Polygamist Can Face Child Rape Charges
A Salt Lake City judge ruled that a convicted polygamist can be charged with child rape for impregnating a 13-year-old girl that he married in 1986.
The defendant, Tom Green, had asked the judge to dismiss the charge because the statute of limitations for child rape expires four years after the crime is reported to law enforcement.
Defense attorney John Bucher had argued that law enforcement knew of Green’s marriage long ago; hence, he said, the four-year statute of limitations has expired.
However, Judge Guy Burningham ruled there is no proof that officials knew of the alleged crime before 1999, when Juab County Prosecutor David Leavitt began a bigamy investigation against Green.
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