Ex-Husband Charged in Polygamy Case
Ex-husband of victim in Warren Jeffs trial charged with rape.
Sept. 26, 2007— -- Prosecutors filed a rape charge Wednesday against the ex-husband whose marriage was at the center of polygamous-sect leader Warren's Jeff's trial.
The charge came a day after Jeffs was convicted of rape by accomplice.
Allen Glade Steed was 19 and his bride -- also his first cousin -- was 14 when they were married in 2001. Steed is accused of having sex with the girl against her will after the arranged marriage.
Steed testified at Jeffs' trial that he did not force himself on the girl and said she initiated their first sexual encounter.
The rape charge was based on a complaint filed by a sheriff's investigator, who said the trial established that the pair had sex and that the woman, now 21, convinced jurors it was without her consent. The investigator, Jake Schultz, said Steed lives out of state most of the time.
Steed's defense lawyer, Jim Bradshaw, didn't immediately return a message Wednesday from The Associated Press.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
