This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A judge has refused to dismiss a rape charge filed against Allen Steed, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints man whose spiritual marriage to his then-14-year-old cousin precipitated the 2007 conviction of Warren S. Jeffs.
Jeffs, the ecclesiastical leader of the polygamous sect, was convicted on charges of accomplice to rape for presiding over their union, but the now 29-year-old Steed wasn't charged until the day after a jury found Jeffs guilty. Jeffs' conviction was overturned by the Utah Supreme Court this year and he is now in Texas awaiting trial on bigamy and sexual assault charges.
Steed's attorneys argued that the delay in filing the charges was unconstitutional and designed to give prosecutors an unfair advantage after the highly public Jeffs proceedings, according to a ruling issued Tuesday. But 5th District Judge G. Rand Beacham sided with the prosecution, ruling that the delay was necessary to protect victim Elissa Wall's anonymity before the trial.
"While I would agree with the defendant that media coverage of the Jeffs trial was unusually extensive ... I cannot accept, without evidence, his conclusion that this produced substantial prejudice to him," Beacham wrote. "Defendant has also failed to identify and establish any tactical advantage obtained by the plaintiff as a result of [the] timing [of filing charges] or any bad faith on the plaintiff's part."
A status review on the case is scheduled for Feb. 17.