Polygamists ending child-bride tradition

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Many Utah polygamist sects have stopped performing child-bride marriages to avoid prosecution, The Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News reported Sunday.

The high-profile case of Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs -- who is being tried for rape because he facilitated marriages between adult men and young women -- combined with increased penalties for such pairings have led many sects to ban the practice, the newspaper said.

Utah authorities rarely prosecute for polygamy, the newspaper said, instead choosing to pursue rape and molestation charges. Recently, changes to state law upgraded sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old from a third-degree to a second-degree felony.

Some groups say they have never performed marriages involving underage girls, while others have come forward to say they are no longer allowing unions with women under age 18.