{"id":471955,"date":"2011-08-04T22:17:34","date_gmt":"2011-08-04T22:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/08\/04\/polygamist-sect-leader-convicted\/"},"modified":"2011-08-04T22:17:34","modified_gmt":"2011-08-04T22:17:34","slug":"polygamist-sect-leader-convicted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/08\/04\/polygamist-sect-leader-convicted\/","title":{"rendered":"Polygamist sect leader convicted"},"content":{"rendered":"

4 August 2011<\/span> Last updated at<\/span> 18:17 ET<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has been convicted on child sexual assault charges by a jury in Texas.<\/p>\n

The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints made no reaction as the verdict was read. He faces up to life in prison.<\/p>\n

He was accused of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault based on alleged incidents with under-age girls at a church ranch.<\/p>\n

The charges followed a raid on the remote west Texas ranch in 2008.<\/p>\n

A forensic analyst testified that Jeffs, 55, was an almost certain DNA match to the child of a 15-year-old mother. He was also accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl.<\/p>\n

Jeffs conducted his own defence and claimed he was a victim of religious persecution.<\/p>\n

The jury deliberated on a verdict for more than three hours. They then went immediately into sentencing proceedings.<\/p>\n

When police raided the ranch they found women dressed in frontier-style dresses and underage girls who were clearly pregnant.<\/p>\n

The 10,000-strong sect, which dominates the towns of Colorado City in Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, split from the mainstream Mormon church more than a century ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read more:
\nPolygamist sect leader convicted<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

4 August 2011 Last updated at 18:17 ET Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has been convicted on child sexual assault charges by a jury in Texas. The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints made no reaction as the verdict was read. He faces up to life in prison. He was accused of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault based on alleged incidents with under-age girls at a church ranch. The charges followed a raid on the remote west Texas ranch in 2008. A forensic analyst testified that Jeffs, 55, was an almost certain DNA match to the child of a 15-year-old mother. He was also accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl. Jeffs conducted his own defence and claimed he was a victim of religious persecution. The jury deliberated on a verdict for more than three hours. They then went immediately into sentencing proceedings. When police raided the ranch they found women dressed in frontier-style dresses and underage girls who were clearly pregnant. The 10,000-strong sect, which dominates the towns of Colorado City in Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, split from the mainstream Mormon church more than a century ago. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-471955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nPolygamist sect leader convicted - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/08\/04\/polygamist-sect-leader-convicted\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Polygamist sect leader convicted - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"4 August 2011 Last updated at 18:17 ET Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has been convicted on child sexual assault charges by a jury in Texas. The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints made no reaction as the verdict was read. He faces up to life in prison. He was accused of bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault based on alleged incidents with under-age girls at a church ranch. The charges followed a raid on the remote west Texas ranch in 2008. A forensic analyst testified that Jeffs, 55, was an almost certain DNA match to the child of a 15-year-old mother. He was also accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl. Jeffs conducted his own defence and claimed he was a victim of religious persecution. The jury deliberated on a verdict for more than three hours. They then went immediately into sentencing proceedings. When police raided the ranch they found women dressed in frontier-style dresses and underage girls who were clearly pregnant. 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