FLDS case may hinge on diaries, dictations

"We carry on in administering these ordinances; the Lord doing it. God lives, and He shall have a prepared people. I am willing to all that He directs, the Lord and father guiding and helping me, praying that the Kingdom of God will grow even this night, that a quorum of wives will advance, saying this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." -->

Jeffs, 52, was convicted last year in Utah of rape as an accomplice for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. In Arizona, Jeffs is currently facing charges of sexual misconduct as an accomplice, accused of performing similar marriages in that state.

Rod Parker, a Salt Lake attorney acting as a spokesman for the FLDS Church suggested Monday there is more to the story than was being portrayed in the CASA report.

The CASA report and accompanying exhibits do not explicitly say that any sexual activity occurred. Indeed, FLDS members say consummating a marriage may not take place right after a wedding ceremony in their culture.

"The FLDS people do not believe in force in any area of life. Many marriages are not consummated until months, or sometimes even years, after the ceremony is performed. The husband and wife must first learn to know, love, and trust one another," said a recent posting on the FLDS Web site truthwillprevail.org, pointing out that courtship often takes place after marriage.

Last month, the FLDS Church clarified its position on marriage, committing not to preside over the marriage of "any woman under the age of legal consent in the jurisdiction in which the marriage takes place."

"The church will counsel families that they neither request nor consent to any underage marriages," FLDS member and spokesman Willie Jessop said at the time.

Regardless, the dictations and diaries could be evidence in ongoing child welfare and criminal investigations. Hundreds of boxes of evidence were seized from the YFZ Ranch, but Texas authorities refuse to comment on their contents.

"I am not able to say anything about any evidence that has been filed with the court, or about any grand jury proceedings," said Tela Mange, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety Monday.

The Texas Attorney General's Office has also refused to comment on the grand jury, noting laws surrounding the secrecy of such proceedings.

The FLDS have come under scrutiny in Texas after an April raid on their YFZ Ranch near Eldorado. CPS workers and law enforcement responded to the ranch after a phone call to a San Angelo family crisis center by someone claiming to be a pregnant 16-year-old girl in an abusive marriage. A Colorado woman has been under investigation as the possible placer of hoax calls.

Once on the ranch, authorities claim they saw other signs of abuse and a judge ordered more than 400 children removed. The case fell apart after two Texas courts ruled the state acted improperly in removing all of the children.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com