September trial in FLDS custody case

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Attorneys have agreed on a September trial date to determine the custody of a 14-year-old girl who is alleged to have been a child bride of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs.

According to an order signed Thursday by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, the state will investigate another potential foster home for the girl, who sect documents record as having been married to Jeffs when she was 12 years old.

"We're going to do a home study to find a possible ... placement," said Child Protective Services spokesman Patrick Crimmins.

Attorneys for the girl; her mother, Barbara Jessop; and the state's Child Protective Services agency declined to comment.

The sides agreed to a six-month extension in the case — which had been scheduled to expire in April — to allow attorneys for Jessop and her daughter to conduct discovery on what is believed to be mounds of evidence collected since April from the YFZ Ranch in Schleicher County.

The attorneys also agreed to a separate order moving the trial from Eldorado, near the location of the sprawling compound of the Fundamentalist LDS Church. With a trial necessary before October, the lack of air conditioning in the Schleicher County Courthouse became a prohibitive factor.

"Before you want a trial in Schleicher County in July or August, I suggest you check out the courthouse," Walther told the attorneys.

The jury trial will take place Sept. 28 in San Angelo.

Sect documents released over the course of the investigation portray a triple wedding ceremony the night of July 27, 2006, involving the girl and Jeffs, with the ceremony officiated by her father, ranch patriarch Merril Jessop, who has since been indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury, likely for his alleged role in the ceremony.

Other men accused of being involved in the ceremonies also have been indicted, and Barbara and Merril Jessop have been accused of witnessing or allowing more than 10 marriages between underage girls and adult men.

During previous custody hearings, Jessop has refused to answer questions about how she would keep her daughter safe if granted custody. At one point, Jessop pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than 50 times.