According to Utah news reports, polygamous prophet Warren Jeffs – who is facing felony charges in Texas for his role in betrothing underage girls to older men in “spiritual” plural marriages – refused Sept. 7 to sign extradition papers that would bring him here for trial. Jeffs, leader of the breakaway Mormon sect the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is awaiting transfer from Utah to Texas to face prosecution for sexual assault and bigamy, charges brought against him after the state’s 2008 raid on the FLDS’ Yearning for Zion Ranch just outside the West Texas town of Eldorado. Jeffs was convicted of two counts of rape-as-accomplice in Utah in 2007; his convictions were overturned in July by the Utah Supreme Court. (For more on the FLDS in Texas, see “Meet the New Neighbors,” July 29, 2005.) A Utah judge has set an extradition hearing for Nov. 15.

This article appears in September 10 • 2010.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US