Polygamy. Acceptable? Immoral? State your views here.

[JohnMichael]

Now this is just plain wrong and was dealt with as it should be. A criminal offense.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44021900...rts/?gt1=43001


Polygamist leader found guilty in child-rape case

Warren Jeffs was accused of sexually assaulting 12- and 15-year-old girls he took as brides

Tony Gutierrez / AP
Warren Jeffs is accused of sexually assaulting two girls he took as brides during so-called "spiritual marriages."



SAN ANGELO, Texas — A jury on Thursday convicted polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs of sexually assaulting two girls he had taken as "spiritual wives."

The jury returned its verdict after about 3 1/2 hours of deliberations.

Jeffs stood stone-faced as the decision was read.

The penalty phase of the trial was to immediately follow. Jeff faces a sentence of up to life in prison.

During the trial, prosecutors used DNA evidence to show Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl and played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. They also played audio recordings in which Jeffs was heard instructing young women on how to please him sexually.

In closing arguments Thursday morning, Jeffs, who acted as his own attorney, stood mute during nearly all 30 minutes of his allotted time. He then mumbled a few words that sounded like "I am at peace" before sitting down.

Lead prosecutor Eric Nichols told jurors that the so-called religious persecution and freedom issues Jeffs raised are not a legitimate defense for the alleged crimes.
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"This case is not about any people, not about any religion. This case is about Warren Steed Jeffs and what he has done," Nichols said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

Prosecutors finished presenting their case on Wednesday by playing a recording of his alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl for jurors.

In response, Jeffs entered the entire Book of Mormon into evidence and read parts of it into the record.

Jeffs has repeatedly said that his freedom of religion protects his right to practice polygamy, which has been condemned by the Mormon church.
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Jeffs, 55, is charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, for his relationship with the 12-year-old, and aggravated sexual assault for his relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Authorities allege that Jeffs had "spiritual" marriages with both the girls, and fathered a child with the older girl.

The self-proclaimed "prophet" and leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a banned offshoot of the Mormons that says men have to have three wives to be admitted into heaven, faces 119 years in prison if convicted on both charges.

Jeffs had argued that his religious freedoms were being trampled. The FLDS, which has at least 10,000 members nationwide, is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism. The church believes polygamy is the key to heaven and that Jeffs is God's spokesman on earth.

Prosecutors said the case had nothing to do with his church or his beliefs.

"You have heard the defendant make repeated arguments about religious freedoms," said Nichols. "Make no mistake, this case is not about any people, this case is not about any religion. It is about one individual, Warren Steed Jeffs, and his actions."



Donna Mcwilliam / AP
Aerial view of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound under construction near Eldorado, Texas, in this March 2, 2005, photo.

Prosecutors used DNA evidence to show Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year old, and played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old.

"You might have asked yourselves," Nichols said, "a lot of people may ask, why would someone record sex? ... This individual considers himself to be the prophet. Everything he did, hour after hour, he was required to keep a record of that."

The recordings and Jeffs' personal journals were seized by police following an April 2008 raid on Yearning For Zion, a church compound in remote Eldorado, Texas, about 45 miles south of San Angelo. More than 400 children were placed in protective custody amid allegations that girls were being forced into polygamist marriages.
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The anonymous call for help that sparked the raid turned out to be a hoax, and the children were returned to their families, but images of FLDS women wearing frontier-style dresses and hairdos out of the 19th century had made headlines nationwide.

The lone defense witness Jeffs called, church elder JD Roundy, spent about 10 minutes on the stand Thursday discussing FLDS history after 4½ hours of testimony Wednesday evening.

Jeffs tried three times unsuccessfully to have State District Judge Barbara Walther removed and filed a brief based on what he said was a revelation from the Lord saying she will suffer a crippling sickness that will soon take her life.

The prosecution had no participation from either alleged victim, but Nichols said sexual assault of a child was "so unconscionable" that it wasn't legally required.

Nichols said Jeffs had entered into church marriages with the girls at the time he was already legally married.

Eleven other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy. All seven of those who have been prosecuted were convicted, receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

[ForeverAutumn]

Absolutely. Child abuse and sexual abuse is always wrong no matter the circumstances. I hope he rots in jail for a long, long time.

[JohnMichael]

Absolutely. Child abuse and sexual abuse is always wrong no matter the circumstances. I hope he rots in jail for a long, long time.

Yes he needs to rot as long as it takes the young girls to heal and maybe one day to be able to have a loving relationship. When you are abused as a child you suffer more years than the sentence given to your abuser.

[Jamalun]

If women agree to live with a man who has wealth, then that is their choice. Forced polygamy is of course immoral.

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