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I wanted to post this to get on record for the people who think Liz consented to being with this man and that it was ok for him to have sex with her.

Provo Daily Herald New laws make it easier to get tough on polygamists FROM: (http://www.polygamyinfo.com/media%20plyg%20214herald.htm)

PROVO - The Utah State Legislature unknowingly created a legal weapon to use on polygamists when it tightened up laws on statutory rape earlier this year. Chief Deputy Attorney General Reed Richards said laws barring sexual activity between children and adults provide an easier way to prosecute some polygamists.

"It's been a common fact that they (polygamists) marry kids at 16 because at 15, it was statutory rape," Richards said Thursday during a workshop at the Provo Courtyard by Marriott. The Attorney General's Office convened the workshop to brief elected and law enforcement officials on the laws the Utah State Legislature passed earlier this year and detail what may be in the works for the next session.

Richards said the Legislature enacted laws tightening the penalties for having sex with minors. He saidprevious state laws didn't strongly prosecute adults who had sexual relations with minors older than 14.

One new law makes it a third-degree felony for someone to have sexual contact with children ages 14-15 if they are at least four years older than the victim, while fondling would be a Class-A misdemeanor for someone at least seven years older than the victim.

The second law makes it a crime to engage in sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old if the person is at least 10 years older than the victim.

"We're not looking at dating partners, kids in high school or college. We're looking at someone who is a sizable amount older. These are acts where the child is consenting, but the partner is older," Richards said.

The new laws provide a better tool for dealing with polygamy, especially when older men take teen-age girls as their plural wives. Richards said it's easier to charge the men under the unlawful sexual activity statutes than the bigamy rule because of the difficulties in defining the crime.

Richards said the bigamy law restricts "cohabitation," and doesn't address sex. Also, it doesn't apply if the person believes he or she can legally marry the person.

Sybil Lallas, a Lynndyl (Millard County) City Councilwoman, said many polygamous marriages are about the same as a married man having a mistress, but she said the state should aggressively prosecute child abuse and incest cases that pop up in polygamous relationships.

Other new laws enacted this year require cigarettes to be sold in face-to-face situations only, restrict the sales of large quantities of the drugs that can be used to make methamphetamine and make it a crime to commit domestic violence in the presence of a child.

The Attorney General's Office will work with the Legislature next year on laws to allow protective orders against stalkers. Richards said people now can only get protective orders against abusers who live with them.

But participants warned that protective orders need to be clearly classified as either civil or criminal. Orem City Attorney Paul B. Johnson said police officers are being called out to enforce civil court orders, an area where they have no authority.

"The attorneys are putting a paragraph at the bottom saying the order will be enforced by the Orem Police Department. Then you have the victim who thinks a civil order is enforceable by the police," Johnson said.

Utah County Sheriff David Bateman said another problem is conflicting court orders. He said his offices have responded to calls in which someone had a restraining order blocking their spouse from coming to the house, but the spouse had a court order granting them visitation with their children. Richards said his office would discuss that matter with lawmakers.