have for 50 years shown a pattern and practice of indifference, incompetence and outright collusion with polygamist criminal leadership.  It is the victims whose complaints were ignored for decades.  Since 1953 the states consistently returned young girls running from rape - euphemistically called celestial marriage - to their abusers.  Only recently activists succeeded in gathering enough pressure to shine a spotlight on the corruption between polygamist leaders resulting in a lackluster effort by law enforcement.  State officials are trying to reason why 58 unmarked child graves and a death rate of more than 50 percent of children is not obscene inside Jeffs' compound ...  Given the honed criminal practices in this cult, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is absolutely correct in his assessment: "For too long, this outrageous activity has been masked in the guise of religious freedom.  But child abuse and human servitude have nothing to do with religious freedom and must not be tolerated."  It is the victim/survivors who have spent "years of painstaking perseverance and unprecedented patience" with the states of Utah and Arizona documenting and reporting crime after crime to no avail.  Still the children remain unprotected.     Read more

Jessop right about authority's blind eyes

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published October 5, 2006

Flora Jessop is correct in her guest editorial printed Wednesday. Over the last few years, Hildale/Colorado Police blocked any attempts to investigate polygamy. Child abuse has gone on with the local authorities blind eyes. That includes local judges, elected officials in the states of Utah and Arizona. But is also trickles down to the long-time residents. A few years ago well-meaning people would get into their cars to trek to Mesquite to picket a building of a pornography shop. They were successful in stopping that venture. However, where are the same car loads of locals not protesting the breaking of laws and abuse of children in the existing atmosphere in these two states? Warren Jeffs is just the tip of the ice berg. Until the citizens load up their backbones to protest the ongoing, long-time law breaking white slavery of polygamy, Jeffs will just hire high powered lawyers to get him off. What a rotten shame. James C. Anderson St. George

Polygamy crimes are prosecuted

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published October 8, 2006

Let me begin by acknowledging Flora Jessop for sounding the alarm about the need for help for some people living in polygamous communities.  She was one of the first to speak out and reach out to some of the victims who did not know where to turn for assistance.  But in her zeal she is now demonizing the people she says she wants to help and ridiculing any effort to help besides her own.  In her Wednesday editorial to The Spectrum, Jessop claims that Utah and Arizona are not willing to prosecute cases involving victims from polygamous communities.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Prosecutors have and will continue to prosecute crimes within these communities like anywhere else.  However, we can't bend the laws, change rules or alter the justice system because the perpetrators happen to be polygamists.  No matter what they believe or where they live, victims of crime can be assured they will be heard and helped.  Perpetrators can also be guaranteed that they will be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.     Read more

FLDS fiduciary asks for Jeffs' help

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Saturday, October 21, 2006

The man appointed by the courts to oversee the Fundamentalist LDS Church's financial arm is reaching out to captured polygamist leader Warren Jeffs.  He's asking for Jeffs' help in getting FLDS followers to pay property taxes.  Court-appointed special fiduciary Bruce Wisan confirmed to the Deseret Morning News he has sent letters to Warren Jeffs at the Purgatory Jail in Hurricane, as well as other top FLDS leaders.  The letters ask not to repeat the painstaking process of going door-to-door to collect property taxes in the border towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz.  "If Warren says 'pay property taxes,' they'll pay their property taxes," Wisan said Friday.  "That would make my life simpler."  Wisan told the Deseret Morning News he was planning to send another letter to Jeffs, who had issed an edict telling FLDS followers to "answer them nothing."  In 2005, a judge took control of the $110 million United Effort Plan Trust, which controls homes, businesses and property within FLDS enclaves, amid allegations that Jeffs and other top church leaders were fleecing it.  Jeffs, 50, is facing criminal charges accusing him of arranging a child bride marriage between a teenage girl and an older man, now reported to be her first cousin.  Jeffs faces a preliminary hearing Nov. 21 in St. George's 5th District Court on charges of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony.     Read more

'Polygamy czar' quits to take crime lab helm

He's second to hold title since job was created in 2000

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Thursday, November 2, 2006

His official job title is "investigator of crimes within closed societies" for the Utah Attorney General's Office.   In polygamous circles, he is known as "the polygamy czar."  Jim Hill told the Deseret Morning News he has resigned from the czar's job to manage the crime lab and evidence room for the Salt Lake City Police Department.  "The opportunity presented itself," Hill said.  He previously worked for Salt Lake City police for more than 26 years before going to the Utah Attorney General's Office.  Hill is the second person to take the polygamy investigator's position since it was created in 2000.  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said the investigator would look at crimes being committed within closed societies, including tax evasion, welfare fraud, child abuse, sex abuse, domestic violence and other crimes.  Ron Barton, the first investigator, left in 2004.  He was instrumental in building criminal cases against polygamists, most notably the convictions of Tom Green and Rodney Holm.  Barton was often criticized and called a "nuisance" by many polygamists and pro-polygamy activists.  Hill has been more quiet, but anti-polygamy activists insisted he has been equally effective.     Read more

Safety Net Committee is far from secure

By Vicky Prunty and John Llewellyn Opinion The Spectrum Originally published November 7, 2006

Of the 500 victims the Safety Net Committee has allegedly helped — how many incidents of abuse constituted a crime?  And if crimes were committed, how many perpetrators were prosecuted?  Of the 500 victims helped, how many women and children actually left the polygamist environment where they were abused?  And how many victims that were helped returned to the abusive environment, either of their own volition (religious reasons) or because they had no other alternative?  Five hundred victims are a lot, which conveys a strong indication that there are serious problems within the polygamist subculture.  The Safety Net statistics do not identify these problems or whether measures were taken to correct these problems.  One can’t help wonder, is the program analogous to giving a battered wife medical attention, and then sending her back to her husband?  Unless the circumstances resulting in abuse are corrected, the Safety Net program can expect a perpetual supply of victims, which means the necessity of yearly renewing the Safe Passage Grant.  Perhaps, a plus for many Utah salaried service providers. We believe the taxpayers who are footing the bill for the Safety Net Committee are entitled to know the nature of the abuse.  With no arrests being made the abuse is probably categorized as "domestic violence," which could involve several types of trauma — physical violence, neglect, non support, emotional and psychological coercion, (pernicious mind control) which are the common types of abuse endemic to the Mormon polygamist subculture (Not to mention child molestation.)     Read more

New trial dates set for Colorado City men

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published Wednesday, November 15, 2006

KINGMAN - New trial dates have been set for four remaining Colorado City polygamists charged with having sex with under age girls.  The eight defendants are members of a polygamist sect in Colorado City and Hiltop, Utah.  The cases against four have been settled with trials now set for the four remaining defendants.  Vergel Bryce Jessop, 46, is charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.  His jury trial is set for Dec. 5.  Dale Evans Barlow's jury trial is set to begin Dec. 19.  Barlow, 48, is charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.  Randolph Barlow's bench trial before Superior Court Judge Steven Conn is set for Jan. 3.  Barlow, 33, is charged with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.  Rodney Holm, 40, a former Colorado City police officer, is charged with three counts of sexual conduct with a minor.  His jury trial is set for Jan. 17.  Kelly Fischer, 39, was the first codefendant to be tried and convicted of one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.  He was sentenced to probation and 45 days in county jail.     Read more

Utah's Top 10 News Stories

The Associated Press KUTV Channel 2 Originally published December 22, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY Utah’s top headlines drew attention around the world in 2006, from the return of fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs to face criminal charges involving an arranged monogamous marriage and the surgical separation of the exuberant conjoined 4-year-old Herrin twins to the Salt Lake City visit of then-President Vicente Fox of Mexico. Each year, The Associated Press and its Utah member news organizations vote on the state’s top 10 stories. In 2006, they were rated as follows: 1. Utah polygamy goes very public in a big way: From the arrest of a shorts-clad Warren Jeffs during a traffic stop just north of Las Vegas to the much-discussed debut of the HBO series "Big Love" and the summertime polygamist rally in downtown Salt Lake City, the practice of plural marriage attracted coast-to-coast attention in 2006. 2. (tie) Tens of thousands of immigrants and their supporters marched for immigration rights in downtown Salt Lake City in April. The huge turnout stunned even organizers. Many were seeking federal legislation that would help an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants settle in the U.S. legally. And, 5-year-old Destiny Norton vanished from a Salt Lake City neighborhood in July. After an intensive eight-day search, her body was found in a plastic storage container in a neighbor’s cellar. In December, Craig Gregerson, 20, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and was immediately sentenced to life in prison without parole.     Read more

2 deputies in FLDS, Jeffs case honored

Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, December 26, 2006

HURRICANE — Two deputies assigned to cases involving polygamist leader Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist LDS Church are among eight being honored by the Washington County Sheriff's Office for outstanding service.  Sgt. Shauna Jones, who helped bring the case against Jeffs to prosecutors, was honored with the sheriff's 2006 Patrol Supervisor of the Year.  "I try and work hard and it's nice to be recognized," she said in a statement Friday.  "I just try and help a lot of people."  Deputy Matt Fisher was recognized as Patrol Deputy of the Year.  He has been assigned to patrol the polygamous border community of Hildale.  The others recognized with various department awards include deputies Ariel Lopez for saving a co-worker from choking on a piece of food; Royce Boling and Sgt. Kenny Smith in corrections; Trevor Benson with the SWAT team; and Michelle Dillenbeck and Jake Swingler, who are civilian staff members.

Out of the shadows, the Big Love women who want the right to share a husband

Mormon wives are coming forward for the first time to defend their plural marriages and help to root out the abuse of young girls

By Catherine Philp in Salt Lake City, Utah The London Times Originally published December 30, 2006

Dressed in her sharp pinstripe suit, her dark brown hair elegantly coiffed, Vicky looks every inch the archetypal young working woman after a day at the office.  But there are things she does not talk about at work.  Things such as the house she grew up in with her 39 brothers and sisters.  Things such as the 21 children, six of them her own, who run around the house she lives in now. Things such as the two other "sisterwives," one of them her blood sister, with whom she she shares her husband, taking turns to spend the night with him in strict rotation.  "It’s not a thing we generally publicise," she says shyly.  Now, however, Vicky is going public, although she declines to use her last name.  As high-profile cases of child sex abuse among secretive cults unsettle and anger the larger polygamist community, women like Vicky are stepping forward to lobby in defence of a woman’s right to be a plural wife without fear of prosecution.  "We live good and decent lives," she said.  Going public on polygamy has long been a risky business in Utah, where an estimated 40,000 polygamists live below the legal radar.  For the past 50 years Utah has had a strict "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy towards the practice, a felony punishable by up to five years in jail.  The policy was prompted by a raid in 1953 on a polygamist community that ended with hundreds of children taken into care and parents jailed, causing a public relations disaster.     Read more

TOP 10 STORIES 2006:

General election, Augustine death, corruption trial head list

By Lisa Kim Bach Las Vegas Review-Journal Originally published December 31, 2006

Take one cocktail waitress. Add a gubernatorial candidate. Splash with a generous jigger of the alcohol of choice. Combine with legal spin from masters of the game and you have the recipe for one of Nevada's headiest elections ever. Jim Gibbons' quest to be governor looked like it could be derailed by Chrissy Mazzeo's allegations that he assaulted her, but Gibbons hung on to beat Dina Titus. The elections also saw Nevadans enact a smoking ban, the end of Lynette Boggs McDonald's career on the Clark County Commission, a slew of Democrats in constitutional offices, and a new sheriff in town. In the midst of staging a political comeback, Kathy Augustine, the first impeached elected official in Nevada history, became a homicide case. The suspect: her fourth husband, Chaz Higgs. Politics and corruption go together like meat and potatoes in Nevada. Case in point: Former Clark County Commissioners Dario Herrera and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, who were forced to pay the price for supplementing their official intake with greenbacks from a former strip club owner.     Read more

Top 10 stories for 2006:

Destiny, Jeffs top lists of readers, editors

By Doug Smeath Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, December 31, 2006

Polygamy, a murdered child and political controversy dominated the headlines in Utah — and made waves nationally — in 2006.  Nine editors at the Deseret Morning News have selected the year's 10 biggest stories, and at the top of the list was the arrest in Las Vegas of Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs.  Jeffs was arrested in August, after several months on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.  He faces charges of rape as an accomplice and is accused of arranging child-bride marriages for members of his polygamist church.  The story brought national and international attention to Utah, as polygamy stories here often do.  In fact, the editors' top three picks were covered not only by local media but by reporters across the nation.  The editors' second choice was the July murder of 5-year-old Destiny Norton by Craig Gregerson, a neighbor who has pleaded guilty to killing her and then sexually assaulting her body in his basement.     Read more

