Sect leaders could face indictment in West Texas FLDS spokesman Jessop appears before Schleicher County grand jury

By TERRI LANGFORD Houston Chronicle

James Nielsen: Special to the Chronicle Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is expected to oversee the state's presentation of evidence to a West Texas grand jury considering indictments against leaders of a polygamist sect. ELDORADO — Grand jury proceedings in West Texas appeared to restart after a four-hour delay caused by questions about whether members of a polygamist sect's testimony could be used against them. Two members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — Sarah Barlow Draper and Leann Jeffs — were escorted by their attorneys to the grand jury room on the Schleicher County courthouse square shortly before 5 p.m. Draper, 37, could be seen daubing her tearful eyes before she re-entered the room. Attorney Andrea Sloan patted Jeffs, her client, on the back before she too headed into the grand jury room. Sources close to the investigation said the state of Texas offered female members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony. But questions over whether that immunity would be accepted by federal prosecutions was in doubt, bringing the grand proceeding to a temporary halt this afternoon. It wasn't immediately clear how those questions were resolved. Sources familiar with the discussions spoke to the Chronicle on condition their names not be used. One said state District Judge Barbara Walther was called to the secret proceedings and kept in a room separate from the deliberations to go over the immunity issue. A steady stream of about nine women in long dresses with braided hair were called to the grand jury hearing earlier today. About half made it into the meeting room on the courthouse square, but all left quickly after telling the grand jury nothing, said a 25-year-old member of the sect who would only identify himself as "Ben." "They are all taking the fifth," he said as he and another member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were snapping photos of government officials from inside their SUV in the courthouse parking lot. Those called to testify have the right to invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege if the information they give could be used against them. Only one male member of the sect has been subpoenaed: Willie Jessop, the former bodyguard of jailed president and sect prophet, Warren Jeffs. "It'll all come out," Willie Jessop said as he waited in in the courthouse to be called before grand jurors. Asked if he expected members of his church to be indicted, he said. "I don't know. I hope not." Jessop was stopped early today in Eldorado by law enforcement and handed a subpoena. When asked how FLDS members were doing, he said: "Hopefully, they can answer that for themselves." One of the women who was called before the grand jury today was a 16-year-old at the center of a civil battle over which attorney represents her. The teen was married at 15 to 34-year-old Raymond Jessop, the son of Jeffs' chief deputy, Merrill Jessop. She was the third girl from the Jeffs family to marry Raymond Jessop. Two of her sisters were also married to Jessop. Also called before the grand jury were: Leann Jeffs, 17, who has a 1-year-old daughter. Veda Keate, 19, who was forced to give a third DNA sample to the Texas Attorney General's Office earlier this month. It is not clear why another was needed. She has a 2-year-old daughter. Sarah Barlow Draper, 37, registered nurse and mother of four. She now works at an Abilene hospital where she lives with her children. She was once misclassified as an underage teen-ager by Texas Child Protective Services but proved to a court she was not. She is the former wife of ousted FLDS member Daniel Barlow, who was once mayor of Colorado City, Ariz., where the FLDS is mostly based. Annette Jeffs, Warren Jeffs first wife and the mother of the 16-year-old who was also called to testify. Grand jurors filed into their meeting room shortly before 9 a.m. There, they listened as lawyers from the Texas Attorney General's Office presented evidence that could result in indictments against members of the nation's largest polygamist group for their role in arranging underage marriages. The state of Texas in April raided the FLDS-owned Yearning For Zion Ranch north of Eldorado after receiving information that girls under age 18 were being placed in "spiritual marriages" with men. Attorney General Greg Abbott was there in person and was expected to oversee the presentation of evidence by his staff attorneys, Angela Goodwin and prosecution chief Eric Nichols. Abbott's presence at the proceeding is interpreted by those close to the investigation as an indication that indictments are imminent. The girls previously invoked their Fifth Amendment rights during the grand jury's first meeting on this matter in June, sources familiar with the proceedings have said. Grand jury proceedings are closed to the public. A grand jury is made of local residents who consider the prosecution's evidence and determine whether it is sufficient to charge defendants. Even if indictments are returned, it is likely that the names of those indicted will be kept secret until after arrests have been made. Since the April raid at the FLDS's Yearning For Zion Ranch, church members have given different names and information to authorities, slowing the investigation process. More than 400 children were removed from the ranch by Texas Child Protective Services after the raid, but they were returned a month later after the Texas Supreme Court said the agency did not prove that the children were so in danger that removal was the only option. The FLDS began moving hundreds of its members to the 1,700-acre Yearning For Zion Ranch in 2004, about the time their president and prophet, Warren Jeffs, became wanted by police for his role in forcing young girls to marry in Utah. The FLDS claims the twin border cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., as home with satellite settlements in South Dakota and other states and in Canada. Jeffs was convicted last year on two counts of being an accomplice to rape for his role in forcing a 14-year-old sect member to marry her 19-year-old cousin. Since the raid on the ranch, the FLDS has announced it will no longer allow the marriage of girls younger than 18. The FLDS is not affiliated with mainstream Mormonism, which denounced polygamy more than 100 years ago. terri.langford@chron.com

chron.com Originally published July 22, 2008

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