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May 2, 2008 3:05 pm US/Central
Prosecutor: Feds Polygamist Help Should Be Limited
(AP)
Utah's chief federal prosecutor said a special task force is not the answer to investigating crimes in polygamous communities.
U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman said child abuse, rape and incest are state issues -- not ones for federal law enforcers.
"We can't exceed what our authority is, and if people are clamoring for a federal task force as if that's the answer, I would argue that's red herring," he said.
"What is really required is good, solid, investigative efforts on the part of state agencies. Added to that is whatever ability the FBI or others may be able to assist," Tolman told the Deseret News.
He was reacting to calls for more federal involvement in the wake of a sweep of a Texas polygamous ranch, where more than 400 children were removed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wants the U.S. Justice Department to help Utah and Arizona, home of polygamous sects.
Tolman said federal authorities are willing to help states when appropriate.
"We have the ability to prosecute transferring or crossing state lines for purposes of sex, and we had a case a couple of years ago that we investigated," he said.
"When the young woman was interviewed, she indicated that no sex had ever occurred. At that point we're very limited outside some evidence to help us establish probable cause," Tolman said.
He said federal racketeering laws could apply, but that type of investigation likely would not lead to a raid and the breakup of families.
Tim Fuhrman, in charge of the FBI in Utah, also doubts the effectiveness of a special task force.
"In many of our investigations we work with state and local agencies," Fuhrman told The Salt Lake Tribune. "I don't see the need to go beyond that working relationship that we have right now and that exists with those partners."
Tolman has an indictment pending against Warren Jeffs for his time as a fugitive.
Jeffs, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was captured in Nevada in 2006 and subsequently convicted for rape as an accomplice in Washington County, Utah.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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