Utah attorney general responds to polygamist's U.S. Supreme Court appeal

By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press North County Times - Escondido, CA Originally published Friday, January 12, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY -- The U.S. Supreme Court should reject a Utah polygamist's petition to appeal his bigamy conviction because the case involved an underage bride and not a pair of consenting adults, Utah's attorney general said in a brief filed with the high court Friday.  "This isn't about consenting adults, this is about an adult who had sex with a minor," Assistant Attorney General Laura Dupaix said.  The 22-page filing is a response to an October petition from Rodney Holm, a former Hildale, Utah, police officer convicted of bigamy in 2003 for entering a religious marriage with a teenager when Holm was already married to her older sister.  The Utah Supreme Court upheld the conviction last year.  Holm is a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a faith of nearly 10,000 who practice polygamy in arranged marriages, often with minor girls.  Holm married 16-year-old Ruth Stubbs in 1998 when he was 32.  The U.S. Supreme Court last ruled on a polygamy case in 1879, when it banned the practice even in the context of religion.  It is unclear when justices will decide if they'll hear Holm's case.     Read more

Arizona lawmaker's bill seeks intervention with custody issues and polygamy

Visitation opposed for men with child brides

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Thursday, January 18, 2007

In a traditional divorce, the judge often orders mommy and daddy to share the child, granting custody to one and visitation to the other.  But what if there are "other" mothers?  An Arizona lawmaker has filed a bill in that state seeking to block the courts from granting any visitation to a spouse who practices polygamy.  "In a typical marriage, the courts try to strike a balance," said Rep. David Lujan, D-Phoenix.  "I don't believe that works when you're dealing with one parent who's engaged in child bigamy.  Child bigamy is essentially child abuse."  Lujan, who is an attorney for a children's justice organization, came up with the legislation to help women leaving the polygamous border communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah.  He said his office recently helped a woman with seven kids file for divorce.  The courts granted the father visitation rights.  "It's very traumatic for the kids.  They're being forced to live in two dramatically different worlds," Lujan said in an interview with the Deseret Morning News.  "When they go to their fathers on weekends, the girls put on the long polygamous dresses.  The father's preaching the concept of child bigamy.  Essentially, he is telling the kids that they're going to have to get married at an early age."     Read more

Arizona's AG speaker at meeting

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published Monday, January 22, 2007

KINGMAN - Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard stopped in Kingman Monday to address the county supervisors on several issues facing the county and the state.  The main issue was the fight against methamphetamine and trying to pass legislation to restrict the sell of over-the-counter pseudoephedrine and cold medicine often used to make meth.   Bullhead City, Kingman and Lake Havasu City, along with 43 other cities, have now passed laws to restrict the purchase of over-the-counter drugs at local pharmacists within city limits.  Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are main ingredients used to make methamphetamine, the drug directly or indirectly responsible for the majority of crimes.  With the cities passing such laws, there already has been a significant reduction in the number of meth labs in the state, Goddard said.  The attorney general also spoke of the Arizona Meth Project, a project similar to the Montana Meth Project, which targets teens and young adults in ad campaigns on the dangers of using meth.  Another project is MethSMART, a program through the Boys and Girls Club.  Goddard also spoke of the crackdown on child abuse, sexual molestation and other illegal crimes that have taken place in Colorado City and the polygamous sect that has controlled that city for decades.     Read more

Goddard Visits Kingman

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Tuesday, January 23, 2007

KINGMAN, AZ - Attorney General Terry Goddard spent yesterday visiting several locations in the Kingman area.  Goddard said he met with local officials because, "I wanted to talk about issues we had been working on jointly with officials in Mohave County and that are of interest to the people in Kingman and around the county."  Goddard also met with Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheehan and Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith, regarding issues in Colorado City.  Goddard told TSN, "It’s not an option to simply say that [the law] won’t apply in Colorado City.  So whether you are Warren Jeffs or any of his followers, you have to recognize that we have very important legal rules that have to be followed."   Additional stops on his visit included the Shed-a-Thon and senior lunch at the Kathryn Heidenreich Adult Center.  The attorney general spoke about ways to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.  The last stop was a special visit to White Cliffs Middle School, where Goddard spoke to more than 400 sixth and seventh grade students about Internet safety, and how to stay away from predators.  Why target this age group?  Goddard explained, "It’s a great age because they are just learning to use the Internet, they are just beginning to be exposed to chat rooms and some of the social networking places like MySpace.com - and it’s a good time to make sure they do it intelligently and safely."

Polygamy Says More Than One Way - But Abuse Abundant

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published January 31, 2007

LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ - How many wives are enough? One at a time seems best for most.  However, that’s not the case in Colorado City and among certain people.  At this year’s Lake Havasu City Winterfest, free information about the effects of polygamy will be available to the public February 10th and 11th.  The information will be provided courtesy of MCFAP - Mohave County Faces the Abuses of Polygamy.  MCFAP is a committee of the local nonprofit organization Abuse Prevention.  Besides offering informative brochures, members of the MCFAP Board of Directors will be available to discuss various pictures and websites confronting the negative effects of polygamy.  The mission of MCFAP is to continue to raise awareness of the inherent abuses associated with polygamy, including child abuse and neglect, alleged welfare fraud, misuse of public funds and the illegal practice of polygamy.  For further information, visit their website at polygamyabuse.org.

Law would protect rights of moms fleeing polygamy

By Amanda J. Crawford The Arizona Republic Originally published January 31, 2007

When a woman flees a polygamous marriage, should her children be sent back to live with their father and his other wives?  A state lawmaker from Phoenix wants to make sure they're not.  A bill to be heard Thursday in the House Human Services Committee, would block judges from giving sole or joint custody to a person with multiple spouses or those who marry someone underage.  Democratic Rep. David Lujan, an attorney with the non-profit Justice for Children, said courts sometimes treat marriages with polygamists just like other marriages, and that can be bad for the children.  He says his group has worked with women who have fled Colorado City, the stronghold of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, only to have their children forced back for visitation.  Lujan said he thinks the state needs to do more to support people who flee the polygamous sect, so he's sponsoring two bills.  One would change the custody rules.  Another, filed Wednesday, would provide a half million dollars in funding to provide transitional services for victims.  "Part of it is building the infrastructure to give people the confidence to leave," Lujan said.  They need to know that "the law is going to support them."  Lujan says there is no doubt that when an underage girl is married, often to a much older man, that what is going on is child abuse.  He says he doesn't think it is safe to send children back to families engaging in that practice, known as child bigamy.     Read more

State wants to help parents who leave polygamy

By Angela Holdsworth ABC 15 - KNXV-TV Phoenix Originally broadcast Thursday, February 1, 2007

They're running from a life where they say young girls are forced into marriages and teenage boys are ostracized.  Now former polygamists want the State of Arizona to help parents keep custody of their kids when they leave the sects.  A new bill that passed the Arizona House Human Services Committee on Thursday blocks judges from giving sole or joint custody to a person with multiple spouses or those who marry someone underage.  Democratic representative David Lujan is sponsoring the bill.  He says, "It's a difficult decision for them to leave and then have to fight for custody of the kids.  This will tell you that once you make that difficult decision the courts will support you."  Two former polygamist wives testified before the committee today explaining the difficulties in protecting their kids once they've escaped.  They hope that the bill will not only help their lives but also offer hope for others who may be thinking of leaving.

Help for children being abandoned in Colorado City

By Brent Hunsaker ABC 4 Originally broadcast February 20, 2007

There's a new exodus from the polygamous communities along the Utah Arizona border.  It's smaller than the exodus of a few years ago when Warren Jeffs transplanted some of his people to Texas to build a new community and temple on the YFZ Ranch.  This time just over a dozen of his most faithful including some relatives have been moved out.  One other wrinkle to this exodus: Jeffs apparently ordered a handful of children abandoned.  Parents allegedly left kids (usually young boys in their teens) not only in their communities, but also in Hurricane, St. George and even Las Vegas.  Stefanie Colgrove said these teens are ill equipped to survive in the outside world, "They don't even know how to take care of themselves."  As others left Hildale, Colgrove moved back.  She's took over a large house recently occupied by John Gilbert Jeffs and invited all those left behind to come and stay with her.  Its a place where she said, "somebody can love you, make sure you get your laundry washed, and have a family again. That's the essence of it right there.  If you're raised in a family and then all of a sudden it's removed, you've lost something serious not just a mom and dad, but a whole family."     Read more

Don't you think it's dumb that the Arizona Strip is in Arizona?

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published March 5, 2007

The Arizona Strip has a serious law problem.  You will never see a lawman there unless you break the speed limit.  A rancher there told me that somebody stole 300 feet of well pipe from him but he couldn't find anybody to report the crime to.  Don't you think it's dumb that the Arizona Strip should even be in Arizona?  The boundary between Utah and Arizona ought to be the Colorado River.  The nearest county seat now is Kingman, on the other side of the Grand Canyon, a mere five or six hours drive to go to district court or get a driver's license.  But if you get a ticket on the Interstate 15 strip in Arizona you can mercifully attend court in the city of - er, I forget its name - oh yeah, Mocassin, a little west of Kanab.  There is a least two rooms in the trailer where court is conducted.  But don't be deceived.  The Strip's largest industry is conducted here.  Arizona invests nothing in the Arizona Strip and seems to care nothing about it.  The Strip could have been developed by now but for Arizona's anti-growth policies.  Recently, I offered to buy the Arizona Strip for $24.  I thought Southern Utah developers could immediately build a subdivision with cinder block walls or a mobile home park overlooking the north rim of the Grand Canyon.     Read more

Anti-Polygamist Group Donates

e-Press Tri-State News Network Originally published Monday, April 2, 2007

Mohave County, AZ - A group called Mohave County Faces the Abuses of Polygamy (MCFAP) recently donated $2,500 to Children for Justice, for academic tutoring of children from polygamy families.  MCFAP Co-President Coleen Widell, says Justice for Children was chosen based on their national presence in assisting children in need and their reputation within the legal community.  "We specifically designated our donation to assist minor child victims of polygamy in obtaining professionally-qualified tutoring in an attempt to increase their educational skills, so they can become more competent in their grade-appropriate studies."  MCFAP strictly designated the required training for the contracted tutors, who must be professionally or academically trained with licensure or a teaching certificate and specifically not be a layperson, a family member or associated with any religious or activist organization.  MCFAP says its mission is to continue to raise awareness of the inherent abuses associated with polygamy, including child abuse and neglect, alleged welfare fraud, misuse of public funds and the illegal practice of polygamy.  For further information about the organization on the Internet, go to polygamyabuse.org.

UTAH & ARIZONA ATTORNEYS GENERAL TO HOST TOWN HALL ON ISOLATED COMMUNITIES

AUTHORITARIAN GROUP EXPERT WILL ALSO OFFER TRAINING

News Release Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff Originally published April 16, 2007

For Immediate Release April 16, 2007 Contact Paul Murphy: (801) 538-1892 pmurphy@utah.gov Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard are inviting the public to attend the third Town Hall Meeting concerning efforts to help victims from isolated communities. A nationally known expert on authoritarian groups will also offer a special training earlier in the day for social workers, law enforcement officers and others offering help in these communities. "Nearly everyone has an opinion about polygamy and what is happening in some of the more isolated communities," says Mark Shurtleff. "This is a chance for the public to get informed on the issues and to speak out about efforts to provide equal access to safety and justice."     Read more

AGs to host public meeting

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published April 23, 2007

ST. GEORGE - Communities that are socially isolated may not have the same access to services afforded to other communities - especially when it comes to safety and justice.  Hildale and Colorado City are, in some ways, isolated because of the religious beliefs of the majority of residents.  The Utah and Arizona attorneys general will be discussing efforts to reach out to residents in those communities at a town hall meeting on Tuesday.  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said although his office has limited resources, it is committed to doing more to help people from polygamist backgrounds, and the general population should care because people in those communities are their neighbors.  "The burden to bring perpetrators to justice and provide protection for victims doesn't just rest with the Attorney General's Office.  It is the responsibility of everyone in the states of Utah and Arizona," Shurtleff said.  "I am hoping that people will come to the meeting and learn how they can take part in this historic endeavor."  The town hall meeting and training for social workers, law enforcement officers and others offering help in these communities are being paid for by a grant from the National Crime Victim's Week and the Department of Justice.  Shurtleff said many crimes will be covered in the town hall meeting, but the main focus is on victims from isolated communities.     Read more

