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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- An emergency fund for youth cast out of a southern Utah polygamous sect has helped about a dozen young men and women so far.
The Lost Boys Fund was set up two months ago, as part of a lawsuit settlement agreement. Seven young men sued the United Effort Plan trust to establish the $250,000 fund.
The UEP was the financial arm of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was taken over by the Utah courts in 2005 after allegations of mismanagement.
To date the fund has paid out $6,600 for school tuition, books, a desk, appliances, car insurance and utility bills.
It's unclear how many young men -- the so-called Lost Boys -- have left or been forced out of the FLDS church since Warren Jeffs became its leader in 2002.
Last month, the 51-year-old Jeffs was convicted of two first-degree felony charges of accomplice rape and could spend the rest of his life in prison. Sentencing is Nov. 20.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
