Candidate accused of filing Jeffs charges for gain

ST. GEORGE — The criminal case against captured polygamist leader Warren Jeffs could become a factor in the race for Washington County attorney.

Libertarian candidate Aric Cramer Sr. is accusing incumbent Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap of filing rape-as-an-accomplice charges against the Fundamentalist LDS Church leader for political gain.

"I think it was brought now because it was election time," Cramer told the Deseret Morning News late Thursday. "I think he did this to boost his ratings. I think the timing of it shows that."

Cramer went on to say that he would never have charged Jeffs without first convicting the so-called "rapist."

"I'm not saying I wouldn't have brought it (the Jeffs case), but I think it was brought prematurely because of the election," he said.

The criminal charges against Jeffs were filed in April 2006. In an interview Thursday with KCSG-TV in St. George, Belnap denied the accusations.

"There are sure a lot of armchair quarterbacks. I'm hearing a lot of that," he said. "But I want to assure the people of our community that every decision we've made with respect to this case is legally grounded. We have made our choices very carefully."

Belnap is running for the office as a Republican. In his interview with KCSG, he would not discuss evidence in the Jeffs case that justified the charges.

"We're doing the right thing and the case is being appropriately handled," he said.

Cramer, a St. George-based lawyer, also attacked Belnap's lack of criminal trial experience. Belnap said he has prosecuted a homicide case and is actively prosecuting the Jeffs case. He added that his role as county attorney is an administrative one.

"The chief of police and the sheriff aren't out in the patrol cars arresting people," he said. "The rigors of the job just don't allow that to happen."

Jeffs, 50, is facing criminal charges accusing him of forcing a teenage girl into a polygamous marriage with an older man. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. Jeffs is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 21.

The FLDS Church leader was on the run and on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list until he was arrested during a traffic stop outside Las Vegas on Aug. 28.

---

Contributing: Russell Wilde, KCSG-TV

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com