Elissa Wall

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Jeffs’ attorney, Mike Piccarreta, argued to have Superior Court Judge Steven Conn order Sam Brower and Dr. Dan Fischer for another deposition. Brower and Fischer were previously interviewed by Piccarreta but refused to answer certain questions. Brower is a private investigator who has worked with the Mohave County Attorney’s Office. Fischer is a dentist and former member of the FLDS, who Piccarreta says funds an anti-polygamist campaign against his client.

Piccarreta is asking for Brower and Fischer to answer more questions related to conversations between the men and Jeffs’ accusers, Elissa Wall and Suzie Barlow. The defense attorney said Fischer and Diversity Foundation have poured millions of dollars into a campaign against the FLDS church.

The defense is entitled to communication between Wall and Barlow and Hoole & King, a Salt Lake City law firm, through Fischer. Piccarreta also said Brower was an informant for the FBI and would also not talk about conversations with law enforcement in previous interviews.
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“I smell a rat,” Piccarreta said. “Elissa Wall has received so much money. I want to show that she’s biased against my client.”

Source/Full Story: Mohave Daily News

An attorney asked a judge Thursday to dismiss a rape charge filed against a man whose 2001 spiritual marriage led to the criminal conviction of Utah polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs.

Allen Steed was charged with rape by Washington County prosecutors in September 2007 — one day after a jury found Jeffs guilty of two counts of rape as an accomplice for his role in Steed’s marriage to Elissa Wall.

Wall and Steed were both members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Jeffs performed the marriage and counseled them during the relationship.

In papers filed in Utah’s 5th District Court, attorney Jim Bradshaw said the charge should not have been filed because the statute of limitations on the alleged crime had already expired.

According to court papers, Wall and Steed were married April 23, 2001. Wall waited until January 2006 to report the alleged crime to police and prosecutors, and then only after negotiating an agreement that dictated how the information would be used.

In 2001, the statute of limitations for prosecuting a felony was four years from the date the alleged crime occurred. The law was amended in 2005 to give prosecutors eight years to file charges, but only if the alleged crime had been reported to police within four years from when it occurred.

Source/Full Story: The Associated Press

Attempts to settle a rape charge against an FLDS man, whose marriage to Elissa Wall led to the conviction of sect leader Warren S. Jeffs, have so far failed and his attorney now plans to ask a Utah judge to dismiss the charge.

During a brief hearing Tuesday in St. George, defense attorney Jim Bradshaw questioned whether the statute of limitations had expired, thus preventing the state from prosecuting Allen G. Steed for rape. He told 5th District Judge G. Rand Beacham he will seek to have the case dismissed.

Source/Full Story: Salt Lake Tribune

A former child bride who was the state’s star witness in the criminal case against Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs is offering to settle a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the polygamous sect’s real estate holdings arm.

Elissa Wall sued over her forced marriage at age 14 to her 19-year-old cousin. She named the FLDS Church, its leader, Warren Jeffs, and the United Effort Plan (UEP) Trust as defendants. The proposed settlement was filed in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court last week in the ongoing litigation over the UEP Trust, which controls property in the FLDS communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

In the settlement, Wall asks for about $308,000 in compensation and a monetary judgment to be awarded in mediation or a damages-only trial. She also wants some undeveloped trust land as well as the properties that her family lives on.

"(Elissa Wall) will personally receive no further compensation, but will execute on her remaining judgment to facilitate the UEP Trust’s goal of conveying the homes built on UEP Trust land to Trust Participants," her attorney, Roger Hoole, wrote in a copy of the settlement obtained by KSL NewsRadio.

Source/Full Story: ksl.com

Source:  – Salt Lake Tribune

A fiduciary overseeing a polygamous sect’s trust has sued the parents, a sister and former husband of Elissa Wall, saying they, not the trust, are responsible for her forced marriage at age 14.

Bruce R. Wisan filed the third-party complaint in Wall’s multimillion lawsuit against the United Effort Plan Trust. He argues that any damages that may have resulted from her 2001 marriage to Allen Steed were “primarily and ultimately” caused by their failure to act.

In addition to Steed, the complaint names Lloyd Wall and Sharon Wall, Elissa’s parents; Rebecca Musser, her sister; and former trustees Truman I. Barlow, Leroy S. Jeffs, James Zitting, William E. Jessop and the estate of the late Fred M. Jessop. Lloyd and Sharon Wall were separated, and Sharon Wall was assigned to Jessop, as is custom in the sect.

