Leader of polygamist sect faces charges over marriage of underage girls

[Honey]

An elder of a polygamist sect and two other church members surrendered to authorities yesterday to face charges relating to the marriage of underage girls to older men.
Fredrick 'Merril' Jessop, 72, a leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who oversaw its Yearning For Zion Ranch in west Texas, faces one count of conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor on July 27, 2006 - the same day one of his daughters was allegedly married to jailed FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.


Law enforcement officials escort members of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints onto a school bus in Eldorado, Texas in April
Polygamist Warren Jeffs, a Mormon sect leader. Jeffs was convicetd in Utah in 2007 and sentenced to ten years for being an accomplice to rape

The girl was 12 at the time and is now the only child from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in foster care after her mother refused to cooperate with child welfare authorities.

One of his daughters was allegedly married to jailed sect leader Warren Jeffs at 12 and is now the only child from the ranch in foster care after her mother refused to cooperate with child welfare authorities.

In all, 12 FLDS men have been indicted since Texas authorities raided the ranch in April looking for evidence of underage girls forced into marriages and sex with older men.

Hundreds of children were placed in state custody for weeks before they were ordered to be returned to their parents.

A grand jury in Eldorado, Texas, indicted Jeffs, Jessop, Wendell Loy Nielsen and Leroy Johnson Steed on Nov. 12. Only Jeffs' name had been released before Monday, when the other three men were booked and released after posting bond.

'We've said all along we're not running. We're going to take it head on,' said FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop. 'The allegations they're making and what they're trying to do is nothing more than harassment.'

Nielsen, 68, is charged with three counts of bigamy. The indictment includes few details, but church records released as part of a separate child custody case list 21 women married to Nielsen in August 2007.

Leroy Johnson Steed, 42, is charged with sexual assault of a child, bigamy and tampering with evidence. Church records show that Steed was married to a 16-year-old girl in March 2007.

Jeffs was convicted in Utah and is awaiting trial in Arizona on charges related to underage marriages of sect girls. He faces charges in Texas of sexual assault of a child and bigamy.

Church records and journal entries released in the custody case indicate several of Merril Jessop's daughters were married to men in the church when they were 16 or younger.



Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Police raided the ranch last April and took 400 children after claims of abuse and forced marriages
One of Merril Jessop's wives, Carolyn, fled the FLDS community on the Arizona-Utah line with her children in 2003 and wrote a best-selling book, 'Escape.'

Generally, teens younger than 17 cannot consent to sex with an adult under Texas law. Bigamy is also illegal. While the FLDS plural marriages are not legal marriages, Texas law forbids even purporting to marry.

Willie Jessop said the state is making criminal cases to justify what he called a botched child custody case. Child welfare authorities have dropped most of the cases involving the 439 children taken from the YFZ Ranch; only about three dozen remain under court oversight.

The child welfare case was prompted by calls to a domestic abuse hotline from someone claiming to be a teen mother who was abused. Those calls are now being investigated as a hoax.

The FLDS, which believes polygamy bring glorification in heaven, is a breakaway sect of the Mormon church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon church renounced polygamy more than a century ago.

Leader of polygamist sect charged over marriage of underage girls | Mail Online

[scooter]

That book by the ex wife, 'Escape' is a real eye opener.

[Grimmlok]

Oh, but gay marriage will destroy society.

*rolls his eyes right out the door*

[cheetopia]

They sicken and disgust me!

Grimm, Mad magazine has poked some real fun at the polygs.

[McJag]

Those poor women are just brood mares and never have had a chance.

[lurkur]

I wonder what sort of stupid fairy tales were injected into these women's minds.

[Novice]

BishopFoundGuiltyOfMarryingHis12-Year-OldDaughterToPolygamistWarrenJeffsBishop Found Guilty Of Marrying His 12-Year-Old Daughter To Polygamist Warren Jeffs


Posted on Nov 08, 2011 @ 01:30PM print it send it

By Radar Staff
Fredrick Merril Jessop, a veteran bishop for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was found guilty Monday of illegally marrying his 12-year-old daughter to convicted cult leader Warren Jeffs.
It took the West Texas jury about an hour and 20 minutes Monday to find Jessop, 75, guilty of the third-degree felony, which can be punished with two to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
"Fredrick Merril Jessop married a freckled, 12-year-old girl to a 50-year-old man," prosecutor Angela Goodwin told jurors in the trial regarding the illegal ceremony, which she said occurred July 27, 2006 at the Yearning For Zion Ranch near Eldorado, Texas.
In August, Jeffs was found guilty on two felony counts of child sexual assault, involving Jessop's 12-year-old daughter and another 15-year-old girl.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Jeffs represented himself throughout the emotionally charged trial and called only one witness for his defense, church elder JD Roundy whom he questioned on religious matters, but did not present any evidence for his defense.
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Jeffs claimed that the two young girls were his so-called "spiritual wives ."
Prosecutors presented horrific tape recordings of Jeffs having sex with the 12-year-old girl, where he ordered her to "take your clothes off," as she was heard crying.
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Jurors dabbed their eyes with tissues as they heard him say "How do you feel, doesn't it feel good," and then telling the girl "just don't think about the pain."
The prosecutors also presented DNA evidence to show that Jeffs fathered a child with the 15-year-old girl.
He's currently serving a life sentence and will be eligible for parole on July 22, 2038.

[louiswinthorpe111]

this is as sickening as the PSU scandal, except this is done under the guise of "religion."

[MohandasKGanja]

How is conspiring to make your 12-year-old daughter a victim of rape only a 3rd-degree felony?

[fgg]

are they all named jeffs or jessop?

[louiswinthorpe111]

^^ Well, considering they each have 200 children, that's why!

[faithanne]

Which one is Venus?

[caramel]

his own daughter? what the fuck is this fuckery? out of all the pussy in that camp he couldnt even bother to go with someone not that closely related but wanted that vag that his penis created? this aint the work of god, this is just some hillbilly bullshit