Group notes rising exodus of FLDS women

Jeffs appeals to high court for venue change

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, April 24, 2007

ST. GEORGE — Perhaps as a result of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs being jailed and facing trial, an increased number of young women are emerging from the closed Fundamentalist LDS Church communities on the Utah-Arizona border, according to a group that helps such women.  "We've had more people coming out," said Elaine Tyler, director of the HOPE Organization, a Washington County-based volunteer group that helps people leaving the polygamist communities.  Some want out of an abusive situation.  Others want a job, support and a place to live.  Some are former child brides, Tyler said.  "A lot of young girls — 18, 19, 20," Tyler told the Deseret Morning News on Monday.  She estimates around 75 people have turned to her organization for help so far this year.  Tyler said it may be a sign the Safety Net Committee is helping.  Bureaucrats, polygamists and activists make up the committee, which reaches out to provide resources for people seeking sanctuary from abusive situations in closed societies.  The Utah and Arizona attorneys general will host a town hall meeting here tonight to discuss polygamy and how to reach out to those suffering from abuse and neglect in the closed societies.  "It's public awareness to get people aware of the help that's available on the outside to those leaving the closed communities," Tyler said.  The town hall meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Dixie Center.     Read more

Forum focuses on polygamy woes

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, April 25, 2007

ST. GEORGE — A town hall meeting brought politicians, polygamists, activists and community members together here to vent and share their feelings about reaching out to victims of abuse in closed polygamous communities.  Hundreds packed the Dixie Center to offer their opinions Tuesday night.  "Why is there a statute of limitations on rape and molestation?" a person identified as "victim" wrote in comments read to the audience.  "How can the women and children get justice when the statute exists?"  Others pushed for decriminalization of polygamy.  "I am not a lawbreaker, but I am practicing civil disobedience," said LeAnne Timpson, a member of the fundamentalist community of Centennial Park, Ariz.  Some spoke out against the closed nature of polygamous societies.  "Most of us will not be permitted to see our families or friends again," said Fawn Broadbent, who ran away from the Fundamentalist LDS Church.  "Most of us have an eighth-grade education or less.  I attended a private school where we were taught mostly history of the church, how to cook, clean and sew."  The forum zeroed in on the troubles of the FLDS Church.  Yet no members of the polygamous sect stepped forward to counter a drumbeat of criticism. An FLDS member was seen in the audience, listening to the remarks.  He declined comment to a Deseret Morning News reporter.     Read more

Sheriffs compare notes on FLDS

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Construction is booming in the Fundamentalist LDS Church's compounds scattered across several states, prompting lawmen in Utah, Arizona, South Dakota and Texas to keep each other informed about what they're seeing.  The sheriffs of Schleicher County, Texas, and Custer County, S.D., met with the Washington County Sheriff during a trip to southern Utah late last month to learn more about the FLDS Church.  They also briefed each other on what is happening with the FLDS communities in their respective states.  "Construction, behavior, things of that nature," Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran said Tuesday.  "Understand these aren't your typical citizens."  Doran has the FLDS Church's massive YFZ Ranch in his county.  It is the site of the polygamist sect's first-ever temple.  "YFZ" stands for "Yearn for Zion," after a song written by FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.  Doran, Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith and Mohave County, Ariz., Sheriff Tom Sheehan have kept in regular contact, observing that events in the FLDS strongholds of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., often have ripple effects in Texas.  During this latest trip, Smith took the sheriffs on a tour of Hildale, where they had lunch at the newly opened Merry Wives Cafe.  The Washington County sheriff said the situation surrounding Jeffs and the FLDS Church is often fueled by rumor, innuendo and people with agendas.  It's important for lawmen to get the facts.     Read more

Utah Polygamists Plan Mass Exodus to Mexico

Plan fundraiser to help with move

By Stenar Mortensen PR-inside.com - Vienna, Austria Originally published May 14, 2007

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release Utah Polygamists Plan Mass Exodus to Mexico Plan fundraiser to help with move Due to increased persecution from Utah law enforcement, a Utah Polygamist group announced today that they are planning a mass exodus to Mexico including all operations and people to the historic Mormon polygamous colonies that were founded in Mexico over 100 years ago. The True Utahns Living in Polygamy (TULIP) group plans to settle in the fertile valleys of the Mormon colonies as they have long been a safe haven to people living outside the law with little interruption from Mexican officials. Read more

Officer fighting polygamy is recognized for his work

By 3TV - Phoenix Originally broadcast Friday, May 25, 2007

A veteran officer fighting polygamy in the towns of Hilldale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., is being recognized for his work.  Gary Engles is the only outside law officer who works in the towns.  He's responsible for the arrests of eight polygamous men, all who have been indicted and prosecuted on underage-sex charges.  And despite being shot while in the line of duty, Engles said his toughest assignment by far is trying to enforce the law.  Engles was recognized by the state as Arizona's child abuse investigator of the year.

Canadians investigating polygamist colony

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Thursday, June 7, 2007

Canadian authorities have appointed a special prosecutor to investigate possible crimes involving a polygamous colony in British Columbia.  The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General announced Wednesday it would ask a criminal lawyer to review the results of a police investigation into "allegations of potential misconduct by individuals associated with the community of Bountiful, British Columbia."  Bountiful is a colony with ties to the Fundamentalist LDS Church based in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.  Shortly after FLDS leader Warren Jeffs took over in 2002, there was a split among the faithful in Canada, with hundreds following ex-FLDS bishop Winston Blackmore.  Jeffs, 51, is scheduled to go on trial in September in St. George's 5th District Court for rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony.  He is accused of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.  Jeffs was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list until his capture last year.  Blackmore himself has acknowledged being the subject of a Canadian police inquiry.  "Since we are not hiding we are not hard to find," he wrote in an e-mail to the Deseret Morning News last year.  "It is hard to think that Canada, the home of free lovers and legalized same-sex marriages, not to mention legal wife-swapping clubs, could waste their time on people who live like we do."     Read more

LDS help sought for victims of polygamy

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, June 19, 2007

A former child bride hopes her meeting with LDS Church officials will lead to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doing more to help people leaving abusive situations within closed polygamous societies.  Accompanied by a pair of Christian community pastors, Susan Ray Schmidt met Friday with LDS Family Services commissioner Fred Riley and Dana Templeman, the director of the LDS Church's International Adoption Development.  She described the meeting as "warm and accommodating."  "They listened to my story and showed sincere understanding," Schmidt said in an interview Monday with the Deseret Morning News.  "I feel very much like it was an issue that needed to be brought to their attention."  LDS Church officials confirmed the meeting but declined to say what, if any, type of support would be offered.   "We met together to discuss areas of common interest," church spokesman Scott Trotter said.  Schmidt was uncertain what support the church would offer, but she saw the meeting as a positive first step.  One group that could benefit is the HOPE Organization, a southern Utah-based nonprofit, provides resources and support primarily to people leaving polygamous enclaves on the Utah-Arizona border.  "If any of the churches want to help us, that would be great," said Elaine Tyler, director of the HOPE Organization.     Read more

Home offers fresh start for youth

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published July 30, 2007

ST. GEORGE - It's large, roomy and free.  But the eight-bedroom house given to New Frontiers for Families is also empty.  The "House Just Off Bluff," as it has been dubbed, will be used as transitional housing for those leaving or who have been told to leave the twin cities of Colorado City and Hildale.  Michelle Benward, founder of the New Frontiers program, has until mid-August to have the eight-bedroom house staffed and furnished in time for the youth who will be staying at the home for school.  As the deadline creeps closer, Benward said there are hundreds of youth from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that need support.  "This is a small drop in a very large bucket," Benward said of how many the home will serve.  Benward, who claims she has more than 100 kids to help, plans to approach the challenges in furnishing and keeping a home up and running the way she has approached the complex needs of those from the FLDS church in the past few years - with lots of caffeine and prayers.  Living in Escalante, Benward has put more than 30,000 miles on her truck since December traveling back and forth to St. George to conduct weekly focus meetings, which also address life skills.     Read more

B.C. government pledges aid for Bountiful women

CanWest News Service Originally published Tuesday, August 21, 2007

VANCOUVER - The B.C. government has reached a negotiated settlement with a number of people who complained to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal over the polygamous community of Bountiful.  Two days of mediation late last week resulted in the agreement, details of which were released Monday.  Under the agreement, the government will provide funds for basic crisis intervention training for interested members of the Bountiful community, maintain the current level of services to the Bountiful community and work to refine the way those services are delivered to residents of the closed and secretive community.  Judith Doulis, the complainants' lawyer, called it a positive outcome in a "very difficult situation where no one can say you have to do this or you have to do that."  "They (the complainants) did what they could and hopefully it will assist people (in Bountiful) who want to make a lifestyle change," she added.  Bountiful is the 60-year-old community of about 1,400 fundamentalist Mormons.  The group is a breakaway sect of the mainstream Mormon church, which disavowed polygamy in 1890.

No longer performing child-bride marriages?

Jeffs trial puts spotlight on practices of polygamist sects

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published September 9, 2007

Perhaps as a result of the prosecution of Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs, other polygamist sects in Utah are no longer performing child-bride marriages.  If, as some church members contend, they ever performed them at all.  "We've had polygamous sects say, 'We will not do child-bride marriages,"' Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told the Deseret Morning News.  The attorney general said he recently had members of one polygamist group sit in his office and say they will not allow anyone under 18 to marry in their church.  "Much of this prosecution involves children," Shurtleff said.  "That's what prosecutors are scrutinizing.  Not the practice of polygamy, but involving children."  Jeffs is going on trial in St. George's 5th District Court for rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony.  Jury selection continues this week.  Washington County prosecutors have accused him of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.  The attorney general said he has heard rumors but has no evidence to suggest that underage marriages are continuing within the FLDS sect since Jeffs has been jailed.  Other polygamist sects no longer practice it, some of their members say.     Read more

Jeffs' trial could be 'spectacular'

Prophet faces rape charge for marrying girl, 14, to her cousin

By Dennis Wagner The Arizona Republic Originally published September 13, 2007

ST. GEORGE, Utah - As polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs goes on trial this week on charges of being an accomplice to rape, more is at stake than a guilty or innocent verdict.  The prophet's day in court could be a seminal event in law-enforcement efforts to deal with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and in the sect's battle for religious freedom.  The trial comes after years of criminal investigation and civil lawsuits.  Jeffs became one of the nation's most-wanted fugitives and was captured and jailed last year, which set off months of legal maneuvering.  For an estimated 8,000 FLDS members, the courtroom drama represents a culmination of efforts by authorities in Arizona and Utah to combat sexual abuse, fraud and familial interference in the isolated twin towns of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah.  "The trial's spectacular," said Terry Goddard, Arizona attorney general.  "It's going to galvanize media attention.  It's certainly very important to show that no person is above the law. . . . But it's a mistake to say the rise and fall of Warren Jeffs is the single-most-important event."  Authorities' goals are not to destroy the FLDS church or even primarily to crack down on polygamy.  The purpose is to stop any abuse and exploitation of underage girls and to eliminate the sect's control of communities that violates people's rights.     Read more

Polygamist community changes

By Nicholas Riccardi Los Angeles Times Casper Star-Tribune - Casper, Wyoming Originally published September 14, 2007

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. -- Progress is measured slowly here. To Isaac Wyler, it is a sign of the times that he can sit at a picnic table at a park.  Three years ago, when Wyler was exiled from a polygamist sect that dominates this slice of the Arizona-Utah border, the park and everything in town was property under control of the prophet, Warren Jeffs.  Wyler, 41, was told he had no right to stay in his home or be out in public.  This week, Jeffs was put on trial -- charged with two counts of being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old girl whose wedding to a 19-year-old cousin he presided over.  And Wyler hopes his nightmare here is coming to an end.  "It's like the end of a long tunnel," he said.  "You're finally starting to see the light."  For years, dissidents from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints complained that Jeffs was a virtual monarch in this isolated stretch of red-rock country.  They alleged he ordered girls to marry, demanded that men add new brides to their families, and expelled people from the 10,000-strong group for seemingly no reason, severing them from their families.  For years, Arizona and Utah officials were reluctant to take on the sect, which the Mormon church has disavowed.  But in 2005 Arizona appointed a receiver for the Colorado City school district, park and other properties.  Authorities pursued Jeffs on sex-crimes allegations, and the prophet fled and became one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted.  He was arrested last year outside Las Vegas.     Read more

There is still Hope for those leaving polygamy

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published September 17, 2007