Wall sued the trust in 2005 under the pseudonym “M.J.,” claiming it conspired in sanctioning her unwanted marriage and providing a home to the couple, where non-consensual sexual intercourse occurred. She is seeking an unspecified amount from the trust, including creation of a $1 million fund to assist others who leave the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Full Story

Technorati Tags: Bruce R. Wisan, Elissa Wall, FLDS

Source: Salt Lake Tribune

Faulty jury instructions and a juror’s substitution are among errors alleged in a Utah Supreme Court appeal that seeks a new trial for polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs.

The appeal, filed last week, asks the court to reverse Jeffs’ convictions and order a new trial or require 5th District Judge James Shumate to reconsider a motion for retrial after hearing jurors testify about the status of their deliberations before an alternate was seated.

Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was convicted on two counts of rape as an accomplice in September 2007 based on a marriage he conducted in 2001 between Elissa Wall and Allen Steed. Shumate denied a motion for a retrial in April.

The appeal alleges errors involving: Inadequate and improper jury instructions; replacement of a juror after deliberations began; an unconstitutionally vague definition of enticement in Utah’s rape statute; and the consecutive, rather than concurrent, 5-to-life sentences Jeffs received.

Among the instructions Shumate rejected was one requiring the jury to find Jeffs “knew that the sexual intercourse was without consent and that he intended that the result of his conduct would be that Allen Steed rape Elissa Wall.”

Full Story

Source: KXAN.com

The ex-husband of a teen bride who helped convict polygamous church leader Warren Jeffs on counts of rape by accomplice — could face trial.

Allen Glade Steed is charged in Utah with one count of first-degree felony rape for his sexual relationship with Elissa Wall after the couple married in a 2001 religious ceremony.

She was 14 and he was 19, and both were members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Steed attorney Jim Bradshaw says plea negotiations recently ended with no agreement.

A hearing is October 22nd to determine if prosecutors have enough evidence for a trial.

If convicted, Steed could spend the rest of his life in prison.

He didn’t immediately comment.

Jeffs has also been indicted in Texas on sexual assault charges for an alleged relationship with an underage bride in 2006.

The Associated Press does not generally identify people who say they were sexually assaulted, but Wall has spoken publicly and published a nationally distributed book, “Stolen Innocence.”

Source: KCSG-TV St. George, UT

A lawsuit filed by a former child bride could ultimately bankrupt the trust that holds all property in Hildale and Colorado City.

The multi-million dollar personal injury lawsuit against the U-E-P trust was filed by Elissa Wall. Wall was the woman at the center of the case that ended in the conviction of Warren Jeffs on rape as an accomplice charges. Lawyers for the trust say if it is held liable, it could open the door to numerous other lawsuits by those who feel they were harmed by Jeffs. They say that such lawsuits could leave innocent people who live in homes owned by the trust with nothing.

Via Deseret News

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Lawyers for a former child bride who testified against FLDS leader Warren Jeffs want to keep the United Effort Plan Trust on the hook for any potential damages arising from her multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against the polygamous sect. In a motion opposing the UEP Trust’s request for summary judgment, attorneys for Elissa Wall argue the UEP was intertwined with the FLDS Church and leadership.
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“Elissa Wall alleges that the trust is liable in this case because the trustees’ actions in commanding her to marry were undertaken pursuant and consistent with the scope of their authority as a trustees (sic). She also alleges that the trust is liable because it is merely the alter ego of Jeffs and the FLDS Church,” wrote attorney Roger Hoole.

Wall is suing the FLDS Church, Jeffs and the UEP Trust over her marriage at age 14 to her 19-year-old cousin. She was the star witness in Washington County’s criminal case against Jeffs, which resulted in his conviction of rape as an accomplice.
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Meanwhile, the trust is trying to collect on judgments and glean information about the management of the old UEP. Most recently, trust lawyers served subpoenas on the Salt Lake law firm of Snow Christensen and Martineau.
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“Our position is that our communications with the previous trustees are privileged,” said Rod Parker, an attorney with Snow Christensen and Martineau who is voluntarily acting as a spokesman for the FLDS people. “As a law firm, those privileges are not ours to waive.”

UEP lawyers also have served subpoenas on Texas authorities, demanding to see evidence taken from the YFZ Ranch, as well as information on the ranch’s assets.
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Via CNN.com

Elissa Wall’s book, “Stolen Innocence,” was released Tuesday by publisher William Morrow.

It chronicles her life, including her time with cousin and former husband Allen Steed, whom she describes as having a violent temper and a “calculating and controlling” personality.

