Current climate singles out plurals

Ron Barton is no different from many Utahns with pioneer roots — somewhere on just about every family tree is a polygamist. In Barton's case, it was his great-grandfather, Peter Barton, who was incarcerated in the old Sugarhouse prison for practicing his beliefs.

"I have a picture of him on the wall in my office," Barton said.

From that perch, the elder Barton looks down on his descendant whose job with the Utah Attorney General's Office is to investigate and help prosecute crimes within or against the state's polygamous groups.

The irony isn't lost on Barton, who has held the job since the post was created in 2000.

"I don't think differently of him," said Barton of his ancestor. "It was a different time."

But on Monday in St. George, Barton and AG's office attorneys will begin the trial of Rodney Holm, a former Hildale police officer accused of marrying more than one woman, although in Holm's case the "women" were underaged girls.

Holm, 37, a member of the Hildale-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is charged with two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor 16 or 17 years old and one count of bigamy. All are third-degree felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. The charges stem from Holm's alleged third marriage to the 16-year-old sister of one of his other wives.

The Holm case marks the fifth time since 1998 that state or county prosecutors have filed charges against someone who practices polygamy and a sign, some say, of a trend to clamp down on the practice — something that has not been done in earnest since 1953 when the raids on the southern Utah community of Short Creek — now called Hildale — sent dozens of men and women to jail.

So what has happened?

The question has many answers.

In recent years, more of the women leaving the practice have come forward with stories of serious abuses. Some have also sought assistance from the state in getting custody of their children.

Some polygamists like Tom Green have received national media attention, telling their stories to national magazines and on TV talk shows.

At the same time, a group of very vocal women — all either former plural wives or the children of polygamous relationships — formed Tapestry Against Polygamy, an organization designed to support women who want to leave the practice.