Polygamist leader sent to Texas

SAN ANGELO, Texas, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Warren Jeffs, head of a polygamist sect, appeared briefly Wednesday in a Texas court after his extradition from Utah to face bigamy and sexual assault charges.

Jeffs was flown to Texas late Tuesday, the San Angelo Standard-Times reported. He did not enter a plea during his arraignment and told Judge Barbara Walther of the 51st District Court he needs more time to find a lawyer.

The judge scheduled another hearing Dec. 8. Jeffs is being held without bail.

The charges against Jeffs stem from a raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado in 2008. Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Mormon offshoot practicing polygamy, founded the ranch in 2004.

Texas authorities said underage girls at the ranch were forced into polygamous unions with men who were often much older. Four hundred children were taken into state custody and later returned to their parents.

A spokesman for the Texas attorney general said seven men have been convicted so far of charges stemming from activities at the YFZ Ranch.

Jeffs was convicted in Utah of arranging marriages for underage girls and sentenced to 10 years to life. That conviction was reversed on appeal.