Word: fischer
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...with the success of the Fischer prosecution, Arizona and Utah authorities hope that other polygamy-abuse cases in the pipeline can be tried without victim testimony, including seven other men from the FLDS community scheduled to stand trial. This is the largest group to be prosecuted for crimes related to their polygamist lifestyle since the 1950s...
...Testimony from Wyler and another former FLDS member, Richard Holm, coupled with birth certificates, swayed a Mohave County jury on July 7 to find Fischer guilty of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. Wyler and Holm testified in court on how polygamous marriages work and gave eyewitness accounts of Fischer and the girl's "flirtatious behavior." But the verdict was unusual - and, to critics of the alleged abuses in polygamous marriages, especially significant - in that it came without the testimony of the alleged victims. In the FLDS community that populates the twin...
...fundamental teachings of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, who advocated the practice of polygamy. But unlike other polygamy groups, FLDS members unquestionably follow the directives of a single leader or "prophet." Currently, that position is being held by Warren Jeffs, a fugitive wanted on the same charges as Fischer in Arizona and as a rape-as-an-accomplice charge in Utah. The estimated 6,000 to 11,000 FLDS members in the U.S. follow Jeff's "revelations," which dictate who should marry whom and when. A series of these "revelations" two years ago resulted in the exile...
...Fischer case, the under-age girl and her mother could not be found to testify. But Fischer's defense attorney Bruce Griffen hints that they may appear at Fischer's sentencing on Aug. 4. "This would show that they have an intact, happy family and that, except for the absence of a legal ceremony, they are like any other couple," he says. He adds that no victim had come forward to complain - that it was "speculation" from two "disgruntled" excommunicated FLDS members and pressure from the state which resulted in Fischer's verdict...
...fled the home she shared with her husband and his six wives in the middle of the night. "You are culturally adapted to the abuse and if you come forward you will never fit into this society again - which is all you know." Jessop says she hopes that Fischer's conviction and others will empower women in the FLDS communities. "It sends a message that the outside world has a limit on what they will tolerate...