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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the child rape conviction of Tom Green, one of Utah's most prominent polygamists.
Green, 56, was convicted in June 2002 and sentenced to up to life in prison for having sex with his first wife, Linda Kunz when she was 13-years-old in 1985.
Green appealed, arguing the statute of limitations had run out. He also claimed the trial court lacked jurisdiction because the alleged rape occurred in Mexico.
The high court ruled Tuesday the statute had not run out because the 1985 incident wasn't reported to law enforcement until 1999.
The court also said the case was decided in the right jurisdiction because Juab County was Green's residence at the time of his arrest.
Green also has appealed his prison terms of zero-to-five-years each on four counts of bigamy for having four other wives.
He has appealed his bigamy conviction, saying a U.S. Supreme Court ruling decriminalizing gay sex supports his case that the government is violating his privacy rights by trying to regulate what happens in his bedroom.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on this appeal.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
