| Another civil case filed against Jeffs | |||||
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By Patrice St. Germain patrices@thespectrum.com | |||||
HURRICANE - Another civil case against self-proclaimed prophet Warren Steed Jeffs was filed in 5th District Court on Friday. The newest claim is that Jeffs punished a man who was his courier and caretaker for seven months by forcing him to leave his family and repent. The complaint, filed by the law firm of Hoole & King on behalf of Wendell Musser, names Jeffs, his brother Lyle Jeffs and Does I-V as the defendants. Musser, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who now lives in Idaho, was selected in December 2005 as a courier and caretaker for several of Jeffs' "spiritual wives." For seven months, Musser served the priesthood until he was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol. Jeffs reportedly separated the man from his family and told him to repent. Attorney Roger Hoole said since Musser was isolated from his family and told to return from Colorado to Short Creek to repent, he has been unable to locate the whereabouts of his wife, Vivian, and his son, Levi. "This case is really about Wendell being reunited with his son and his family," Hoole said. "This is a young man who simply wants to meet his financial obligations with his son and coordinate with the mother to do that." The attorneys said the man claims that through Jeffs' actions, he has alienated Musser from his family and interfered with parental obligations, inflicted emotion distress and invaded the family's privacy. Musser's isn't the only civil case pending against Jeffs, but it is only the second one filed that is similar in the respect that someone formerly from the community is seeking to be reunited with his family. Hoole represents all but one of the clients with civil claims against Jeffs, including a woman identified in court papers as M.J. - also the Jane Doe IV in Jeffs' criminal case where he is charged with rape as an accomplice. Hoole is also working to reunite Johnny Jessop with his family - specifically his mother. Hoole said the Musser and Jessop cases are not monetary cases but simply cases where the plaintiffs see no other recourse to gain the needed information except by filing a complaint against Jeffs. Private investigator Sam Brower, who works for the Hoole & King law firm, said now that Jeffs is in custody, the Musser and Jessop case may open up the way for others seeking to find information about missing family members. "When you have someone who has hardly any records - with no driver's license or credit card - and they are not traveling but are kept in hiding and obscurity by a whole culture, it's pretty hard to find them," Brower said. "Look at how long Warren (Jeffs) hid out." Musser was married to his wife Vivian in a "spiritual marriage" performed by Jeffs, but according to court records, the couple found that they were compatible and fell in love. The couple, who married April 1, 2004, had one son, Levi, five months before Musser was called to perform the courier and caretaker duties by the FLDS priesthood. In court documents, it states that because of the stress of the duties, Musser began drinking and was picked up for driving while under the influence and then told to leave his family as directed by Jeffs. | |||||
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published May 2, 2007 | |||||
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