ST. GEORGE - Those leaving polygamous communities, by choice or not, find themselves with little resources at their disposal and not knowing where to go for help.  Many have little formal education and no money, family or friends they can turn to for help.  One of the organizations that steps up to the plate to help these people is the Hope Organization.  Incorporated in 2004, the nonprofit group run by volunteers does whatever it can to help by providing mental, physical, emotional and financial help.  Elaine Tyler, who runs the organization, said it's often a slow process helping primarily women and children who leave polygamous communities.  "It's not a quick fix," Tyler said.  "The fear, shame and guilt are so huge, it takes time to build up their self-esteem and make these people feel good about themselves."  Brenda Jensen and Sara Hammon, both volunteers with Tyler, understand how difficult leaving those communities and religious organizations is and how much time it takes to transition out.  Both grew up in polygamous communities.  Most of the people come from the Hildale and Colorado City area, but Tyler said they have helped some from other areas and groups - not just the FLDS group locally.  Jensen said the organization looks to help people become self-sufficient, helping them find jobs and get better educated.     Read more

Single-minded lawman pursues polygamists

CNN Originally published September 20, 2007

(CNN) -- Pinning down a prophet is lonely work.  Just ask Mohave County, Arizona, investigator Gary Engels.   The plain-spoken Engels' sole focus since October 2004 has been to pursue Warren Jeffs and his polygamist sect in Colorado City, Arizona, a town on the state line across from Hildale, Utah.  He hasn't gotten a lot of help from the locals, including the police, whose loyalties have been called into question.  A state oversight board in recent years has decertified four members of Colorado City's six-man police force -- all members of Jeffs' FLDS church -- some for bigamy and others for failing to help catch Jeffs when he was a fugitive, according to The Arizona Republic newspaper.  Townsfolk turn their backs on Engels when he tries to talk to them, and most of those who do talk are evasive, says the former police officer.  "There is nobody that works in this city, that works for this city, that is not a loyal FLDS member, and that's from the mayor all the way through the employees right down to the last marshal here, and the last police officer that works here is loyal to Warren Jeffs," Engels told CNN.  "It's my experience ... that these police officers are not real police officers. They're enforcers for the FLDS church. They're enforcers for Warren," he said in another interview.  "I know that if it comes down to it, I can't count on them at all for backup," he said.  "In fact, I believe that if guns started being pointed, that their guns would probably be pointed at me."     Read more

Film gives look into polygamy

By Patrice St. Germain The Spectrum Originally published September 23, 2007

In the last year, the Book Cellar has been hosting community events that, as co-owner Margi LaPorte said, make people think.  This week, Laurie Allen, the producer, narrator, editor and writer of the film "Banking on Heaven," will be at the Book Cellar to bring more awareness about polygamy and the Hildale and Colorado City communities.  "People have been asking for this kind of thing — to have a venue for community discussions on local history, events and controversies," LaPorte said.  For her part, Allen said she made a brief film during her one-year crash course in film school.  That film was honored at the school for best film and director, which prompted Allen to make a full feature.  "I started hearing about all the brutalities (in Colorado City and Hildale) and I have a lot of relatives in that area and decided someone needed to tell the real story," Allen said.     Read more

AG Goddard Hopes Mohave Cty. Prosecutes Jeffs Case

By Doug Ramsey KTAR News 92.3 - Phoenix Originally broadcast Septembet 25, 2007

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard hopes Mohave County will go forward with its prosecution of Warren Jeffs on child abuse and incest charges.  That's because his Utah conviction is sure to be appealed.  He says the guilty verdict in Utah is no guarantee of a successful prosecution here.  "Essentially the charges in Arizona are child abuse and incest. So they are different crimes and they will have different elements. But I think the most important difference is that there are different victims. To be absolutely sure that we have a conviction that will stand, I think we need to go for the insurance shot and that will be in Mohave County."  He hopes the Mohave County Attorney will decide to go forward with the Arizona case.  "Most of the followers of the FLDS are in Arizona and I think it's important that we have a conviction in Arizona, at least we make every effort to get one."  Goddard says the conviction changes everything regarding the rule of law and the Fundamentalist LDS church.  "For years, it was assumed that they would not prosecute these crimes in Colorado City, that somehow that they were exempt from the rules that govern the rest of us."  Goddard hopes the Utah conviction will encourage more victims to come forward.  "We know they're there, but up until now they have been unwilling to come forward."  Utah's attorney general says the verdict against polygamist-sect leader Warren Jeffs is a 'victory'.

Jeffs Verdict Just Part of Utah's Polygamy Prosecution Plan

By Julie Rose KCPW Radio - Salt Lake City, Utah Originally broadcast September 26, 2007

(KCPW News) The court case of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs has captured attention for more than a year.  But yesterday's guilty verdict for Jeffs is only a piece of Utah's larger effort to prosecute polygamy:  "We've basically put the polygamous communites on notice that if you are abusing children, hurting women or defrauding the government, we will go after you just like anybody else." says Utah Attorney General's spokesman Paul Murphy.  Murphy says the state hopes the verdict will encourage other young girls to come forward with their own stories of abuse or forced marriages in polygamous communities.  Testimony from the victim proved essential in the Jeffs case, and Murphy says the same will be true in future prosecution.  However, the state has no current plans to prosecute polygamists in Utah purely because they are breaking state laws that prohibit plural marriage.  "Crimes within polygamous communities are hard to investigate and prosecute," says Murphy. "so rather than devote all of our resources trying to find out if consenting adults are in polygamous marriages, we've decided to go after the most serious crimes involving child abuse, incest, fraud and domestic violence."  A recent census by historian and fundamentalist advocate Anne Wilde estimates 37,000 people in Utah and surrounding areas consider themselves so-called "fundamentalist" Mormons, though many do not practice polygamy.

Husband in polygamist trial charged with rape

Reuters Reuters South Africa - Johannesburg, South Africa Originally published Wednesday, September 26, 2007

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The former husband of the woman at the centre of a Utah polygamist leader's trial has been charged with rape, prosecutors said on Wednesday.  Allen Steed, 26, was charged by Washington County, Utah prosecutors the day after the leader of a breakaway Mormon polygamy sect was found guilty of being an accomplice to rape for arranging a marriage between Steed and his then-14-year-old cousin.  Warren Jeffs, 51, the self-described "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was convicted on Tuesday on two counts of being an accomplice to the rape of the teen bride.  Elissa Wall, the victim in the case who is now 21 and remarried, on Tuesday spoke to the media in St. George, Utah, where Jeffs' trial took place and said she testified against him to bring out the truth.  "This trial has not been about religion or a vendetta. It is simply about child abuse and preventing further abuse," she said.  Steed, who was 19 at the time of the 2001 arranged marriage, was not previously charged with rape.  He testified at the Jeffs trial for the defense, denying he had forced his young wife to have sex with him and said he felt "really bad" about the end of their relationship.  Wall testified in Jeffs' trial that sexual relations with Steed took place without her consent, Utah police said in an affidavit attached to Steed's charging document.     Read more

Conviction offers chance at fresh start

Editorial East Valley Tribune - Mesa, Arizona Originally published September 27, 2007

Tuesday’s conviction in a Utah courtroom of zealot Warren Jeffs could be the beginning of the end of religious tyranny in Colorado City.  Decades of isolation and indoctrination has convinced thousands of people on the Arizona-Utah border that Jeffs was God’s voice on Earth and their sole path to eternal salvation.  In truth, Jeffs followed in the footsteps of his father to become a criminal dictator who demanded blind faith from his followers only to enrich himself.  He also used his perverted icon status to justify rampant abuse of the community’s teenagers — ordering the rape of underage girls by male followers under the rubric of "celestial marriage" and forcing underage boys to leave their homes without any support so they wouldn’t grow up to compete with the elders.  Breaking up the Jeffs-led theocracy in Colorado City and neighboring Hilldale, Utah, has been an agonizingly slow process.  For years, local and state officials feared widespread rumors that Jeffs’ followers were ready to sacrifice their lives if pushed too far, raising the specter of disasters similar to Jonestown or Waco.     Read more

Warren Jeffs' victim to file civil lawsuit against polygamist leader

Reported by Angie Larsen ABC 4 News Originally broadcast October 1, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The criminal trial is over, but the young woman who took on Warren Jeffs isn't done with the Polygamist Leader yet. Monday, in an ABC Good Morning America exclusive, Elissa Wall told the nation she wants to help other young girls using Warren Jeffs' money.  Wall is suing Jeffs and the Fundamentalist LDS Church.  Wall says this action is not for her own gain, rather to create a fund to help other young girls in polygamist communities make different choices.  Wall appeared on Good Morning America with her new husband, this one of her choosing, Lamont Barlow.  The two talked about their plans to create a fund that would assist girls trying to opt out of the polygamist lifestyle with legal aid, safe houses and more.  Wall also choked back the tears as she recalled painful memories of her experiences as a 14-year-old child bride doing what her church leaders told her to do.  Barlow says by filing the civil suit, he and his wife don’t want to come across as vindictive.  They want to use any money awarded to help others.

Fund-raiser to benefit those leaving polygamy

Deseret Morning News Originally published October 2, 2007

ST. GEORGE — A group that helps women and children leaving the polygamist communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz., is hosting a country club fund-raiser this weekend.  The HOPE Organization is planning a banquet, dubbed an "Evening of HOPE" on Saturday at the Bloomington Country Club.  The event will feature an auction as well as a presentation by an ex-member of the Fundamentalist LDS Church.  The recent trial of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs may bring more interest in Saturday's event, said HOPE director Elaine Tyler.  "We wanted to raise awareness," she said.  A portion of the $75 ticket proceeds will benefit the non-profit HOPE Organization.  Information is available at thehopeorg.org.

Laurie Allen's film exposes polygamy

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published October 3, 2007

An event sponsored by The Book Cellar gave St. George residents a first-hand glimpse into the polygamous towns of Hildale and Colorado City featuring producer and writer Laurie Allen, who was raised in the LeBaron sect. She previewed her riveting documentary film, "Banking on Heaven," an inside story of what is probably the largest polygamous enclave in the United States - right in St. George's backyard. It exposes the mind control and fear used to enslave thousands of Americans from the Canadian border to Mexico. The daily situation facing many innocent women and children is abusive, corrupt and heartbreaking. If we knew about the high numbers of families torn apart, children born with birth defects and persons living in poverty, we would want to do something about the situation. However, our taxes help to support this lifestyle. Part of the answer is to help raise awareness by becoming knowledgeable of the Hope Organization. Visit www.thehopeorg.org online. Also, check out Allen's Web site at www.bankingonheaven.com "Banking on Heaven" will soon be released, hopefully to more than just the independent movie companies. Meanwhile, we can arrange for showings to a wide spectrum of audiences locally. Donnie Alexander St. George

Author to speak at benefit for The Hope Organization

The Spectrum Originally published October 4, 2007

ST. GEORGE - "Keep Sweet - Children of Polygamy" author Debbie Palmer will be at The Book Cellar & Andrae Exotic Imports speaking and signing books on Friday at 6 p.m.  Palmer is here from Canada for a benefit with The Hope Organization.  Her book is the intimate story of her first 18 years of survival in Bountiful, Canada, a polygamist community affiliated with the polygamist community in Colorado City.  At 15, Debbie was assigned to be the sixth wife of the group's leader, who was 55.  Following his death in 1974, she was assigned consecutively to two other men in the group.  She escaped the group in 1988, one of the first women to escape with all of her children.  Since escaping polygamy, Palmer has worked to educate and lobby government on interventions and education inside polygamous communities and has met internationally with human rights activists on the topic.  Her main areas of expertise and research are fundamentalist Mormon polygamous communities, relationship violence prevention, community crime prevention, and issues of poverty and education in closed communities.  Her appearance here is free and open to anyone who would like to attend, however seating is limited so please call 652-0227 for reservations.  The Book Cellar is located at 130 N. Main Street.  On Saturday, The Hope Organization is holding a dinner/speaker fundraiser to raise awareness and money to assist victims of polygamy.     Read more

Emergency Fund To Help Young People

The Associated Press KOLD News 13 - Tucson Originally broadcast October 15, 2007

An emergency fund to help young people cast out of a southern Utah polygamous sect has helped nearly a dozen people since it was created two months ago, according to representatives with the fund.  The fund is called the Lost Boys Fund.  It was set up two years ago as part of a lawsuit settlement agreement after seven young men sued an arm of the fundamentalist Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints.  Since Warren Jeffs took over the church in 2002, many young men have been told to leave their community.  The money from the fund has helped them get settled elsewhere to start a new life outside the church.  Jeffs, 51, 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.

