Sect member meets with Utah attorney general's staff

Salt Lake City, USA - A high-ranking member of a polygamous sect met with the Utah attorney general's staff to discuss the recent raid at a Texas ranch.

Willie Jessop met with Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's chief deputy and other staff members Thursday in Salt Lake City, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday.

Jessop said he hopes the meeting will "begin to open doors" with Utah authorities. The sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is based in two towns on the Utah-Arizona border.

In April, after allegations of abuse, more than 400 children were removed from an Eldorado ranch owned by the sect. But the Texas Supreme Court recently ordered them returned to their families.

Jessop said he talked about a list of sect members described as possible threats to law enforcement. He wants Utah's help in erasing any perception that he and others are dangerous.

"We're the kind of people for whom an apology goes a long way," he said.