Patterico's Pontifications

12/21/2009

Second FLDS Guilty Verdict

Filed under: Crime — DRJ @ 8:01 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Allan Keate, the second of ten FLDS men indicted on sexual assault and related charges, has been found guilty in an Eldorado, Texas, courtroom:

“Outside the makeshift courthouse, lead prosecutor Eric Nichols stepped into the harsh light of television cameras at about 10 p.m. and read a prepared statement.

He said Keate’s victim, 15 years old at the time of the assault, which occurred around April 2006, had been in a “celestial marriage” twice.

Celestial marriages are unofficial religious betrothals that FLDS members use to practice polygamy.

Nichols said Keate had given away three of his daughters in marriage to older men. Two of those daughters were 15 and one was 14, and the last was given away to Warren Jeffs, then prophet of the FLDS who has been imprisoned for aiding in child rape by transporting a young girl across state lines.”

In an earlier trial, Raymond Merrill Jessop was convicted of a second degree felony of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 10 years and an $8,000 fine. Because Keate was “prohibited from marrying or living with the victim under the appearance of marriage,” his charges were enhanced to a first degree felony with a penalty range of 5-99 years. The jury sentenced Keate to 33 years in prison.

The defense contended the charges were a political persecution and pointed to the Texas Attorney General’s appearance in the courtroom as support for that claim.

H/T daleyrocks. Good find, daley.

— DRJ

11 Responses to “Second FLDS Guilty Verdict”

  1. too bad hanging isn’t an option….. he gave his children up to be raped?

    i take that back: hanging is too good for him. what we need is a fire ant colony and…..

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  2. 0-2 so far for the FLDS members. Any wagers on whether we see some plea bargains coming?

    daleyrocks (718861)

  3. What is escaping all of you is the fact that the “Victim” is now an adult, and did not, and will not testify even though she is entirely free to do so.

    In addition the “informant” who set off the raid had a cozy relationship with the police and actually worked for them.

    But it’s ok, because you can write a post that says “Creepy Old Man” and comment “Hang him.”

    Texas went into YFZ armed with a tip from an employee of the internet Sex Crimes unit of the Colorado Springs Police Department. A woman who to this day has not been tried on similar charges of false reporting in Colorado Springs. They didn’t see anything while they were there, and they confiscated all records and kept raking through them until they found a crime no one involved felt injured by and now have two convictions.

    Hugh McBryde (223c03)

  4. Hugh – Is the fact that what he did was against the law escaping you or do you find it easy to ignore secular laws?

    daleyrocks (718861)

  5. Throw away the key.

    Please keep these updates coming!

    Ed from SFV (bffbcf)

  6. If they dig a little deeper into all those files, perhaps they’ll find Hugh’s name too?

    AD - RtR/OS! (ad16d5)

  7. Hugh – Why do the men in these sects feel it necessary to “marry” kids below legal age? Apart from the fact that they like to screw kids below the age of legal consent, wouldn’t it be easier to just wait until they were older and avoid so many legal complications?

    daleyrocks (718861)

  8. I wonder if they ever considered vacationing in Thailand? Or better yet, moving there permanently.

    AD - RtR/OS! (ad16d5)

  9. Hugh McBryde,

    Rosita Swinton’s trials have been repeatedly postponed because she has mental health issues, and it appears she is not competent to stand trial.

    DRJ (84a0c3)

  10. DRJ,

    It is SAID that Rozita’s trials are postponed because of her mental health issues, however she is out and about, blogging, and hasn’t seen the inside of a mental health facility for more than a year, and her visit there, was for evaluation. Evaluations we have no knowledge of, other than they took place.

    I have done reporting and investigating on this issue myself. I have called FBI agents, officers of the Colorado Springs Police Department and spoken with them personally.

    Former internet Sex Crimes head Lt. Maggie Santos has had a personal relationship with Rozita Swinton since by her own acknowledgment, 1995. This personal familiarity is affirmed by the head of the Internal Affairs unit of CSPD, Lt. Kirk Wilson, he said the relationship as recently as last year, was “Common Knowledge” at CSPD.

    There is a FBI connection to CSPD through Colorado Springs agent Steve Smith, who passed notes from Texas elements of the FBI on to Lt. Sean Mandel who would ferry them into CSPD, and this took place PRIOR to Rozita’s arrest. All of this is true, I have records of the calls, I have contemporary notes on the conversations as well.

    You say it is her “mental illness” yet the Newsweek article calls her status as mentally ill into serious question.

    The FACT that Texas was engaged in a “carrier pigeon” still communications network in which hand written notes were carried into CSPD from the FBI regarding a person who had a “personal relationship” with CSPD officers that was “common knowledge” BEFORE she was arrested, a relationship of LONG standing is REALLY INTERESTING.

    The fact that her “Friend” on the force had FBI/Colorado Bureau of Investigation connections and conducted stings, SOME of which involved adults CONVINCINGLY portraying little girls in PHONE CONVERSATIONS is REALLY INTERESTING.

    The fact that no member of the PRESS will follow up on that story is flat out an indictment of the press in general. INCLUDING THOSE SELF RIGHTEOUS MEMBERS OF THE “NEW MEDIA” that won’t bother to investigate the story either.

    I get so sick of talking to KNOW NOTHINGS who talk like they KNOW EVERYTHING when I’ve actually talked to the people involved. The story is far more interesting and scary, and the scariest part of it, is that NO ONE will LOOK INTO IT.

    Hugh McBryde (38b57f)

  11. It’s the Black Helicopters!

    AD - RtR/OS! (3ace85)


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