Steed is charged with raping Wall during their relationship, which was arranged in 2001 by leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect that practices polygamy and arranged marriage.

Wall, who was 14 at the time, said she was forced into sex with Steed, who was 19. Steed has said he never forced Wall to have sex.

“Ms. Wall needs to specifically understand that her conduct may compromise Mr. Steed’s ability to obtain a fair trial and that she may have to make some choices regarding her quest for publicity and her desire to have Mr. Steed prosecuted,” defense attorney Jim Bradshaw said last week in a letter to Washington County prosecutors.

County prosecutor Brock Belnap told the Deseret News on Wednesday he was still confident an impartial jury could be seated.

Wall’s attorney, Roger Hoole, didn’t return a message Thursday.

Wall, now 21, was the key witness last year in the trial that sent Jeffs to prison for rape as an accomplice. She claimed he refused to release her from the relationship.

As if there will be anything like a fair trial in this case. This trial with Allen Steed is simply a formality. Think about it. If they find Allen Steed not guilty of rape, what does that do to the conviction of Warren Jeffs, who has has aleady been convicted of being an accomplice to the alleged rape. I say alleged because it still has not been proven in a court of law. Do you think that’s really going to happen? I don’t.

Allen Steed in in the rather interesting position of needing to prove his innocence, and that will be difficult to do (not to mention unconstitutional), not only because the case has already been tried in the court of public opinion, and expounded upon in Elissa Wall’s new book (oh that was a surprise), but because Warren Jeffs sits behind bars already having been convicted of being an accomplice.

What about Elissa Wall’s family, who gave their consent for her marriage to Allen Steed? Are they next on the docket? If not, why not?

From the Deseret News

An attorney for a man charged with raping his teenage bride says a new book may prevent him from receiving a fair trial.

Fundamentalist LDS Church member Allen Steed is the ex-husband of Elissa Wall, who wrote a book about her experiences as an unwilling bride to her 19-year-old cousin, and of her life in the FLDS church. Wall’s book, “Stolen Innocence,” was released Tuesday, just two days before Steed was to appear before Judge G. Rand Beacham for a review of his case.

The review hearing scheduled for Thursday was continued for at least another 60 days on the request of prosecutors and the defense, who have been working toward a plea agreement that must be approved by Wall. According to the motion to continue, there are “factors outside the direct control of the parties involved,” which make it difficult to resolve certain issues.

Via the Salt Lake Tribune

Months after helping to send Warren S. Jeffs to prison, Elissa Wall is telling her story in a book she hopes will lead women and girls to leave his polygamous sect.
Stolen Innocence debuts amid a child custody battle in Texas involving the polygamous lifestyle and marriage practices of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Wall was traveling Tuesday to New York for an exclusive appearance on the “Oprah” show, according to Roger Hoole, her attorney.
She writes, however, that her goal is to help other young girls and women in the sect “cry out against injustice” and reclaim “the power of choice.”
The book’s fulcrum is Wall’s 2001 arranged marriage at age 14 – despite her objections – to her cousin Allen Steed, then 19.

Oh yea, Elissa Wall’s new book is out on the market too, but…don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Via the Deseret News

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff will give a deposition in a former child bride’s multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Fundamentalist LDS Church and its leader, Warren Jeffs.

Shurtleff confirmed to the Deseret News on Monday that he will be deposed later this month in connection with Elissa Wall’s personal injury lawsuit.

“They wanted to ask me about a meeting I had in August 2002, when a bunch of representatives of the FLDS tried to talk me out of going forward on investigations of child-bride cases,” Shurtleff said Monday. “I don’t know how the meeting I had comes into play, but that’s what I was told they wanted to ask me about.”

Wall’s attorney, Roger Hoole, declined to say why exactly he needed the attorney general’s testimony.

“It’s going to be a very short deposition,” he told the Deseret News. “I need to establish one point.”

Among others, this was one of the “Public safety news from Tribune and wire reports” today:

“Steed rape hearing put off; no new date

“A hearing in the rape case against Allen G. Steed set for today has been postponed. Steed was charged in September after testifying about his marriage to Elissa Wall during polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs’ trial on two counts of being an accomplice to rape. Jeffs conducted the couple’s marriage in 2001, despite Wall’s objections. Fifth District Judge G. Rand Beacham was set to hear arguments to dismiss the case against Steed or move it out of Washington County because of widespread publicity about Jeffs’ trial. No new date for the hearing has been set.