By R.A. DYER
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
May 31, 2008
http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/673110.html
AUSTIN -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, jailed in Arizona on several counts of incest and sexual assault of a child, has surrendered DNA samples to law enforcement officials investigating allegations of sexual conduct with underage girls at the group's West Texas compound, officials confirmed Friday.
Jeffs, 52, is revered as a prophet by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the polygamist sect embroiled in a child custody tug-of-war with Texas. The group's YFZ Ranch near Eldorado was raided by law enforcement April 3, although the Texas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state overreached its authority by rounding up more than 400 children after allegations of child sex abuse.
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A top official from the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott traveled to Kingman, Ariz., on Thursday to obtain DNA swabs from Jeffs as part of an investigation of claims of sexual conduct with four underage girls. At least three suspected violations occurred at the YFZ Ranch, according to a warrant provided by Abbott's office.
"Our investigator was out there yesterday collecting the DNA sample after getting the search warrant signed," spokesman Jerry Strickland said Friday.
According to the warrant, Jeffs "married" a 14-year-old girl in Utah on Jan. 18, 2004, and that girl gave birth to Jeffs' child in October 2005. The document cites evidence from records obtained at the group's compound about four miles from Eldorado. The initials YFZ stand for "Yearning for Zion."
The warrant also alleges that Jeffs sexually assaulted a 12-year-old on July 27, 2006, at the YFZ Ranch, married a 14-year-old girl there on July 22, 2004, and married a 12-year-old girl at the ranch on April 16, 2005.
"It is the practice of the FLDS at the YFZ Ranch to consummate marriage by adult males to underage females by sexual intercourse," the search warrant states.
Jeffs' legal problems predate the raid on the group's Texas outpost.
Strickland said Jeffs is being held in Arizona charged with five counts of sexual conduct with a minor, four counts of incest and one count of conspiracy of sexual conduct with a minor. The sect's leader was earlier sentenced to prison in Utah as an accomplice to rape by arranging a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.
According to the warrant, law enforcement officials have wedding photos and records from the ranch showing the "spiritual unions" between Jeffs and underage girls. The warrant notes that under Texas law, children younger than 16 cannot consent to sex.
Jeffs is revered as a prophet among FLDS members, who believe polygamy brings glorification in heaven. His photos are hung throughout the school at the YFZ Ranch and alongside Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church. The FLDS splintered from the Mormon Church after the latter disavowed polygamy in 1890.
The criminal investigation of abuse allegations is separate from the huge custody case in which the Texas Supreme Court ruled that state child welfare workers overstepped their bounds by treating more than 400 children as members of a single household.
No charges stemming from the YFZ Ranch investigation have been filed against sect members.
This report includes material from The Associated Press.
rdyer@star-telegram.com
R.A. Dyer reports from the Star-Telegram's Austin Bureau. 512-476-4294.
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