Reid introduces polygamy bill

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Harry Reid today introduced a bill in the Senate to establish a federal task force that would focus on crimes associated with polygamist organizations.

The task force would include U.S. attorneys from Western states where polygamists have established communities, and representatives of federal agencies, according to Reid's office.

The Senate majority leader, one of 16 Mormons serving in Congress, has called for a crackdown on groups that practice polygamy, comparing them to organized crime syndicates.

"Polygamist communities are typically controlled by organizations that engage in widespread and systematic violations of state laws and the laws of the United States in order to enrich their leaders and maintain control over their members," the Reid bill states.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, one of the largest groups that practices plural marriage, has members living in Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

Its leader Warren Jeffs, was convicted in Utah state court last year of being an accomplice to rape, and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of five years to life in prison. He also faces charges in Arizona and this week was indicted by a grand jury in Texas on sexual assault charges.