Dec 15, 12:41 AM EST
*
Polygamist Mormon Cult Leader Ordered to Stand Trial*

By JENNIFER DOBNER and PAUL FOY
Associated Press Writers

ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) -- A polygamist Mormon cult church leader accused
of forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry and have sex with an older cousin
in 2001 was ordered Thursday to stand trial.

Warren Jeffs, 51, pleaded not guilty Thursday in state district court to
two counts of rape by accomplice. The leader of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints could face up to life in
prison if convicted. A trial was set for April 23.

Prosecutors said the girl had no choice but to obey Jeffs, whose
influence over his followers has been described as extraordinary,
dictating everything from where they live to whom they should marry.

The girl "expressed her disdain, reluctance, opposition and total
dislike of sexual relations," Judge James Shumate said.

Jeffs was charged with two counts because prosecutors have said they
believe they can prove at least two instances of sex.

"The state has overcharged Mr. Jeffs. And shame on the state," said
defense lawyer Wally Bugden, who argued that Jeffs had acted no
differently than a priest, rabbi or marriage counselor.

Bugden said Jeffs is being prosecuted for his faith, which holds that
polygamy will bring men and their wives glory in heaven.

Washington County prosecutor Brock Belnap said: "People are entitled to
whatever religious beliefs they want. But religion is no excuse for
child abuse."

The woman, now 20, was not in the courtroom to hear Shumate's decision.
She testified last month that she felt "completely trapped and defeated"
during a ceremony at a Nevada motel - the "darkest time of my entire life."

The woman, identified as Jane Doe No. 4, left the sect after 3 1/2
years, remarried and had a baby last week.

Outside court, her attorney Roger Hoole said she was pleased with and
relieved by the ruling.

In closing arguments, Bugden told Shumate he would be making a "factual
leap" to find probable cause for a trial.

"Saying I don't want to get married is not the same as saying I don't
want to have intercourse," Bugden said.

Prosecutors said Jeffs, who performed the wedding ceremony, was
responsible for any trauma because he counseled her to submit to her
husband, "mind, body and soul."

The girl and her cousin united in an FLDS religious ceremony but never
held a valid marriage license. The cousin has not been charged.

Jeffs also faces felony charges in Arizona, accused there of arranging a
marriage between a 16-year-old-girl and a 28-year-old man who was
already married.

Jeffs was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list when he was arrested Aug. 28
in a traffic stop north of Las Vegas. He is being held without bail.

Jeffs' sect traces its roots to early Mormon theology, which promoted
plural marriage. The modern Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
disavows polygamy and renounced the practice in 1890 as a condition of
Utah statehood.

FLDS members consider themselves "fundamentalist Mormons," although the
mainstream church disavows any connection. They also consider Jeffs a
prophet of God with dominion over their salvation.

The church has 10,000 members mostly living in Colorado City, Ariz., and
Hildale, Utah, on the Utah-Arizona border.