Polygamist linked to other underage cases

SAN ANGELO , Texas, May 30 (UPI) -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs faces new accusations related to child brides in a search warrant for his DNA, officials say.

Jeffs, in jail in Arizona on sexual assault and other charges, was brought into the Texas polygamist story with the DNA request. The number of young girls he allegedly was involved with has been growing as the story grows.

In the warrant, Jeffs was said to have "sexually assaulted a 12-year-old child ... on or about July 27, 2006, in Schleicher County, Texas," reported the Deseret News, which obtained a copy.

A DNA sample was collected from Jeffs at the Mohave County Jail in Kingman, Ariz., the News said.

The warrant affidavit said that investigators seized marriage records and photographs during the raid on the Fundamentlist Latter-day Saints Church's Yearning for Zion Ranch in West Texas last month.

Records said that Jeffs married an unnamed girl at age 14, on or about Jan. 18, 2004, in Utah. Records and photos provided evidence that in October, another girl gave birth to a child believed to have been fathered by Jeffs. At the time of conception, police said the girl was about 15.

Law enforcement claims records show a July 2006 marriage between a 12-year-old girl and Jeffs. Investigators also indicate Jeffs married a 14-year-old while at the FLDS property, the affidavit said. A marriage in April 2005 suggests another girl was 12.