Sect apart

Separating church and state is all the rage, but three communities show that the American tradition of religious cities lives on

By Mark Bergin WORLD Magazine October 20, 2007, Vol. 22, No. 38 Issue

Over the past century, a bizarre twist of legal misinterpretation has expanded the Constitution's Establishment Clause from merely separating church and state to scrubbing religion from public life. But in some small to midsize municipalities scattered throughout the United States, religious communities are proving that federal standards need not subvert local values. These groups have not only thwarted the strict federal standard for church-state separation; they have secured state sponsorship of religious or spiritual activities, government support ranging from simple tax breaks to functional theocracies. In Clearwater, Fla., Scientologists have bought up large sections of the city's downtown, flooded the boards of various civic groups, and become a major player in local politics—all part of the church's plan to "take control" of the city, according to secret documents seized decades ago during an FBI investigation. In southeast Iowa, followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi founded Maharishi Vedic City six years ago, establishing an independent town governed and inhabited by practitioners of Transcendental Meditation (TM). And in a region straddling the northern border of the Arizona Strip, the sister towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., are home to thousands of members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamy-supporting spinoff from mainstream Mormonism. Read more

Jeffs draws 2 terms in prison

Sect leader sentenced for role in young bride's rape

Staff and Wire Services The Arizona Republic Originally published November 21, 2007

A Utah judge Tuesday sentenced polygamous-sect leader Warren Jeffs to two consecutive terms of five years to life in prison for his role in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old follower.  Jeffs, 51, was convicted of two counts of rape as an accomplice for his role in the marriage of the 14-year-old and her 19-year-old cousin in 2001.  It will be up to the Utah parole board to decide how long Jeffs stays behind bars.  Jeffs' attorney, Wally Bugden, had asked the judge for concurrent sentences.  "This was all about religion," Bugden said outside court.  "The foundation of this case was the prosecution of Mr. Jeffs because of placement marriages."  Jeffs' legal troubles now will shift to Arizona.  He will stand trial next in Kingman, where he faces charges of being an accomplice to sexual conduct with a minor, conspiracy and incest.  A federal trial also is pending for felony flight charges stemming from Jeffs' disappearance in 2005.  Melody Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah, said an agreement was reached to have the defendant tried next in Kingman.  Arizona Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith issued a statement Tuesday, congratulating Utah prosecutors for doing "a fantastic job," and saying Jeffs will be given a trial date once he has entered the Utah prison system and gone through processing via an interstate compact.  Smith's deputy, Jace Zach, said that process may take two to six months after Jeffs formally enters the Utah Department of Corrections.  "Jeffs' tyrannical hold on members of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints is history," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said after the sentencing.     Read more

Polygamous group leader given prison sentence

By Daphne Bramham, CanWest News Service The Leader-Post - Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada Originally published Wednesday, November 21, 2007

ST. GEORGE, Utah -- Warren Jeffs, the leader of the largest polygamous group in North America, was sentenced Tuesday to consecutive terms of five years to life for the role he played as an accomplice to two rapes of a 14-year-old girl.   "Warren Jeffs belongs in prison for abusing his authority and being an accomplice to rape," Utah's Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said in a statement following the sentencing.  "A jury found Jeffs guilty and Judge Shumate made the appropriate decision to protect other people from being harmed. Unfortunately Jeffs' attorneys and some of his followers continue to claim that this convicted felon is being punished for his beliefs. Jeffs can believe whatever he wants but he is going to prison for his actions, which led to the rape of a child," Shurtleff said.  The prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was convicted in September.  Before sentencing the gaunt and seemingly disoriented 51-year-old prophet, Judge James Shumate noted that when Jeffs decided to force a 14-year-old girl into a marriage with her 19-year-old first cousin he broke a number of state laws.  He noted that in Utah it is illegal for anyone age 14 to marry without the court's intervention; for first cousins to marry unless they are past the age of procreation; and to marry without a licence, and there was no licence in this case.  The victim, Elissa Wall who is now 21, spoke briefly prior to sentencing.  "I've thought about this day for a very long time and how it would go," she said in a quavering voice.  "I am so grateful to the justice system, the jury and the judge to have seen the truth and to have believed in me. I have faith in your honour and in the justice system to give Warren Jeffs the sentence he deserves."     Read more

Book Sheds Light on Warren Jeffs' Church

By Sandra Haros KTAR News 92.3 - Phoenix Originally published November 27, 2007

Life beyond polygamy is nothing short of a miracle.  That's the message in a new book, "Escape," by Carolyn Jessop, who fled from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered along the Arizona-Utah border.  She now tries to help others get out of the church headed by Warren Jeffs.  Jeffs was sentenced in Utah last week to five years to life in prison after being convicted on charges of rape by accomplice.  He faces similar charges in Arizona.  Jessop, in an interview with FM News/Talk 92-3, said breaking away from the FLDS, which practices polygamy, was difficult.  She had been forced to marry a man much older than herself and had eight children while living in Colorado City.  "I was living the only life I'd ever known for 35 years. It was like I was betraying everybody and everything in my life. I was giving up my heritage, I was giving up my religion, I was giving up my family."  She said, "I began to recognize that I'm involved in a dangerous and destructive cult. Even though I was born into it and never viewed it as a cult, before I left, I was seeing it for what it actually was."  Jessop said she's now learned how people view the FLDS.  "We are completely ostracized and people see us as in league with the devil and we are apostates and we've turned against the work of God and we are the most evil of all people."  In her book, Jessop said she tries to share a story of hope.     Read more

A Season for Giving

By Cami Cox and Bill Brown Hurricane Valley Journal Vol. 11, No. 14, November 28, 2007

The air is becoming crisp, and tinsel, twinkle lights and holly are beginning to appear on doors and storefronts.  Along with these hallmarks of the holiday season, a surge of generosity and concern for others seems to well up in the hearts of citizens, flowing forth in acts of kindness and charity.  "What we see during the holiday season is the spirit of people wanting to reach out and help and provide for people in need. For some reason, it seems to be more pronounced in the holiday season," said Linda Sappington, director of the Volunteer Center of Washington County.  There are many local needs throughout the year among nonprofit and charity groups, but at Christmastime, the wish list grows as these groups endeavor to reach out and provide holiday cheer for those they serve.  Local residents can give Santa Claus a helping hand this year by aiding the following organizations and others in the community.     Read more

Flutist raising money for charity

Local News in Brief The Spectrum Originally published November 28, 2007

ST. GEORGE - Renowned flutist from Sedona, Ariz., Jesse Kalu, helps to raise awareness and money for the local charity and Human Rights Organization, The Hope Organization, thehopeorg.org.   This benefit performance will help to raise money and awareness for local non-profit group, The Hope Organization.  The performance is at 6 p.m. Thursday at The Book Cellar 130 N. Main St. HOPE is a St. George-based 501(c)(3) charity providing assistance to individuals and families to safely transition from a polygamous lifestyle into mainstream society. Polygamy is a human rights issue, not a religious issue and the HOPE Organization needs your help to help victims of human rights violations. HOPE's purpose is to offer support, protection, assistance, choices, opportunities and hope for the women and young adults, both males and females, who have been kicked out or have chosen to leave this culture. Sadly, too many women and children live under immense control and oppression and are caught in the cycle of abuse without a choice or a voice. At HOPE they want to empower them. The event is open to the public, with a suggested donation of $15, with 50 percent going directly to HOPE. Read more

Daily Digest 12/10

Provo Daily Herald Originally published Monday, December 10, 2007

STATEWIDE Former Utahn Irene Spencer will be in Salt Lake City on Wednesday to speak and sign her new book, "Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife."  Spencer's lecture will be accompanied by the screening of a documentary film, "Damned to Heaven" which interviews displaced former members of the FLDS community in Colorado City.  The event will be from 6-9 p.m. on Wednesday in the main auditorium of the Salt Lake Public Library, 210 E. 400 South in Salt Lake City.  Spencer will sign books prior to the film from 5-6 p.m.  The film screening starts at 6 p.m. Spencer will speak at 7:30 p.m., after the film.

Mohave sheriff to hire 2 for Utah-Arizona border patrol

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Mohave County Sheriff's Office in Arizona is planning to hire two new police officers to patrol the vast area along the Utah-Arizona border, including the polygamous enclave of Colorado City, Ariz.  "We're hoping to have more law enforcement out and visible in that area," said Sandy Edwards, a background specialist with the sheriff's office.  She recently posted the job openings and has taken out a newspaper advertisement to drum up interest in the positions, which have a $40,500-a-year starting pay plus benefits.  The sheriff's office wants to increase its presence in Colorado City but said police resources have been stretched thin in the vast desert area known as the Arizona Strip.  "We only had a total of five officers to patrol that entire area," Edwards said.  "When you're talking four guys in Beaver Dam and then Colorado City, it's a pretty good travel time."  Problems in the polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., are also of concern to the sheriff's office.  There has been a divide among Fundamentalist LDS Church faithful and "apostates," with ex-members of the polygamous sect claiming the local police refuse to help them.     Read more

Sheahan to seek 4th term as sheriff

By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News Originally published Monday, January 7, 2008

KINGMAN - Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan will run for a fourth term as sheriff of the fifth largest county in the nation.  At a luncheon Monday in Kingman, Sheahan said several issues face the county including illegal immigration.  The county does not get the publicity that Maricopa County and other counties closer to the Mexican border get.  "Illegal immigration is not just about taking agricultural or landscaping jobs but these people also commit crimes," he said.   The sheriff's office has made a number of arrests in the recent year including an illegal immigrant allegedly stabbing another immigrant in Mohave Valley in 2007.  He is charged with attempted murder.  Illegal immigrants are known to commit burglaries and other crimes after sending money home to their families.  The sheriff's office is also working with two Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers who are permanently based in Bullhead City.  Another headline issue is the cracking down on underage marriages by polygamists in Colorado City.  The county attorney's office and his deputies have done more recently than in the past 50 years.  The jailed leader of the polygamist group, Warren Jeffs, should also soon be arriving in Mohave County, Sheahan said.     Read more

Shurtleff seeks funding to aid abuse victims

Safety Net effort targets polygamous communities

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Monday, January 14, 2008

After losing a federal grant to provide support for women and children grappling with abuse in polygamous communities, Utah's attorney general plans to ask state lawmakers to help pay for it.  The coordinator of the Safety Net Committee possibly will be part of a larger appropriations package dealing with domestic violence and abuse.  That may be the only way it could get through the Legislature, said Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem.  "If, in fact, it's going to be strictly for the polygamous situation, they're going to have a higher burden of proof," Valentine said Thursday.  "If it is for a ... broader, general population, they will have a very favorable outcome."  Valentine has lent his support to appropriating money for the broader purpose.  The Utah Attorney General's Office is seeking funding to pay for a full-time coordinator, a case manager and funding a 24-hour domestic violence hotline.  Spawned from a 2003 town hall meeting about the "polygamy problem," the Safety Net Committee was created with advocates, representatives from polygamous groups and bureaucrats working together.  Nonprofit organizations and social service agencies also were drafted to help out.  "It's always been a full-time job. I don't feel like I have the time or the resources to give what's actually needed," said Paul Murphy, who has acted as the Utah attorney general's Safety Net coordinator.  A $700,000 federal grant initially paid for a case manager, emergency housing, food and other necessities to help women and children dealing with abuse and neglect in closed societies.  Authorities estimate that federal grant helped as many as 1,300 people in polygamous communities.     Read more

The Vent

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published January 19, 2008

To the gentleman who wrote about, "being alarmed at the menacing, young Mexican males shopping at Wal-Mart."  He is worried about illegals, but he has the wrong people.  We should be alarmed about the packs of polygamists we see every day in Wal-Mart or Costco.  We know these people are lawbreakers who live on the dole.  They regularly marry off young girls and turn ill educated young men out on the streets.  Before we in Washington County complain about illegals, we should first clean up the illegal mess that exists in Hildale and Colorado City.

