Jeffs preliminary hearing today

ST. GEORGE — A judge is expected to decide today whether there is enough evidence to make polygamist leader Warren Jeffs stand trial on charges he forced a 14-year-old girl into a marriage with a 19-year-old man who is also her first cousin.

The young woman is expected to be the prosecution's star witness when she testifies against the Fundamentalist LDS Church leader today in 5th District Court.

In court papers obtained by the Deseret Morning News on Monday, prosecutors revealed the identity of the young woman and her purported husband. Until now, she has been identified only as "Jane Doe IV."

The Deseret Morning News does not name sexual assault victims, nor is the newspaper naming the alleged rapist because he has not been charged with a crime.

Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap said he intends to prove that Jeffs "enticed (the victim) into submitting to sexual intercourse" with the man she had just married.

"In this case, the defendant did not have sex with (the victim). However, (the victim) submitted to sex with her purported husband because of the undue influence and religious authority of the defendant," Belnap wrote in a memorandum.

Belnap said no marriage license was ever obtained for the wedding presided over by Jeffs. The quickie ceremony was conducted in secret at a Caliente, Nev., motel in 2001.

Even if she wasn't legally married, prosecutors said the victim believed she was married and had sex with her purported husband because "she believed it was her responsibility as a wife."

Jeffs, 50, is charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Defense lawyers have fired back, asking a judge to dismiss the case against the Fundamentalist LDS Church leader. Defense attorney Walter Bugden Jr. says the state is confusing the culpability of the alleged rapist and Jeffs.

"The state alleges that the victim did not consent to sexual intercourse with the principal and bases its allegations on the actions of the defendant (Jeffs) i.e., that he used psychological manipulation and his position as a religious leader to gain her consent," Bugden wrote in a motion to dismiss obtained by the Deseret Morning News.

Citing a series of case histories, he attacked the prosecution's claims by saying Jeffs did not "command, encourage or intentionally aid" the alleged rapist in having sex with his purported wife.