Arizona gets custody of Jeffs
KINGMAN, Ariz. — Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was handed over to Arizona authorities Tuesday to face sex charges stemming from the arranged marriages of two teenage girls to older relatives.
He already has been convicted in Utah in connection with one of those cases, involving a 14-year-old girl.
Deputies from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office took custody of Jeffs from Utah officials, sheriff’s spokeswoman Trish Carter said.
"Now it’s our turn," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said. "I hope the message is very simple: the law applies to everybody, whether they’re the head of a large religious group, or somebody who’s not. It’s a crime to abuse children, and there are no exceptions."
Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, will plead not guilty to the Arizona charges today in a Kingman court, said defense attorney Mike Piccarreta.
Jeffs, 52, is charged as an accomplice with four counts of incest and four counts of sexual contact with a minor in an indictment.
The Arizona charges stem from the arranged marriage of a man in his early 50s to a 17-year-old relative and another between a 19-year-old man and his 14-year-old cousin.
Jeffs was convicted last year in Utah of rape as an accomplice in the latter case, but Arizona prosecutors say that doesn’t preclude them from bringing charges.
Members of the church live in the isolated twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.
Piccarreta plans to ask the judge for a change of venue, saying the northwestern Arizona city of Kingman is too close to St. George, Utah, the site of Jeffs’ first trial, for him to get a fair trial. The cities, separated by the Grand Canyon, are more than a 200-mile drive apart.
Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith said the trial, which will be months from now, should be held in Mohave County because that’s where the alleged crimes occurred.