Teenage Bride Set to Testify Against Warren Jeffs
 
John Hollenhorst Reporting
KSL-TV Channel 5
 
Polygamist Warren Jeffs will finally face his main accuser tomorrow, as the teenage bride appears publicly in court for the first time.

She's scheduled to testify in a preliminary hearing for Jeffs, who faces two counts of rape as an accomplice. Those charges could put Jeffs behind bars for life.

Until today, the girl has never been publicly identified; even her age was kept secret. But today, new court documents finally identified her. We've chosen not to broadcast the name since she's an alleged rape victim. And we now know her age-- 14 at the time of the alleged rape five years ago, by her own cousin.

Warren Jeffs wasn't officially the leader of the FLDS church at the time of the alleged crime. His father Rulon was.

But by all accounts, Jeffs began taking over in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona, even before his father died.

The crux of the alleged crime was at the Hot Springs Motel in Caliente, Nevada. The young victim says Jeffs presided over her marriage to an older follower in a motel room. Investigators say this used to be one of Jeffs' favorite marriage venues. He sometimes performed as many as a half-dozen marriages a day here.

In Hildale, before and after the marriage, the teenager says she asked Jeffs to let her out of the marriage. But he said her salvation depended on being a faithful wife.

Jeffs allegedly commanded her to submit to sex, saying, "Give yourself mind, body and soul to your husband." The girl claims the husband forced her to have sex, using Jeffs teachings as justification.

They argue the victim "submitted to sex with her purported husband because of the undue influence and religious authority of the defendant."

If prosecutors can show such statements commanded or encouraged a rape, Jeffs could be bound over for trial as an accessory to rape.

But a defense motion looks at the same facts in a different light

Defense attorneys say Jeffs was "the alleged victim's religious leader... counseling obedience, loyalty and faithfulness to her partner."

One side sees the case as religious persecution. The other side says the law should step in when religious teachings lead to abuse of children.

Polygamy prosecutions are sometimes difficult because witnesses get cold feet. We have no reason to expect that tomorrow. A source told us tonight, "The victim is solid, witnesses are solid, and it's a really good case."

Tomorrow it all comes together in court.
 
KSL.com
Originally broadcast November 20, 2006
 
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