Judge weighs possible dismissal of rape case

BY KEVIN JENKINS kevin@thespectrum.com

ST. GEORGE - Fifth District Court Judge G. Rand Beacham has taken "under advisement" arguments about whether he should dismiss a rape charge against a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member whose marriage to an underage bride provided the foundation for convicting polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs. Allen Glade Steed was charged in 2007 with raping his cousin, Elissa Wall, whom he had married in April 2001 when she was 14 and he was 19. Both were members of the FLDS church, a religion based in the Utah-Arizona border communities of Hildale and Colorado City that practices arranged marriages and polygamous marriage. The Spectrum does not generally identify people who say they were sexually assaulted, but Wall has spoken publicly about her life and published a nationally distributed book about the marriage. Steed's attorney, Jim Bradshaw, filed documents in 5th District Court in August requesting an end to the prosecution of Steed, on the grounds that the four-year statute of limitations has run out on the charges. The Utah Legislature changed the statute last year to eliminate the statute of limitations on 14 categories of crimes, including rape and sex crimes against children, but the case is being tried under the statute that was in effect at the time Steed was charged. "This can be a tricky and dizzying legal exercise," Bradshaw said as he presented the dates when the marriage took place, when information about it was shared with outside parties, and when charges were filed in Washington County. "How does the state file information in September 2007 that they allege happened in May 2001?" Bradshaw asked. Bradshaw chipped away at the prosecution's contention the report was first made in January 2005, when Wall's boyfriend sat down to breakfast with Mohave County (Arizona) Attorney's Office investigator Gary Engels at a Hurricane restaurant and informed him of the allegations, arguing Engels is not certified as a law enforcement officer and the discussion did not constitute a formal report. "There's a difference between a formal report and three guys getting together to talk," Bradshaw said. County Attorney Brock Belnap, prosecuting on behalf of the state, said the county attorney's office represents one wing of law enforcement - the prosecuting agency, which partners with the arresting agency. He added the statement to Engels was deliberate and not something Engels overheard, and therefore a report to Engels. However, Belnap acknowledged that if the court does not regard the comments made to Engels and his subsequent vague e-mail to Belnap's office about a child bride as a report to law enforcement, then the case was not filed in time to fulfill the statute. "If that is not sufficient, we would have to concede it is not sufficient," he said. The burden rests with the prosecution to prove the statute was fulfilled. Beacham said he would issue a written decision on the arguments at an undetermined time. "I just have to satisfy myself that I have corralled the facts," he said. Belnap said a ruling in the Steed case will not directly affect the Jeffs case, although "they would be free to make whatever arguments they wanted."

TheSpectrum.com Originally published January 30, 2010

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