St. George, Utah
The leader of a polygamous sect is competent to stand trial on charges tied to the spiritual marriage of a 14-year-old girl to an older cousin, a judge said Friday.Judge James Shumate said an evaluation of Warren Jeffs, filed under seal, would be released in the coming weeks after he blacks out certain portions.
Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is charged with rape as an accomplice for his role in the 2001 marriage of the underage girl to her 19-year-old cousin.
His sect, which has about 10,000 members on the Utah-Arizona line, practices polygamy and arranged marriages. A trial date has not been set.
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