Groups rebuilding library of 2 polygamous towns

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, January 20, 2008

The donation box sits next to a stack of $1 comics.  "Help rebuild a library," a poster next to it pleads.  Inside, Mimi Cruz has placed a couple of Archie and Jughead comics.  She's expecting more by the end of the week, when her regular customers at Night Flight Comics bring in the books they've pledged to donate.  "It's the right thing to do," Cruz said.  Like many things in the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., the library just ... disappeared.  The rumor around the towns is that polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs had the Hildale/Colorado City public library closed many years ago.  Some say the books were burned.  "I don't know what happened to all the books in there," said Stefanie Colgrove.  "Nobody's saying what happened to all the books."   An effort is under way to rebuild the library.  Nonprofit organizations that help those dealing with abuse and neglect in the Fundamentalist LDS communities are launching a book drive to replenish the missing books.     Read more

Helping bridge a religious divide

Woman hoping to unite FLDS, ex-FLDS through new library

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Friday, February 1, 2008

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — The log building on the corner of Central and Johnson streets has sat empty for years.  Now, it's going to become the new Hildale/Colorado City public library.  "We're dang excited," Stefanie Colgrove said Thursday as she carried another heavy box of books into the building.  "Thank you to everyone who donated. It's wonderful. It's just amazing."  Thousands of books have been donated to help rebuild the library, which closed years ago and the books disappeared.  Some claim Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs had them destroyed.   Colgrove hatched the idea to rebuild the library, and local nonprofit groups started a community book drive.  After a story appeared in the Deseret Morning News, they were flooded with book donations from all over.  Paul Murphy, the Utah Attorney General's Safety Net coordinator, filled the back of a pickup truck with boxes of books and drove them to Colgrove's Hildale home.  "I didn't even bring them all," Murphy told her.  "There's probably another truck full."     Read more

Funding approved for polygamous 'Safety Net'

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, March 4, 2008

State lawmakers have approved more than $300,000 to fund support services for people grappling with abuse and neglect in polygamous communities.  The House on Monday unanimously passed SB239, a funding package to create the Safety Net Initiative within the Utah Attorney General's Office.  "This is a population that is unique only to Utah and nobody has addressed making sure people within those communities are safe and they have access and they have the same rights and abilities as other citizens within the state," said Paul Murphy, the Utah Attorney General's Safety Net coordinator.   The bill's language was broadened to include providing services to people in "underserved" and "culturally isolated" communities in Utah and northern Arizona — not exclusively polygamy.  "I think people look at this and don't see this is crime prevention and community building," Murphy said.  "It fits with the goals of the attorney general's office. We want communities to be healthy and people to be safe and know that help is available."     Read more

Billboard offers 'escape'

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, March 30, 2008

BOUNTIFUL — The words stand out amid the signs for new houses and fast food.  "Escape polygamy."  From Ogden to St. George, billboards are popping up in an evangelical Christian ministry's efforts to reach out to those seeking to leave polygamy.  "It's an awareness campaign for people to know that someone is there and to give them this number," said Doris Hanson of A Shield & Refuge Ministries, which is behind the billboards.  Hanson is starting the campaign as part of her ministry's efforts to reach out to people dealing with abuse and neglect in polygamous communities and provide help through provisions, education and prayer.  "We will provide anything we can to help someone leave," she said in an interview with the Deseret Morning News.  A Shield & Refuge Ministries was born, in part, out of Hanson's own experiences in polygamy, which she called "abusive emotionally."  Hanson said when she finally left the Kingston group in 1964, she had few people willing to help her.  "I don't want anyone to think that I'm doing it out of revenge, bitterness or anger. I don't have any of that," she said.  "I don't want to see others go through what I went through."     Read more

Push for action

Opinion The Spectrum Originally published April 8, 2008

Texas authorities have taken busloads of children from the YFZ Ranch, a huge complex built and owned by followers of Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It's about time law enforcement takes action in an attempt to stop the suspected cycle of abuse.  The children taken range in age from 6 months to 17 years.  They are being housed, temporarily, in a civic center in Eldorado, Texas, while police and Texas Child Protective Services officials investigate at least one claim of abuse.  Officials want to talk to a man named Dale Barlow, 50, who allegedly fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl eight months ago.  The girl, now 16, is believed to have placed a call to police that triggered the investigation.  There have been accusations of sexual abuse against young girls in the twin cities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah ­- once known as Short Creek - for years.  However, since a raid in the 1950s, only a handful of men have been charged with abusing the young girls they have taken as "spiritual wives."  The FLDS claim a right to practice polygamy, allowing so-called spiritual marriages to take place, most of them reportedly arranged by Jeffs.  Society shouldn't infringe on the rights of adults to put their beliefs into practice.  Frankly, it's not the government's business how many wives a man chooses to have and support.  However, when those beliefs spill over into allegations of sexual abuse against children and women, welfare fraud and other suspected crimes, the line is drawn, and Utah state officials should do more than put the cuffs on only a few offenders.     Read more

Utah Attorney General considered Texas-style raid on Kingston clan

Reported by: Chris Vanocur ABC 4 News Originally broadcast April 8, 2008

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - What is happening in El Dorado, Texas almost happened here in Utah.  ABC 4 News has learned recently that Utah's Attorney General almost launched a raid in Salt Lake against another polygamist group.  Tuesday, ABC 4 asked Attorney General Mark Shurtleff had he ever thought about doing what Texas did, and Shurtleff said, "It occurred to us, we thought about it. I'll tell you with another polygamous sect."  He then confirmed he was talking about the Kingstons.  The Kingstons aren't in the news as much these days, but back in the late 90's the family definitely was.  And Shurtleff now confirms that a year and a half ago, 80 warrants had been issued by the courts and that he was "gearing up" to serve them.  Shurtleff said, "We considered going in a similar, SWAT type - I guess for lack of a better word - operation into a church meeting and bar the doors and start collecting evidence."  Shurtleff says the plan was to take dozens and dozens of DNA swabs from the Kingston family.  According to the attorney general, the goal of this raid was to try and determine if any acts of incest had been committed.     Read more

Woman who escaped polygamy says Utah should follow Texas

Becky Bruce reporting KSL 5 TV Originally broadcast April 10, 2008

A woman who escaped from a polygamous cult says Texas is setting a precedent Utah should follow.  Laurie Allen is the woman behind a documentary about polygamy called, "Banking on Heaven."  She escaped a polygamous cult herself. Her uncle is Ervil LeBaron, the man responsible for 28 murders in the name of blood atonement.  Allen feared officers would find a method of execution inside the Texas FLDS temple.  She said, "That's what I was worried about. Nothing surprises me because these people have been breaking the law for a hundred years now, and nobody's been doing anything about it."  Allen told KSL's Doug Wright that it's difficult for anyone to escape polygamy because they literally fear for their lives.  Allen says, "They've been taught from birth that they're going to burn in hell if they leave the cult. They become an apostate, and I think these men have become more and more brutal with the women and the children, and we're seeing the evidence of that today."  She says they have no where to turn to on the outside for help.  That's why she says it's important to reach out and let women know they can leave and there is help for them.  Allen supports a group called the Hope Organization, which helps provide resources to people trying to leave the polygamous lifestyle.  For more information on the support group or on Allen's documentary, click on the related links.     See links

Shurtleff connects the FLDS dots

He says Utah crackdown may have led to Texas raid

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Monday, April 14, 2008

Stung by critics who say Utah has done little about the polygamy problem, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff suggested Utah's crackdown on abuses within the closed societies may have ultimately led to the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's Texas compound.  "They wouldn't have gone to Texas if they hadn't been running away from us," he said in a recent interview with the Deseret News.  "They went to Texas to flee when we started cracking down."  Anti-polygamy activists have gone on cable-TV talk shows and given interviews praising Texas for the raid.  "At least Texas has finally done something about this horrid cult, while Arizona and Utah have swept it under the rug for a hundred years," Dot Reidelbach, the director of the FLDS documentary "Banking on Heaven," wrote in an e-mail to supporters.  Still, Shurtleff said he had no plans to conduct a similar mass-scale raid on the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.  "And do what? Arrest thousands of polygamists in Utah? We wouldn't have 400 kids, we'd have thousands in our foster care and thousands of their parents in the prison system. It's not practical to do that," Shurtleff said.  "We were right to focus on abused children."  The Utah Attorney General's Office has made it clear that it will not prosecute polygamy as a criminal offense alone.  Instead, it has chosen to focus on child abuse, domestic violence and fraud.  Shurtleff has said that he would have liked to have seen more cases prosecuted but did not have the necessary evidence or witnesses willing to come forward.     Read more

Utah's 'Safety Net' for polygamists is tested

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Monday, April 14, 2008

The raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's Texas compound is becoming the first true test for Utah's "Safety Net."  The Utah attorney general's much-touted committee of polygamists, government officials and social service workers has spent the past five years building bridges with the closed polygamist societies, while educating people about abuse, fraud and other crimes.  Now, all that work is in danger of being undone by the raid on the YFZ Ranch.  "This is going to be a real test of those relationships and whether they can trust us for what we say we're going to do," said Paul Murphy, the Utah Attorney General Office's Safety Net coordinator.  Already, some members of Utah's polygamous sects are skeptical.  "They assured us over and over and over, 'We're not interested in prosecuting polygamy. We're only going to go after crimes in a community. We're not going to single you out,"' said Heidi Mattingly, a member of the Kingston polygamous group.  "Here they are, singling us out. They've got a whole community under house arrest, ripped out of their homes."  Members of the pro-polygamy Centennial Park Action Committee fear relationships could be crippled but were not willing to give up just yet.  "In a way, I feel like it would be ceding our efforts," said Marlyne Hammon.  "We have a message that we need to get out and let people understand us."     Read more

Texas keeps FLDS kids

Ruling: More hearings, DNA tests for children

By Amy Joi O'Donoughue and Nancy Perkins Deseret News Originally published Saturday, April 19, 2008

SAN ANGELO, Texas — A judge ruled late Friday that all 416 children taken from the polygamist YFZ Ranch will remain in temporary state custody.  The decision, for now, validates the actions of the state's child welfare agency but infuriates FLDS members.  The ruling followed a marathon two-day hearing unprecedented in the nation's history of child-custody cases, featuring hundreds of lawyers, reams of paperwork and the issue of protecting children balanced against religious freedom.  Following the ruling, the sadness in the eyes of the children's mothers spoke volumes about their disappointment.  "It's awful," said one mother leaving the courtroom.  "Why don't people stand up and say something about this?"  Another mother, echoing that sentiment, said, "This is ridiculous."  But Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said the custody issue boiled down to one thing: abuse.  "We've said all along there are no winners in this situation. ... We emphasize in particular with the mothers. But this case is not about religion. This is about keeping children safe. We believe what we found is systemic abuse of children."     Read more

Officials plan to group FLDS kids in homes

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Sunday, April 20, 2008

ELDORADO, Texas — Children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch could he placed in foster homes in a matter of days.  "To make this transition as smooth as possible, we're going to try to keep these children in groups," Shari Pulliam of the Texas Department of Family Services said Saturday.  "We're going to keep the teenage girls and their children together, the siblings together as much as possible."  Child welfare workers said they would also make an effort to be culturally sensitive to the 416 children who come from a fundamentalist background and will end up in foster homes here in the Bible Belt.  "That's why we're going to place in groups, where they'll worship as they're used to," Pulliam said.  "We're working to not put them in places that will expose them to mainstream culture too quickly. We're treading lightly and with caution in our placements."  It still won't be home, said attorneys appointed to represent the children in what is turning into the nation's biggest-ever custody battle.  As some attorneys met with their clients being housed in the San Angelo Coliseum on Saturday, other guardians ad litem toured the sprawling YFZ Ranch as the sun baked down on the west Texas prairie.  "We're just having time with our attorneys," an FLDS man told reporters gathered outside the ranch gates.  "The attorneys are requesting some private time with their clients."     Read more

Utah probing call alleging abuse in Hildale

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, April 23, 2008

SAN ANGELO, Texas — The Utah Attorney General's Office has been asked to investigate a phone call alleging abuse in the polygamist border town of Hildale that appears to be similar to calls that sparked the raid on the YFZ Ranch.  The Division of Child and Family Services declined to give specific details about the phone call or when it was made but confirmed it claimed child abuse and neglect.  Like all calls, DCFS caseworkers investigated it.  "What we got was some information that this may or may not be related to an existing criminal matter," said Liz Sollis, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Human Services, which oversees DCFS.  The Utah Attorney General's Office is now in contact with other law enforcement authorities investigating similar calls made to anti-polygamy activists, Arizona child welfare workers and a Texas family crisis shelter.  "We're working with other authorities to see if it deserves further scrutiny," Utah attorney general spokesman Paul Murphy told the Deseret News Tuesday night.     Read more

Shurtleff defends Utah handling of polygamy

Reported by: Chris Vanocur ABC4 News Originally broadcast April 23, 2008

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Utah's Attorney General is defending himself against those critical of his handling of polygamists here.  In light of the recent FLDS raid in Texas, Mark Shurtleff is coming under fire from the national media and others.  Some are criticizing Shurtleff for not launching a Texas style raid on Utah's FLDS sect.  But other polygamists, he says, are praying for his death because he's been too tough on them.  During an informal debate sponsored by the Salt Lake County Bar Association, Mark Shurtleff said, "I take comfort in Marcus Aurelius who said, ‘it is the fate of a leader to do good and be hated for it.’ "  And Wednesday, Shurtleff found himself under fire at a polygamy debate from a FLDS attorney.  Rod Parker, FLDS attorney, told Shurtleff, "If the people in Texas aren't safe, if there not entitled to individual due process, then nobody is safe."  While Utah's attorney general doesn't necessarily approve of everything Texas authorities have done, he still finds himself defending it from no shortage of critics.  But Shurtleff, who is rarely described as shy, showed no hesitation in fighting back.  "We've had a lot of success convincing these closed and secretive societies that they can trust us, that we're not the beast, that I am not the anti-Christ as some believe me to be," said Shurtleff.  And almost lost in exchanges like this was an interesting comment from that FLDS attorney, Rod Parker.  He tells ABC 4 News, that he has not ruled out appealing the Texas situation all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Woman trying to make a library a reality in Colorado City

