Deadline set for alleged polygamists
 
By Jim Seckler
Mohave Daily News
 
KINGMAN - A Mohave County Superior Court judge set a deadline Monday for defense motions for six of eight Colorado City men charged with having sexual relations with underage girls.

The six men belong to a polygamist sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Colorado City near the Utah border.

Judge Steven Conn set Dec. 16 as the last day for Bruce Griffen, the attorney for all six men, to file pre-trial motions.

Conn also set Dec. 30 as the last day for County Attorney Matt Smith to reply to any defense motions. Conn is expected to set a trial date for the six men after that date.

Griffen, speaking by phone, said one of the motions may be to preclude the charges because of religious freedom.

The six men are Dale Evans Barlow, 47, charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.

Terry Darger Barlow, 23, is charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. The alleged crimes occurred in 2000.

Donald Robert 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, which allegedly occurred in 1999 or 2000.

Vergel Bryce Jessop, 45, is charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor, which allegedly occurred between January 2000 and January 2001.

Kelly Fischer, 38, is charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.

Rodney Holm, 38, a former Colorado City police officer, is charged with three counts of sexual conduct with a minor that allegedly took place between Dec. 1, 1998 and March 31, 1999.

A seventh man, Randy Joseph Barlow, 32, is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual conduct with a minor.

The original charges for the eighth man, David Romaine Bateman, were sent back to the grand jury by Judge James Chavez.

A grand jury again indicted Bateman, 48, last month on the same charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.

The already married men are charged with marrying under-age girls. Arizona law states it is illegal to marry more than one person and illegal to have sex with someone under 18 years old.

The girls were between 15 and 17 years old when the alleged crimes took place.

All the girls became pregnant at those ages.

The community has a history of complaints of arranged marriages of underage girls to older, married men.
 
mohavedailynews.com
Originally published Monday, October 31, 2005
 
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