FLDS leader Warren Jeffs back in Utah State Prison

UTAH STATE PRISON — Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is back in Utah.

Jeffs arrived at the prison Tuesday just before 11 a.m., said Department of Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke.

Jeffs was transported from Kingman, Ariz., where, early last week, Mohave County prosecutors dismissed four charges of sexual misconduct with a minor.

The dismissal was expected to speed up criminal proceedings in Texas, where Jeffs faces more serious charges. He had been jailed in Kingman since February 2008.

Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith dropped the Arizona cases against Jeffs last week, saying the two alleged victims no longer wanted to proceed with prosecution. Jeffs had been facing four counts of being an accomplice to sexual conduct with a minor, stemming from two arranged marriages between teenage girls and their older male relatives.

A judge granted Smith's request Wednesday and ordered that Jeffs be moved to Utah, where his 2007 convictions on two counts of rape as an accomplice are on appeal.

Jeffs faces more serious charges in Texas, and his attorney has said he would fight any attempt at extradition to that state. Jeffs was indicted on charges of sexual assault of a child and bigamy, months after authorities raided the Yearning for Zion ranch at Eldorado in April 2008.

Jeffs, the leader of the FLDS Church, commands followers who live in the twin communities of Colorado City and Hildale, Utah.

The FLDS practice polygamy in arranged marriages, a tradition tied to the early theology of the mainstream Mormon church. Mormons denounced the practice in the 1890s.

Gherke said Jeffs would undergo a standard evaluation before prison officials decide where he will be housed. Corrections officials are unsure how long Jeffs will remain in Utah.

— Aaron Falk and Associated Press