Unsealed papers say Jeffs quit as prophet

"The statements make it 'more probable' that the defendant exercised power and control over Elissa Wall to encourage her to engage in non-consensual sexual intercourse and make it 'less probable' that the defendant acted merely as a generic religious counselor," Belnap wrote in court papers. "Moreover, the statements are not unfairly prejudicial."

Ultimately, Jeffs' comments were left out of the trial. A jury convicted him of first-degree felony rape as an accomplice in connection with the marriage he performed between then 14-year-old Elissa Wall and her cousin, Allan Steed.

Jeffs faces up to life in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 20. Wall, who was the prosection's star witness, has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against him and the FLDS Church's real-estate arm, the United Effort Plan Trust. In response to the unique nature of the case, as well as the massive news media attention, Washington County prosecutors also sought to protect Wall, who was formerly known in court papers simply as "Jane Doe IV."

"In this case, the victim and her family have relocated and legally changed their name in order to protect their identity and maintain their safety," Belnap wrote in a November 2006 filing released Tuesday. "Their former names were the names they were known by throughout all times relevant to this litigation."

Steed was recently charged in 5th District Court with first-degree felony rape in connection with his marriage to Wall.

Jeffs faces criminal charges of sexual misconduct with a minor as an accomplice and incest as an accomplice in Mohave County, Ariz., case accusing him of performing more child bride marriages. A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City also indicted the FLDS leader on a single charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, stemming from his time on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

It is those cases that has defense attorneys concerned about Jeffs' statements. Because of the pending cases, Bugden objected to a probation officer interviewing Jeffs for a pre-sentence report, saying that anything he said can be used against him.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com