More FLDS indictments today?

A search warrant made public on Wednesday said that authorities sought a DNA sample from one of the already-indicted men, 56-year-old Allan Eugene Keate. Using records obtained in the raid on the YFZ Ranch, Texas Rangers allege Keate married a 15-year-old girl in 2005.

"The marriage of Keate and (Jane) Doe was one of two marriages for Allan Eugene Keate on May 5, 2005," Texas Ranger Nick Hanna wrote in an affidavit filed July 28.

The girl, whom authorities say was the fifth of six wives of Keate, gave birth to a son on Dec. 30, 2006. A cheek swab was taken on July 28 to determine paternity of the child.

"As Jane Doe was only 15 years of age and Allan Eugene Keate was 52 years of age at the time of marriage and Jane Doe was approximately 16 years of age at the time of conception, affiant believes Allan Eugene Keate has committed the offense of sexual assault of a child," Hanna wrote.

The FLDS Church recently clarified its policy on marriage and said it does not condone any unions involving underage girls. FLDS member and spokesman Willie Jessop said no marriages have been performed within the church for the past two years.

Marriage records show many of the marriages under investigation took place at Jeffs' home on the YFZ Ranch. Some also allegedly took place in Hildale, Utah.

Those particular marriages are of interest to the Utah Attorney General's Office, which has been conducting investigations into Jeffs and the FLDS Church.

"There has been cooperation among several states about any evidence," said attorney general's spokesman Paul Murphy. "If there's evidence of any criminal wrongdoing in Utah, we're interested."

The evidence may be on shaky ground, however. A judge in San Angelo has scheduled an Oct. 1 hearing on a challenge to the search and seizure of documents from the YFZ Ranch. Lawyers for FLDS leaders argue the search was improper to begin with, and anything seized may fall under priest-penitent privilege.

The grand jury proceedings are typically secret, but this one has been highly public ever since it convened, largely because of the attention surrounding the nation's biggest child-custody case.

A hearing was held behind closed doors on Friday at the Tom Green County Courthouse dealing with the FLDS grand jury. Lawyers for a member of the church sought to quash a subpoena related to either testimony or documents, but neither side would reveal details of what happened, citing grand jury secrecy.

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