So perhaps this was the real reason for the massive raid on the ranch in Texas. The case against Jeff's was in trouble and they wanted direct evidence of child molestation against him. So with the evidence from the ranch, they now have 4 potential cases
Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steven Conn dismissed the charges ... Conn ruled the law only applies if both participants in the sexual activity are older than 18, and that the law does not apply to half cousins.
They give two reasons for the dropping of those charges.
In both of the marriages Jeffs is accused of arranging, the girls were under 18 and were their husbands' half cousins. He was charged with incest as an accomplice.
So is there still a charge of being an accomplice in a child rape for these cases?
In his ruling, Conn wrote that Arizona's incest law initially was enacted without reference to participants' ages. In 1985, it was amended to apply only to people who were 15 years or older, and in 1998, it was changed to its present form, applying only to those 18 or older.
So they have given thought to it and they have changed the incest law age up. Perhaps that is because those younger than 18 are covered by ordinary child rape statutes? I wonder why they raised it? Perhaps they also raised the age of consent around that time also?
Conn also wrote that because the incest law specifically mentions half brothers and sisters, it arguably excludes all other relationships of the half blood by not mentioning them.
Hmmmm. So according to this judge, the incest charges are prohibited because they are cousins.
If convicted of all charges, Jeffs could face anywhere from probation to eight years in prison. Before the incest charges were dropped Wednesday and two others were dropped in March, Jeffs faced up to 27 years in prison.
Not really relevant now is it? Prosecutors routinely throw multiple charges at a person to see what will stick. When stripped back down to the basic charges, they should still have an okay case.
Okay, so here is the root of what is left that they are charging him with.
Jeffs, who was already prosecuted in Utah, is still charged in Arizona as an accomplice with four counts of sexual conduct with a minor stemming from the marriages of the two girls.
Those charges sound kind of lame.
Last week, investigators at the Texas attorney general's office took DNA from Jeffs, saying they were looking for evidence of relationships between him and four girls from the Yearning For Zion Ranch ages 12 to 15.
Now those would be much better charges to convict him on. The actual molestation of kids. I suppose that is why they were wanting to DNA test all of the kids. To find out which ones were actually his by underaged girls.
They must be really worried that the charges they currenly have him on are not adequate.
So perhaps this was the real reason for the massive raid on the ranch in Texas. The case against Jeff's was in trouble and they wanted direct evidence of child molestation against him. So with the evidence from the ranch, they now have 4 potential cases
That actually seems to make sense, and it would explain why the CPS was so insistent on the DNA testing even when they didn't have DNA samples from the adult men. They do have a sample of Warren Jeffs DNA. That would also explain why they took adult women into custody too, they wanted their DNA too and since Warren Jeffs has been on ice for a while they needed a large net.
It may also help explain why the FLDS created YFZ in Texas. It would make it very hard for Utah and Arizona officials to get information or testimony from those witnesses.