Becky Bruce reporting KSL 5 TV Originally broadcast April 24, 2008

Years after a polygamous sect founder banned books from the outside world, Colorado City is well on its way to having a library of its own.  Stefanie Colgrove first dreamed up the idea only a few months ago, but the books have been pouring in with the support.  "There's a lot of students here, high school students, who have been very excited because they have to go to St. George or Hurricane to do any kind of research," she explained, and that's an hour's drive.  The challenge now is to raise about $5,000 to bring the building up to city code.  "We have a building, we just have to have it up to code, city code, we have to bring the plumbing and the electrical up to code," Colgrove said.  Bringing it up to code includes new windows as well.  The Hope Organization has offered assistance for some of the needs, and Colgrove is meeting with Mohave County officials today to organize a "Friends of the Library" group.  Meantime, she's extremely grateful for the support from Utah and Arizona communities on this project.  "It has been going so fast. Just from the Salt Lake area of people donating books, I had, I would say, close to 4,000 books."     Read more

Shurtleff says FLDS prayed for his death

By Dennis Romboy Deseret News Originally published Thursday, April 24, 2008

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says Fundamentalist LDS Church members prayed for his demise after his motorcycle accident last year.  Speaking at a Salt Lake County Bar Association panel discussion Wednesday, Shurtleff said FLDS leaders view him as the "anti-Christ" and asked their congregation to "fast and pray" for his death.  Shurtleff was severely injured on his Harley-Davidson last year while preparing for a motorcycle rally.  "Mark, try to come up with facts," retorted Rod Parker, a lawyer and spokesman for the FLDS Church.  "You don't know that."  "I do know that," Shurtleff replied, saying the information was relayed to him through a confidential informant.  Shurtleff and Parker joined retired University of Utah law professor Ed Firmage in a lively discussion about polygamy with about 100 local attorneys at the Marriott Hotel.  The program was scheduled before authorities raided the FLDS Church's ranch in Eldorado, Texas, earlier this month.  Much of it centered on constitutional and due process issues.  Firmage, who specializes in constitutional law, called the roundup of women and children "one of the most outrageous things I have ever seen."  Particularly egregious, he said, was taking children from their families based on telephone calls from a 16-year-old girl named "Sarah" claiming she had been beaten, was pregnant and married to a 50-year-old man at the YFZ Ranch.  "It seems to me the defenders of the Alamo have stood in a circle and shot this metaphoric Sarah," Firmage said.  Parker insists the calls were a hoax and authorities are investigating whether a Colorado woman may have made those calls to Texas.  The national media has criticized Shurtleff, saying, in his words, "I ought to cowboy up and be more like Texas authorities."  But, he said, the FLDS Church "wouldn't be in Texas if we hadn't gone after them here. No doubt about it."     Read more

Shurtleff clarifies his comment

Deseret News Originally published Friday, April 25, 2008

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff clarified Thursday that it was not the FLDS Church but another polygamous sect that prayed for his death after his motorcycle accident last year. It was unclear about which group he was speaking at a Salt Lake County Bar Association-sponsored debate titled "From Hildale to Eldorado" on Wednesday. Shurtleff, however, said Thursday he has received information from a confidential informant that FLDS leaders urged members to pray for his "destruction" prior to the accident.

Good people on 'the outside'

Opinion Deseret News Originally published Sunday, April 27, 2008

It seems critical for all isolated FLDS, the women and children especially, to see and understand there are good people here on "the outside." Opening their eyes to this fact can only help to inoculate them against any fear tactics used by some within their group to maintain control. Haven't we all seen that M. Night Shyamalan movie "The Village"? How good a job are we doing here on the outside to show these people that we're not all clueless, callous or heartless monsters? Ruth Bell West Jordan

Face the scourge of abuse

Opinion Deseret News Originally published Sunday, April 27, 2008

We all need to support Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and other government officials and help stop child abuse and other criminal activity in polygamous communities. We have turned our heads and let this problem grow until it is cancerous. Federal and state government need to take action, similar to Texas, to stop this abuse. Don Rasmussen Bountiful

News Release

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff For Immediate Release May 1, 2008 Contact Paul Murphy:   (801) 538-1892

OPEN LETTER FROM ATTORNEYS GENERAL TO SENATOR REID Attorneys General Seek Federal Help with Polygamy-Related Crimes

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard today sent a joint letter to Sen.Harry Reid, D-NV, asking his assistance in arranging a meeting with the U.S. Department of Justice to discuss how the federal government can help the states with polygamy-related investigations and prosecutions. Reid, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, expressed concerns about the lack of law enforcement in the Colorado City/Hildale region to Radio West in Salt Lake City earlier this week. His comments prompted calls with Goddard and Shurtleff in an effort to correct the record and gain more federal cooperation. The two Attorneys General also requested Reid's assistance with requests made to the U.S. Department of Justice for a civil rights investigation and an investigation into possible IRS violations. They further asked for Reid's support in securing a grant for the Safe Passage program which assists victims of domestic abuse. Letter.PDF

Group to build library

By PATRICE ST. GERMAIN The Spectrum Originally published May 1, 2008

ST. GEORGE - Over the years, one element that has been missing from the Colorado City area is a public meeting place and a library.  Now, thanks to a Friends of the Library group that recently formed, the city may soon have a library, complete with a meeting room and books that are not burned, banned or censored by community religious leaders.  Last week, lifelong area resident Melvin Williams was elected president of the local Friends of the Library board.  "Each town has a library tax but before, the city just wanted the money and didn't want it set up as a county appointed and operated library," Williams said.  "From what I understand, the library was censored and phrases that are not contraband or offensive in regular society were marked out."  Geographically, the community is separated from the county seat by the Grand Canyon.  Socially, the community is separated from the county seat because of its practice of polygamy as the area's largest number of residents are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Williams said what the group is trying to do is have a county library open to everyone and hopes that the library is the first step in building a communication bridge with the rest of the state.  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he is all for education, especially in places where people were denied education.     Read more

Colorado Woman Makes Plea To Sisters In Polygamist Compound

Story Of Arranged Marriages, Abuse Chronicled In New Book

Lane Lyon, 7NEWS Reporter KMGH 7 News - Denver Originally broadcast May 2, 2008

DENVER -- When Texas authorities raided a polygamist compound last month, Laura Chapman took special interest.  "I thought about when I was little and thought about how I wanted to be adopted, and I wanted out of my family," Chapman said Friday.  Now living in Durango, Chapman was born into a polygamist family in Utah.  Chapman said she grew up on 6 acres in Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City.  "My father had four wives and I have 31 brothers and sisters," Chapman said.  During an interview with 7NEWS, Chapman spoke to several sisters she believes may be living in the compound in Texas.  "Carol, Andrea, Camille, Charlotte, if you're watching, your sisters out here love you and you can make that leap," Chapman said encouraging them to leave the polygamous sect.  Since escaping the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints religion in 1991, Chapman said she's been trying to blow the whistle in Utah about abuse and forced marriage to underage girls.  Chapman said doing so has put her at risk with devout FLDS members.  "If you become someone they see as a threat to the work of God, then they can spill your blood. They can kill you," Chapman said.  Chapman's story is now part of a book by local author Stephen Singular titled, "When Men Became Gods."     Read more

Utah, Arizona say polygamist sect fled crackdowns

By Valerie Richardson The Washington Times Originally published Sunday, May 4, 2008

If Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has heard it once, he's heard it 100 times: Utah and Arizona should have conducted their own Texas-style anti-polygamy raid years ago.  After all, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints resided for nearly a century on the Utah-Arizona border before building a compound in Eldorado, Texas.  And that, says Mr. Shurtleff, is the point.  The FLDS didn't suddenly relocate three years ago on a whim — it was driven out by law-enforcement crackdowns in Utah and Arizona targeting corruption and sex abuse in polygamist communities.  "We can document that they wouldn't be in Texas if we hadn't cracked down on them," said Mr. Shurtleff, a Republican.  "Their move to Texas was a direct response to us telling them we wouldn't tolerate incest, crimes against children or domestic violence.  "As soon as they saw we were serious," he said, "they started buying land in Texas."  His counterpart, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, added that the two states did raid the community several times, most recently in 1953.  Known as the Short Creek raid, it resulted in the removal of 200 children, gave the states a public-relations black eye, and drove polygamists underground for 50 years.  "The result was a disaster, both legally and from a human cost," said Mr. Goddard, a Democrat.  "We had 50 years of darkness and no communication. After that, the state ignored all crimes in that community."  In interviews with The Washington Times, the two attorneys general described their years-long campaign to build bridges and combat crime in their states' sizable polygamist communities, efforts that have been largely overlooked in the aftermath of last month's Texas raid.     Read more

Polygamy summit drawing interest

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Sunday, May 4, 2008

The raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch in Texas will be a specter hanging over a summit on polygamy in St. George this week.  Polygamists, government bureaucrats and social service workers will converge at the Dixie Center on Thursday for a town hall forum, put on each year by the Utah and Arizona Attorney Generals' Safety Net Committee.  This year, organizers expect heightened interest.  "Obviously, because so many of the people are from Colorado City and Hildale, because they went to Eldorado," said Jane Irvine, the community outreach director for the Arizona Attorney General's Office.  "I think that's all the more reason that people want to have this town hall, to try and answer questions and continue to have the dialogue."  A few Texas child welfare workers plan to attend, said Paul Murphy, the Safety Net coordinator for the Utah Attorney General's Office.  "We want for them to answer questions, and also ask questions and learn from what we've been doing here," he said.  This is the fifth year the summit has been held.  It started when a group of plural wives crashed a 2003 summit on "the polygamy problem," demanding to be heard.  That led to the creation of the Safety Net Committee, composed of people from Utah and Arizona's polygamous communities, representatives from government agencies, nonprofit social service groups and others, to reach out to help victims of abuse and neglect in closed societies.  Last month's raid in Texas, which resulted in 464 children from the FLDS Church's YFZ Ranch being placed state protective custody, has upset many.  "I think that because we're talking about children, families and abuse issues, emotions will be high — my emotions will be high," said Joyce Steed, a member of the Centennial Park, Ariz., community.  "My hope is we're getting the message out there that Utah and Arizona have been working with plural family communities, and they've been having a successful interaction."  Security has also been heightened for the event, which features Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.     Read more

Activities warrant raid on FLDS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Spectrum Originally published May 6, 2008

To those of you in the Letters to the Editor and the Vent who are so outraged at what's going on in Texas with the FLDS, I have a question. What do you not understand about the words "illegal" and "child Abuse"? It is illegal in the state of Texas for girls to marry under the age of 18 with or without parental consent. It is considered child abuse to do so. There reportedly are children there who have children and others that are pregnant - all under 18 and some as young as 13. Read the paper and watch the TV news, and you will have a better understanding. Marjorie Henderson St. George

AGs to meet in St. George to discuss polygamy

By ALYSON VAN DEUSEN The Spectrum Originally published May 7, 2008

ST. GEORGE — The attorneys general from Utah and Arizona will host a fourth-annual town hall meeting Thursday at the Dixie Center to discuss issues within polygamist communities.  Mark Shurtleff, Utah’s attorney general, and Terry Goddard, attorney general of Arizona, will participate in a panel discussion with Centennial Park resident Don Timpson, Utah Safety Net Coordinator Paul Murphy and David Lujan, an Arizona state representative.  "We originally set this up to look at issues in polygamist communities and how we can best assist them," Murphy said.  Shurtleff and Goddard decided to work together years ago to investigate child abuse-related crimes, said Andrea M. Esquer, press secretary for Goddard.  "It’s an opportunity for the residents of Hildale and Colorado City to tell us what concerns and worries the community has and if there are any problems," Esquer said.  St. George is the closest city with a facility large enough to accommodate the crowd, she said.  "In past years, it’s been standing room only," Esquer said.  The event is sponsored by the Utah-Arizona Safety Net Committee, which hopes to "open up communication, break down barriers and coordinate efforts to give people associated with the practice of polygamy equal access to justice, safety and services," according to a statement from Goddard’s office.     Read more

Town hall meeting tonight on polygamy

Deseret News Originally published Thursday, May 8, 2008

ST. GEORGE — A town hall meeting will be held at the Dixie Center from 7-9 tonight addressing polygamy. The Safety Net Committee, a coalition of government agencies, social service groups and representatives of polygamous communities, is sponsoring the forum to address ways to break down barriers and give people associated with polygamy access to justice, safety and services. Participants will include Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Arizona state lawmaker David Lujan and others.

