Religious leader of Polygamist Mormon group convicted

ST. GEORGE, Utah - The leader of a polygamous Mormon splinter group was convicted Tuesday of being an accomplice to rape for performing a wedding between a 19-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl.

"Everyone should now know that no one is above the law, religion is not an excuse for abuse and every victim has a right to be heard,'' said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, whose office endorsed the prosecution in Washington County.

Defense attorney Wally Bugden, who told jurors that Jeffs was a victim of religious persecution, declined to comment.

Jeffs is also charged in Arizona with being an accomplice to both incest and sexual misconduct with a minor for arranging marriages between two underage girls and relatives. Jeffs is also under federal indictment in Utah on charges of fleeing to avoid prosecution.

Jeffs was in a red Cadillac Escalade in which investigators found more than $57,000, cell phones, prepaid credit cards, wigs and sunglasses.