Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
UPDATE:ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - A grand jury has indicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs and five of his followers. Jeffs, who was indicted Tuesday, is accused of sexual assault. The charges and identities of the others were being withheld until authorities can arrest them, said Schleicher County clerk Peggy Williams. One indictment is misdemeanor; the others are felonies.
The criminal charges came during the panel's second meeting on the case and followed the ill-fated child custody case in which more than 400 children were placed in foster care. The Texas Supreme Court ruled child welfare authorities had overstepped in taking all the children for their parents even though many were infants and toddlers.
(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
A grand jury met again today in the ongoing investigation of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) polygamist group that was raided by Texas law enforcement authorities in April. This is the second time in as many months the grand jury has convened.
#brett_tolman
You'll recall the grand jury also met last month without issuing indictments. The meetings are just the latest event in a lengthy, high-profile child custody case.
Four hundred children were swept into foster care from the Yearning for Zion Ranch in April after claims that teenage girls there were being sexually abused -- something FLDS leaders have consistently denied.
Grand jury proceedings are supposed to be secret, but documents released as part of the separate child custody case have revealed evidence collected by law enforcement.
The evidence includes photos of jailed leader Warren Jeffs kissing and intimately embracing a 12-year-old girl. A purported Jeffs journal entry says he married his daughter to a 34-year-old man the day after she turned 15. The girl turns 17 on Saturday and has denied being married.
#jeffs_kiss
Meanwhile, the case has generated intense media coverage and law enforcement interest. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing, and Utah's U.S. Attorney, who plans to testify, says the case has led to unprecedented cooperation among local, state and federal authorities.
"As a result of Texas, and as a result of the efforts in Utah and Arizona and otherwise, we are now sharing information, communicating, coordinating a lot of our efforts that we weren't previously," U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman said.
There is still no word today from the grand jury in Texas about any possible charges.
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