Feds will review polygamy problems

The Associated Press Houston Chronicle Originally published May 8, 2008

SALT LAKE CITY — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says a federal prosecutor has been assigned to look for ways to help tackle the problems associated with polygamy in Southwestern states.  In a letter sent Monday to Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Reid says the justice department can strengthen efforts to combat crime within polygamous groups.  The Nevada Democrat says he's also asked top state and federal law enforcement officers in his state to get involved.  Weeks ago, Reid blasted Utah and Arizona for failing to investigate crimes in polygamous communities.

Reid: Federal prosecutor to review how to help combat polygamy

By Suzanne Struglinski and Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Thursday, May 8, 2008

WASHINGTON — A Justice Department prosecutor has been assigned to review how the federal government can help state and local law enforcement with polygamy cases, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard in a letter sent Monday.  Reid, a Nevada Democrat, and Shurtleff each have tried in the past to get the federal government involved in fighting polygamy with little success. But now the recent raid on a Fundamentalist LDS Church compound in Eldorado, Texas — and a testy exchange between the two politicians last week — have brought the idea of federal involvement back up.  Earlier last month, Reid wrote U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey that federal involvement is "vital" in combating polygamy.  Reid said he initially had asked former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to look at how the federal government could play a role, but nothing came of it.  Then, on a Utah radio show, Reid pegged the need for more federal involvement on what he said was the fact Utah and Arizona are not doing anything to fight it.  Reid said he was "embarrassed" for the two states and their lack of progress on polygamy cases, while praising the raid on the FLDS compound in Texas.  "The state of Utah is doing nothing," Reid said on University of Utah's KUER radio.  Reid's remarks angered Shurtleff, as he outlined what the state has done to combat polygamy.  Reid, who is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called Shurtleff shortly after to bury the hatchet.  Shurtleff and Goddard also sent Reid a four-page letter outlining their states' action on fighting polygamy.     Read more

Annual polygamy summit held in St. George tonight

Sam Penrod reporting KSL 5 TV Originally broadcast May 8, 2008

Hundreds of polygamists from Utah and Arizona are in St. George tonight for a polygamy summit.  It's a meeting between law enforcement and polygamists.  Tonight's meeting had a real sense of urgency.  After the FLDS raid in Texas, public interest and opinion about what to do or not to do when it comes to polygamy has become a national debate.  Tonight, polygamists heard directly from the attorneys general from Utah and Arizona who pledged to fight abuse but promised there will be no sweeping raids of polygamist communities here.  In a time when polygamists are fearful of being arrested or having their children taken away by the government, they filled a room with police and prosecutors from Utah and Arizona.  One polygamist said, "I am somewhat scared when you say that we will not prosecute polygamy for the fact of polygamy alone, because we don't have the resources for it. I am afraid that one day you will have the resources for it, and then you will come after me and after my friends who are good people."  The message from law enforcement tonight -- allegations of abuse of women and children within polygamy will be handled individually.  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, said, "We assure you we do not plan a raid to end polygamy. I know you are worried about that. We are not going to do it. I don't care how many talking heads on cable TV shows tell us we need to cowboy up and be like Texas, we do not believe that is the answer."     Read more

Talking polygamy

BY ALYSON VAN DEUSEN The Spectrum Originally published Friday, May 9, 2008

ST. GEORGE - Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told a crowd of approximately 300 during a town hall meeting at the Dixie Center on Thursday that the state does not have plans to follow Texas' lead by conducting a raid of polygamist communities.  "We assure you we are not going to plan a raid to end polygamy. We don't believe that is the answer," Shurtleff said at the fourth annual town hall meeting to discuss issues within polygamist communities.  The meeting included a panel discussion including Shurtleff, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Centennial Park resident Don Timpson, Utah Safety Net Coordinator Paul Murphy, and David Lujan, an Arizona state representative.  Members of different polygamist groups, friends and former polygamists, as well as members of the general public, attended the meeting.  Shurtleff said both he and Goddard work to investigate individual problems when it comes to child abuse and underage marriages.  "When we have individual problems, we'll continue to deal with them individually," he said.  "If victims fear government more than they fear their leaders, they will never come forward."  When asked by Shurtleff how many attendees had relatives who lived within the Yearning for Zion compound in El Dorado, Texas, many hands filled the air.  Many also raised their hands when asked if they would like to gain custody of their under-age relatives taken away after Texas officials raided the compound and placed hundreds in foster care.  Shurtleff also said polygamy is not protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution, and is against the law.  However, the state does not have the resources to go after offenders, he said.  People could be charged with polygamy if they are being charged with other offenses and if proof exists, Shurtleff said.     Read more

Utah, Ariz. Prosecutors Vow Not to Raid Polygamists

By Howard Berkes Morning Edition National Public Radio Originally broadcast Friday, May 9, 2008

The top prosecutors in Utah and Arizona promise not to raid polygamist groups in their states.  That includes the group accused of child abuse in Texas, which has its home base on the Utah-Arizona border.  The pledge was made Thursday night at a Polygamy Town Meeting that attracted a thousand people, many of them polygamists.  So many people crowded into a ballroom at the convention center in St. George, Utah, that organizers pulled back the folding doors to another ballroom, and it was still standing room only.  They looked like a casually dressed crowd you'd find anywhere.  There were no granny dresses or 19th-century hairdos.  But most indicated they were part of polygamist groups when hundreds of hands shot up in response to questions from Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.  "Can I just ask, and we're not taking notes, but how many of you have relatives in Texas who are in custody? How many of you would be willing to take them into your home? We think it would be wonderful if that were to happen, and we'll continue to try and encourage that," Shurtleff said.     Read more

Lending a hand to children of polygamy

From Arizona to Alberta, word spreads about plan to replace library shut down by now-jailed church leader

By ROBERT MATAS The Globe and Mail - Toronto, Ontario Originally published Monday, May 12, 2008

VANCOUVER — Stefanie Colgrove thought it would be "cool" if she could collect a few books and start a lending library at her home in Colorado City, Ariz., a city dominated by members of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She never imagined her little project would stir the imagination of people - in Utah, Arizona, California and beyond into Canada - who see the library as an opportunity to open up a community that has shut out the world.  She received thousands of books days after talking about her idea at a meeting on polygamy.  "I'm amazed how far it has gone," Ms. Colgrove, the great-granddaughter of former Lethbridge MP John Blackmore, said late last week in a telephone interview from Colorado City.  The library project, begun early this year, attracted international attention following a raid of the Texas compound of the FLDS in early April.  Child-protection workers apprehended more than 400 children at the compound on evidence of child abuse and a pervasive pattern of grooming young girls for underage sex.  Current plans call for a full-service library with computers for a community that includes many self-educated people who have been told to stay away from television and the Internet, Kathy McGehee, of the Mohave County library district, said in an interview from Kingman, Ariz.  "They have been so isolated," Ms. McGehee said.  "It will open the world to people who have never been exposed to this before, those born and raised there who have never been out, especially those in the Warren Jeffs group," she said.     Read more

Colorado City gets set for possible new library

By Aaron Royster Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Friday, May 16, 2008

KINGMAN - With more than 7,000 books donated, Colorado City looks one step closer to opening a new library.  The Mohave County Library District, along with volunteers, will go before the Mohave County Board of Supervisors at their meeting at 9:30 a.m. on May 19 at the Administration Building, 700 W. Beale St.  The Board can approve or disapprove the establishment of a community library in Colorado City during the 2008-09 fiscal year.  Stefanie Colgrove has a positive outlook for the approval of the library.  Colgrove initiated the efforts of establishing a library in the community influenced by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  "This community has been without a library for a while, and this community needs to open up," Colgrove said.  With grandparents who were teachers, Colgrove said they installed an importance of learning with her.  "That's how you gain knowledge," Colgrove said, "is to read."  At a Safety Net Committee meeting between Arizona and Nevada officials, Colgrove said she casually mentioned using a room in her residence as a lending library.  The response has been incredible since then, Colgrove added.  "It's gone from me just having a lending library to a county library that the whole community can use," Colgrove said.  Individuals from California, Salt Lake City, Flagstaff, Phoenix and Chandler have donated more than 7,000 books - more than can fit in Colgrove's room.     Read more

Library for FLDS towns is taking shape

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Sunday, May 18, 2008

Stefanie Colgrove's little idea keeps getting bigger.  Boxes filled with books keep arriving at her home, sent from all over the country by book lovers who have heard of her idea for a library in the Fundamentalist LDS communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.  "There's a lady coming up from Chandler, down the Phoenix way," she told the Deseret News.  "She's bringing 2,000. I would say there's close to 5,000 books we have to start going through."  Colgrove wants to open a library in the FLDS communities.  Aside from the local school libraries, there hasn't been a public library there in many years.  Now, she could get government support.  The Mohave County, Ariz., Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Monday on funding a library there.  While some politicians question it, Colgrove remains undaunted.  "We are going to have a library either way," she said.  "We just might have to all volunteer to run it."  It started with the idea to lend out books in her home.  Colgrove, an ex-FLDS member who moved back to the border towns to raise her family, wanted a library for everyone.  The rumor was that FLDS leader Warren Jeffs ordered the old library closed and all of the books disappeared, she said.  Local community groups offered to help start a book drive and collect used bookshelves.  After a story first appeared in the Deseret News in January, Colgrove was flooded with books.  The huge numbers of donations led her to sign a deal for a building with the court-controlled United Effort Plan Trust (the FLDS Church's real-estate holdings arm), which controls homes, businesses and property in the FLDS communities.  Now, the future Hildale/Colorado City library is a log building on the corner of Central and Johnson streets.  Colgrove and the "Friends of the Library" have been working with the Mohave County Library District to create a formal, county-run library.     Read more

Colorado City on Mohave County Board's agenda

By James Chilton Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Sunday, May 18, 2008

KINGMAN - Two recent developments in Colorado City will be among the 43 agenda items considered at the Mohave County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday morning.  Supervisors will first consider whether or not to approve a request by the Mohave County Library District to establish a community library for Colorado City during the 2008-09 fiscal year.  It is only the second time in more than 10 years the MCLD has tried to open a library in the isolated community, though more than 7,000 books have already been donated and an unused schoolhouse has been appropriated to house them.  The Board will also conduct a public hearing to discuss Defenders of Children, a nonprofit Arizona corporation that announced April 11 its intention to open a part-time legal services office near Colorado City in the coming months.  Defenders of Children provides free and reduced-fee legal services for low income families with children and also provides free workshops on a variety of associated legal topics - property rights, parental rights in custody disputes, and others.  The public hearing will be held specifically to discuss and possibly take action on the nonprofit's desire to rent office space in the county-operated trailer in Colorado City.  Supervisors will also hold a pair of public hearings to discuss adopting revised fees for Environmental Health and Nursing services.  The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the County Administration Building, 700 W. Beale St.

Library plan for Colorado City moves forward

History of censorship of library materials in the community draws warning from Byers

By James Chilton Kingman Daily Miner Originally published Tuesday, May 20, 2008

KINGMAN - While questions still abound over a proposed library in Colorado City, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors showed Monday that it was at least willing to consider the possibility, voting 2-1 to move forward with the idea, and requesting the library's organizers draw up a plan for the project.  However, the Board's chairman, Pete Byers, issued a strong warning to the library's proponents, the Colorado City Friends of the Library, regarding any censoring or removal of library materials.  During the county's previous attempt at opening a library in Colorado City, such practices were reported being conducted by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose members make up a large proportion of Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah.  The past censorship issues were a fact the library's Friends group freely acknowledged. Nick Dockstader, an 18-year-old member of the Friends group, assured the supervisors that any new library in the community would strictly adhere to county guidelines.  "I would also like to make it clear that we would accept the terms and agreements that Mohave County's system has in place already," Dockstader said.  "It is our goal to work and strive to hold the censoring to the same level that they have instilled, and also we are working to keep prejudices and any political or religious hierarchies that exist there out of this project."  "We are building a library for Colorado City and all of the surrounding communities, whatever faith, ethnicity or race they may be."  The group's president, Melvin Williams, said his group hoped to lift the "veil of ignorance" surrounding the isolated community by providing its members with books and access to the outside world.  He pleaded with supervisors to help realize what the community's youth had been dreaming of.     Read more

Safety Net's new chief seeks balance in work with polygamists

By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Pat Merkley would have preferred a quieter way to start her new job.  She has just been hired as the coordinator of the Safety Net, a committee created to reach out to Utah's polygamous communities to help victims of abuse and neglect.  Merkley moves into the job in the a