The jury was out for slightly less than an hour Tuesday morning before returning with a guilty verdict in the Abram Harker Jeffs case.
Jeffs was convicted of Sexual Assault of a Child. The crime stems from his polygamous marriage to an underage girl while living at the YFZ Ranch. DNA evidence pointed to Jeffs as the father of the victim’s child.
Because the victim was someone Jeffs was legally prohibited from marrying, the second degree felony was enhanced to a first degree, meaning that he is facing up to 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Carolyn Jessop, former polygamous wife of YFZ Ranch overseer Merril Jessop, has received a portion of the money owed her by her ex-husband under a child support agreement reached last year.
According to an Agreed Order for Continuance filed with Judge Barbara Walther’s Court, Merril Jessop is in arrears on his court-ordered child support payments of $12,964.10, for payments he should have made beginning in October of last year.
Abram Harker Jeffs was sentenced Wednesday, June 23, 2010, to 17 years in prison by a Schleicher County jury following his conviction for Sexual Assault of a Child. Jeffs was also handed a $10,000 fine.
Moments after the jury’s decision was read, Jeffs was remanded into the custody of the Schleicher County Sheriff’s Department pending transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He was handcuffed and escorted across the courthouse lawn to the County Jail.
Warren Jeffs may very well face charges in Texas, but not if he or his lawyers have anything to say about it.
Jeffs, who is currently serving a pair of consecutive five-to-life sentences in Utah State Prison in Draper Utah, was served last Thursday with a notice of extradition. At that time, Jeffs refused to sign a waiver that would have allowed him to immediately be transferred to the Lone Star State.
District Judge Barbara Walther issued a continuance Monday in the upcoming trial of YFZ defendant Keith William Dutson, Jr. The continuance was requested by the prosecution and defense teams.
Dutson is accused of Sexual Assault of a Child younger than 17 in connection with his marriage to an underage girl. A pre-trial hearing was previously slated for Thursday, July 1st and trial was scheduled to begin on July 27th. A new schedule has yet to be announced.
State convenes another YFZ grand jury
Wednesday, 07 July 2010 16:03
By law, grand jury proceedings are secret. And...that’s all that Attorney General spokesman Jerry Strickland would say ahead of Wednesday morning’s meeting of the Schleicher County grand jury.
Similarly, that’s pretty much all that Assistant Attorney General Eric Nichols would say after the meeting concluded.
Nichols did add that the investigation is “ongoing.”
Abram Harker Jeffs was sentenced Wednesday, June 23, 2010, to 17 years in prison by a Schleicher County jury following his conviction for Sexual Assault of a Child. Jeffs was also handed a $10,000 fine.
Warren Jeffs may very well face charges in Texas, but not if he or his lawyers have anything to say about it.
District Judge Barbara Walther issued a continuance Monday in the upcoming trial of YFZ defendant Keith William Dutson, Jr. The continuance was requested by the prosecution and defense teams.
By law, grand jury proceedings are secret. And...that’s all that Attorney General spokesman Jerry Strickland would say ahead of Wednesday morning’s meeting of the Schleicher County grand jury.