From Deseret News archives:
Utah and Arizona building additional criminal cases against Jeffs
"I'm hoping that other people come forward," said Gary Engels, an investigator with the Mohave County (Ariz.) Attorney's Office.
Engels confirmed to the Deseret Morning News he has additional investigations under way into Jeffs, who was convicted in 5th District Court earlier this week of charges of rape as an accomplice, stemming from a marriage he performed between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.
Washington County prosecutors are now pursuing a rape case against Allen Steed, the groom in that marriage. He was charged Wednesday and is scheduled to be arraigned here on Oct. 4.
However, authorities are keeping tight-lipped about what else they are pursuing Jeffs for.
"To that, I can't speak to. I really don't want to comment on that," Engels said.
Engels said he has no evidence that child-bride marriages are continuing within the FLDS communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.
"I really couldn't tell you if they've stopped or not, but I'm sure they've probably slowed down," he said. "Obviously, someone else is having to perform them now."
Jeffs is facing criminal charges in Mohave County, Ariz., accusing him of sexual conduct with a minor as an accomplice, and incest as an accomplice. Four criminal cases have been filed, but Mohave County prosecutors admit that at least two of them are in jeopardy.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has told the Deseret Morning News that his office has been conducting an organized crime probe into Jeffs and the FLDS Church. It stems from the court takeover of the church's financial arm, the United Effort Plan Trust, amid allegations that Jeffs and other FLDS leaders were siphoning money from it.
In 2005, the courts took control of the $100 million trust, which controls homes, businesses and properties in Hildale, Colorado City and the FLDS Church's enclave in Bountiful, British Columbia, in Canada.
Shurtleff and Engels said they would like to see the evidence the FBI seized from a Cadillac Escalade that Jeffs was riding in when he was arrested last year.
On Thursday, a Utah State Courts spokeswoman said that any documents sealed in Jeffs' trial here will remain sealed because of the potential impact they could have on the FLDS leader's cases in Arizona. That could include jailhouse statements that Jeffs has made.
Shurtleff said Jeffs now has an opportunity — to cooperate with law enforcement.
"It'll be interesting to see if he decides now to be more cooperative or forthcoming," Shurtleff said in an interview earlier this week.
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. weighed in on Jeffs' conviction Thursday, saying it shows the world that something is being done about abuses within closed polygamous societies. Speaking at his monthly news conference on KUED, he praised Utah and Arizona authorities for going after child abuse, welfare fraud and other crimes.
"They're tackling the issue in ways that are more aggressive than before," Huntsman said. "I think that's a good thing."
Jeffs' conviction might encourage others to come forward, Huntsman said, praising the "great people who were willing to come out of the shadows and tell their stories" in the Jeffs case.
"The courage that was on display was remarkable."
Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
