Warren Jeffs' Performed Nevada Marriages

KLASTV, Nevada/September 7, 2006

Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist LDS, allegedly performed marriages between older men and underage girls. Eyewitness News has learned that some of those marriages, including the one that resulted in rape as accomplice charges, took place in Nevada.

Jeffs may have chosen to perform marriages in Nevada because it is easy to do. Warren Jeffs' followers would get a marriage license for one marriage then Jeffs would perform the other unions as spiritual marriages.

In the eyes of the law, the spiritual marriage would not be legal but the Fundamentalist LDS church would recognize the union.

Getting a marriage license in Nevada is easy and quick. "They will check you passport or your government issued ID to make sure the age is correct and you are who you say you are," said Kevin Streit, A Special Memory Wedding Chapel.

A Nevada marriage bureau will not do any kind of search to look for previous marriages. In the marriage which prompted the charges, both the underage girl and older man were from Hildale, Utah.

The girl met Jeffs in Utah and expressed concern about the marriage. She told prosecutors that Jeffs told her it was her duty to submit to the marriage and the arrangement came from God.

The girl and the older man met in Nevada and Jeffs wed them. The crime occurred about one month later when the new husband wanted sex and the girl refused.

In a court affidavit, the girl told authorities that Jeffs told her, "..go back and repent. You go give yourself mind, body, and soul to your husband like you're supposed to. Go back and do what he tells you to do."

Under Utah law, if someone requests or encourages an underage person to have sex, then that is considered rape as an accomplice.

Warren Jeffs will appear before a judge via video conference again on Monday. It's a status check to see if Jeffs has found a certified attorney in Utah. Jeffs will actually appear in a courtroom on Sept. 19th for a bail and preliminary hearing.