Jury in Jeffs trial to resume its deliberations on Monday

ST. GEORGE — It's come down to this: A jury is now deliberating whether Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is guilty or innocent of charges of rape as an accomplice, in connection with a marriage he conducted between 14-year-old Elissa Wall and her 19-year-old cousin, Allen Steed.

The woman, who has been known in court documents and news accounts of the trial only as "Jane Doe," made her name public Friday, when her attorneys released a photograph they said was taken of Wall just months before she was forced into a child-bride marriage.

"It is important to keep in mind that she's a 14-year-old girl when this occurred," said her attorney, Greg Hoole. "This picture helps people keep that in mind."

Throughout the trial, Jeffs has sat stoically as he faced his accuser. His faithful followers have shown their support, breaking their silence on the witness stand to describe their life in the closed society of the FLDS Church. While polygamy itself is not on trial, it has been the specter that has shadowed this case.

Jeffs' defense attorney said the FLDS leader's prosecution is about religion.

"They are prosecuting Warren Jeffs for rape because Warren Jeffs is the leader of a church they don't agree with," Bugden said in his closing statements Friday. "They dropped a nuclear bomb on this religious community and charged him with rape."

It's an accusation Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap insists is false.

"Elissa Wall would never have had sex, would never have entered the bedroom, if not for the actions of Warren Jeffs," he said.

The five men and three women of the jury will return to the 5th District Courthouse Monday morning to resume deliberations. After being handed the case just after 3 p.m. Friday, the jury went to the judge with a question at about 4:30 p.m. Court officials would not say what that question was, but the judge sent the jury home for the weekend at 5 p.m., admonishing them to avoid speaking about the case to anyone and avoid any news about the high-profile trial.

The jury will have about 45 pieces of evidence to review, including numerous recordings of Jeffs teaching FLDS doctrine during home-economics and priesthood history classes nearly a decade ago at a private FLDS-run school.

Closing statements

In closing statements Friday, Bugden said prosecutors had not presented any evidence that supports Wall's claims that she was being forced against her will to submit herself physically to her husband.