AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A Texas court Friday refused to overturn a sexual-assault conviction against a Texas man who was in a polygamous marriage with an underage girl.
Michael Emack, 60, sought to have his no-contest plea overturned on the grounds the search warrant in the investigation was illegal.
Emack's lawyer told the Salt Lake Tribune he planned to continue appealing the warrant, which was the basis for a 2008 raid at a ranch occupied by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The FLDS is a Mormon sect that was led by Warren Jeffs.
The raid resulted in charges against a dozen men, including Emack and Jeffs.
The Tribune said the warrant was obtained by authorities based on a telephone call made to a women's shelter from a Colorado woman claiming to be an abused underage wife. That claim turned out to be untrue; however, the Texas appellate court refused to throw out the warrant.
