Salt Lake City, USA - The Mohave County Attorney's Office has dropped a felony sex charge against Terry D. Barlow after his attorney proved he did not live in Arizona at the time of the alleged crime.
Barlow, 25, was to stand trial Nov. 14 in Kingman, Ariz., on a charge of sexual conduct with a minor in relation to his 2001 spiritual sealing to a 15-year-old girl. Polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs conducted the ceremony.
Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith agreed to drop the charge after Bruce Griffen, Barlow's attorney, showed the couple were married and also lived outside of Arizona.
Barlow was one of eight men, all members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, indicted in July 2005 by a Mohave County grand jury. The FLDS sect is based in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.
So far, two men - Kelly Fischer, 39, and David Bateman, 49 - have been convicted of having sex with minors, a class 6 felony. Bateman will be sentenced Nov. 29.
Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steven Conn on Monday denied Fischer's request that his 45-day jail sentence be stayed while he appeals his conviction, the court administrator confirmed. Fischer must begin serving his time by Nov. 6.
A third man, Donald Barlow, was acquitted in September after the state failed to prove his alleged contact with a minor took place in Arizona.
Conflicting schedules have required the court to postpone trials for Rodney Holm, Dale Barlow, Vergel Jessop and Randy Barlow.