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Judge orders imprisoned polygamist leader to give deposition

Posted at 11:59 AM, Aug 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-27 14:59:40-04

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah judge has ordered imprisoned polygamist leader Warren Jeffs to give a deposition in a sex abuse case.

KUTV-TV reports that District Judge G. Michael Westfall in St. George on Tuesday ordered Jeffs to provide the deposition from prison in Texas.

Jeffs and a community trust that once belonged to a polygamous sect run by Jeffs on the Utah-Arizona border were sued in 2017 by a woman who says she was sexually abused by Jeffs when she was a child.

Lawsuits for the trust argued that Jeffs has suffered a mental breakdown and isn't fit to testify, while the woman's attorney said there's no evidence that Jeffs isn't mentally competent.

Jeffs is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting girls he considered brides.