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ELDORADO, Texas (AP) -- A 57-year-old member of a polygamist group raided by Texas authorities last year has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for the sexual assault of a child.
A Schleicher County jury in the West Texas town of Eldorado reached the decision Thursday night in the case of Allan Eugene Keate , according to a statement released by the Texas attorney general.
The panel deliberated less than two hours Tuesday before convicting Keate for his alleged so-called "spiritual marriage" to a 15-year-old girl who gave birth at age 16. He faced a possible life sentence.
Much of the prosecution's case relied on extensive church records seized from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in April 2008. One set of records indicated Keate had six wives, ranging in age from 17 to 49, in March 2007.
Keate is the second member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be convicted of sexual assault of a child in Texas.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
