ShareThisELDORADO, Texas - The jury in the trial of polygamist sect member Raymond Merril Jessop found him guilty of sexual assault of a child Thursday evening after deliberating fewer than three hours.
Jessop, a 38-year-old member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was led away in handcuffs to the Schleicher County Jail. A half smile played on his face as he nodded to FLDS men in the makeshift courtroom. His attorney Brandon Hudson patted him on shoulder as he went by.
Jessop will remain in jail until 10 a.m. Monday, when the punishment phase of the trial will be held. Jessop's sentence will be determined by the jury. He could get two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000 for sexual assault of a child, a second degree felony.
After nearly nine days, 21 witnesses, lessons in science and statistics, a whirl of photographs and secret and sacred church records seized at the Yearning for Zion Ranch, and finally 90 minutes of closing arguments, the seven-man, five-woman jury filed into the jury room at 4:05 p.m. Thursday to deliberate on a verdict.
All the witnesses in the trial were called by the prosecution. The jury didn't hear from the defendant, but jurors are forbidden to take that into account in determining a verdict.
Jessop is convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in November 2004 at the YFZ Ranch in Texas. Prosecutors allege he took her as a spiritual wife and then fathered a daughter with her.
The defense and prosecution were each allowed 45 minutes to give closing arguments.
A rosy-cheeked child and mother gazed out from photographs cast large on a projection screen while lead prosecutor Eric Nichols delivered his closing argument Thursday afternoon.
The child's picture was before jurors for a reason, Nichols said.
"No matter how beautiful the snow on the ground is or the pools of water, you can't overcome the terrible nature of the child's birth, he said. She was born because her mother was sexually assaulted at 16."
Through the days in courtroom, Jessop showed no reaction, sitting quietly and listening. During breaks, he could be heard exchanging pleasantries with his lawyers outside of the makeshift courtroom in the Memorial Building.
Nichols told jurors in his closing arguments, "We've brought you indisputable evidence from within the buildings, the hallways, the walls of the YFZ Ranch."
Law-enforcement officers seized three trailers full of evidence from the ranch during a historic raid in April 2008. Some of that evidence is forming the backbone of Nichols' case.
He reminded jurors what the prosecution has to prove: that the sexual assault of a child took place on or about Nov. 19, 2004, in Schleicher County. The child was someone younger than 17 who was not legally married to the perpetrator.
A Utah marriage certificate showed Jessop was already legally married to Mary Musser when he was ordered to go to the ranch to be counselor to FLDS bishop Merril Jessop, the prosecutor reminded jurors.
But scratch through the part of the verdict form that says "not guilty," Nichols said. Choose "guilty."
Then the projection screen went blank, removing the images of the mother and child from the jury's view.
Lead defense attorney Mark Stevens stepped up to deliver an at times passionate closing statement to jurors who gave him their full attention.
Please don't try Jessop because of his clothes or his family's hairstyles, Stevens said.
The clearest thing the state failed to prove is the offense in question occurred in Schleicher County, Stevens said.
"They don't have any real evidence that Raymond Jessop committed sexual assault here in Schleicher County," he told jurors. "Not one of the witnesses testified they saw Raymond on the ranch when they raided."
The location issue isn't just a technicality, Stevens said.
"This is a paper case," he said.
Prosecutors have a lot of evidence, but it's poor quality, Stevens said. It's not clear where it came from, who wrote it or when it was written.
During the raid, authorities discovered boxes and boxes of documents in the Temple Annex vault after Texas Ranger Jesus "Jesse" Valdez squeezed through a small hole by the steel vault door. Another vault in the Temple yielded evidence for seizure, too.
Jessop and 11 other FLDS members were indicted on criminal charges after the April 2008 raid at the ranch. Jessop is the first to go to trial.
The 439 children taken into custody during the raid have since returned to parents or been placed with guardians.
Standard-Times staff writer Matthew Waller contributed to this report. E-mail reporter Trish Choate at choatet(at)shns.com.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
