| Jeffs faces deposition in missing family suit | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News | |
HURRICANE — Lawyers will question Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs today in an attempt to learn the whereabouts of an ex-member's estranged wife and son. Jeffs missed a Wednesday deadline to hand over information about where Wendell Musser's wife, Vivian, and son, Levi, are. Now, the polygamist sect leader faces a deposition this afternoon at the Purgatory Jail. "I'm not surprised," Musser's attorney, Roger Hoole, told the Deseret Morning News on Wednesday night. "Mr. Jeffs' response to civil litigation in general, is not to say anything." Hoole said if Jeffs refuses to answer questions today, they will ask the courts to seek sanctions against him. For each day he withholds information, a judge has ordered Jeffs to pay a $600 fee, taken out of his jail commissary account. Musser, 22, filed a lawsuit against Jeffs earlier this year, accusing the FLDS leader of breaking apart his family. In addition to money, the lawsuit demands Jeffs provide information that reunites him with his son. After the suit was filed, FLDS leaders arranged a brief meeting in May, where Musser was allowed to see Vivian and Levi. He was not allowed to hold his son, and Vivian said she wanted nothing to do with her husband. "We just want to find Wendell's son and reunite them," Hoole said. "Wendell will respect her wishes, but he's certainly entitled to a relationship with his son." According to the lawsuit, Musser was a loyal Jeffs follower who was called in December 2005 to be a courier for the fugitive FLDS leader and a caretaker for some of his wives. After being arrested for DUI, Musser claims Jeffs separated him from his wife and son. Jeffs' brother, Lyle, said Musser was being stripped of his priesthood and was ordered to return to the FLDS-enclaves of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz. "Within a few days of returning to Short Creek, Lyle further informed Wendell that since he did not have the priesthood, the Prophet has commanded that Vivian and Levi were no longer his," the lawsuit states. Lyle Jeffs is also named in the lawsuit and Musser's lawyers said they would increase the pressure on the FLDS Church if officials continue to be met with silence. "We'll add more church leaders to the lawsuit," Hoole said. "Those who have demonstrated an ability to get ahold of Vivian and Levi." Jeffs, 51, is facing a September trial in St. George's 5th District Court on charges of 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. In Arizona, Jeffs was recently indicted on more charges related to child bride marriages. Jeffs is also facing a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, stemming from his time on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Friday, July 27, 2007 | |
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