September trial in FLDS custody case

Published: Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 2:56 p.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Attorneys have agreed on a September trial date to determine the custody of a 14-year-old girl who is alleged to have been a child bride of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs.

According to an order signed Thursday by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, the state will investigate another potential foster home for the girl, who sect documents record as having been married to Jeffs when she was 12 years old.

"We're going to do a home study to find a possible ... placement," said Child Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins.

Attorneys for the girl; her mother, Barbara Jessop; and the state's Child Protective Services agency declined to comment.

The sides agreed to a six-month extension in the case — which had been scheduled to expire in April — to allow attorneys for Jessop and her daughter to conduct discovery on what is believed to be mounds of evidence collected since April from the YFZ Ranch in Schleicher County.

The attorneys also agreed to a separate order moving the trial from Eldorado, near the location of the sprawling compound of the Fundamentalist LDS Church. With a trial necessary before October, the lack of air conditioning in the Schleicher County Courthouse became a prohibitive factor.

Story continues below

"Before you want a trial in Schleicher County in July or August, I suggest you check out the courthouse," Walther told the attorneys.

The jury trial will take place Sept. 28 in San Angelo.

Sect documents released over the course of the investigation portray a triple wedding ceremony the night of July 27, 2006, involving the girl and Jeffs, with the ceremony officiated by her father, ranch patriarch Merril Jessop, who has since been indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury, likely for his alleged role in the ceremony.

Other men accused of being involved in the ceremonies also have been indicted, and Barbara and Merril Jessop have been accused of witnessing or allowing more than 10 marriages between underage girls and adult men.

During previous custody hearings, Jessop has refused to answer questions about how she would keep her daughter safe if granted custody. At one point, Jessop pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than 50 times.

The order signed Thursday leaves intact the previous requirements for the girl and her mother, whom Child Protective Services has accused of being uncooperative since the girl's removal from her care in August. The requirements include monitored visits and restricted access to other sect members, including her mother.

During the hearing Thursday, bailiffs, at Walther's direction, kept the girl and her attorney, Carmen Dusek, sequestered from the rest of the observers and attorneys in the gallery, on the opposite side of the courtroom from her mother. The pair met in an adjoining jury room after the hearing.

Recent comments

A good MOTHER teaches DIGNITY, SELF-WORTH, SELF-STEAM, TO LOVE YOUR...

Anonymous | March 5, 2009 at 2:27 p.m.

She's NOT a hostage. Texas is doing their job unlike Utah & AZ....

KC | Jan. 9, 2009 at 1:23 p.m.

As I recall she was married a couple of years ago. Perhaps she is...

Girl or Wife......? | Jan. 9, 2009 at 5:44 a.m.

previousnext

Latest comments

Blazers get the unbalanced trade they seek while not signing Millsap away...

Ricky Bobby - THE JAZZ DO NOT WANT TO TAKE BACK EQUAL SALARIES. They want to...

Owls need holes for nest

Despite the fact that logging has all but stopped in the pacific northwest...

My understanding of what FAIR is trying to do, is to provide well thought out...

Jazz will resign Milsap. If they don't it will be ahuge mistake. First off,...

Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake

I was waiting for it to be burned on the big metal structure right by the...

Hey Ute fan... the Utes had a good season. And keep throwing that BCS bowl...

Tyrus Thomas is in the last year of his contract too so what is the point for...

CougarKeith, people don't know how to properly retire the flag, what they did...

It is just talk but since it was brought up: IF we can get Prizbilla &...

Advertisements