Polygamist leader convicted of child sex assault
By WILL WEISSERT
The Associated Press
SAN ANGELO, Texas — As a prophet of his polygamist church, Warren Jeffs documented everything he did. He kept track of every marriage he performed, every young woman he wed. He even taped intimate moments.
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs walks out of the Tom Green County Courthouse with his former attorney Deric Walpole Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, in San Angelo, Texas. A jury of 10 women and two men found Jeffs guilty on two counts of sexual assault of a child and will now begin the sentencing phase of the trial. (AP Photo/San Angelo Standard-Times, Patrick Dove)
Law enforcement personnel place Polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs into an awaiting vehicle as he departs the Tom Green County Courthouse Thursday Aug. 4, 2011, in San Angelo, Texas. A jury convicted Jeffs of child sexual assault Thursday, in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls "spiritual marriages." (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Warren Jeffs looks out the back of a Tom Green County Sheriff's Department car Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, after leaving the Tom Green County Courthouse, in San Angelo, Texas. A Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault on Thursday, in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls "spiritual marriages." (AP Photo/San Angelo Standard-Times, Patrick Dove)
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Those records helped Texas prosecutors secure convictions Thursday against the 55-year-old Jeffs on child sexual assault charges. On Friday, jurors will begin deciding his fate. Prosecutors want a life prison sentence.
Jeffs was found guilty of sexually assaulting two girls, ages 12 and 15, whom he'd wed during so-called "spiritual marriages." Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.
Jurors will now hear about scores of alleged crimes not mentioned during trial. For example, prosecutors say Jeffs had more than 70 wives, including two dozen under age 17.
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