Former Underling to Warren Jeffs Found Guilty of Bigamy
By: BigCountryHomePage.com Staff Reports
Updated: March 28, 2012
A West Texas jury has found a former lieutenant to polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs guilty of bigamy.
Prosecutors accused Wendell Nielsen of unlawfully marrying three women besides his legal wife.
His defense attorney argued that "celestial marriages" weren't a violation of state bigamy laws.
The 71-year-old Nielsen was found guilty of three counts of bigamy.
Nielsen is the former president of the fundamentalist church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
He was one of 12 people indicted after a 2008 raid on the polygamist sect's West Texas ranch.
Prosecutors accused Wendell Nielsen of unlawfully marrying three women besides his legal wife.
His defense attorney argued that "celestial marriages" weren't a violation of state bigamy laws.
The 71-year-old Nielsen was found guilty of three counts of bigamy.
Nielsen is the former president of the fundamentalist church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
He was one of 12 people indicted after a 2008 raid on the polygamist sect's West Texas ranch.
