SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was arraigned in Texas on Wednesday after being quietly extradited from Utah to face trial on bigamy and sexual assault charges.
Mr. Jeffs was in a West Texas courtroom for the hearing. The Texas Attorney General’s Office said Mr. Jeffs wasn’t asked to enter a plea and told the judge he needed time to find a lawyer.
The 54-year-old Mr. Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His first trial is scheduled for Jan. 24.
The charges stem from a 2008 raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, where authorities seized more than 400 children and put them in state custody on suspicion of abuse. Most eventually were returned.
Several sect members already have been convicted on sexual abuse charges.
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