Admitted Polygamist Gets Mere 45 Day Sentence for Sex with Minor
Jim Kouri, CPP
August 04, 2006
An Arizona polygamist was sentenced by a judge to only 45 days in prison for having sex with a 16-year-old girl. Kelly Fischer, 39, had faced a maximum of four years in prison. He took the now 21-year-old woman as his third wife.
Polygamy is not a crime in Arizona, but having sex with a 16-year old is considered a sex crime in that state.
In addition to the 45 days incarceration, Kingman County, AZ Judge Steve Conn sentenced Fischer to three years probation. He must will register as a sex offender in Arizona and will be listed in the new federal sex offender database which can be accessed by the general public.
The police and prosecutors had hoped for a harsher sentence for Fischer, as a means of discouraging members of the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints from taking teenage wives. Fischer is the first of seven church members who are being prosecuted for multiple marriages to underaged girls.
Gary Engels, a detective with the Mohave County Attorney's office told reporters, "I don't know if we've sent a strong enough message to these people."
"Polygamy is unconstitutional in Arizona, but it is not a crime," he said.
Prosecutors used birth certificates and testimony of former church members to convict Fischer of having sex with a minor and conspiracy for having sex with a 16-year-old.
Fischer's victim, who is now his third wife, refused to cooperate with prosecutors. She, along with 125 people, sent a letter to the judge praising the self-proclaimed polygamist's character.
She wrotes in her letter: "We have a beautiful family together. I love my husband. He loves us and takes very good care of us. The children adore their father ... I don't need to explain my personal life to anyone."
Fischer spoke to the court, saying there was no abuse in his home.
He said, "I can say for my life and my family that there's no one that's been pressured into doing anything they didn't want to do," the Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted Fischer as saying.
"Every single person is very happy. There's no pain."
Polygamy is not a crime in Arizona, but having sex with a 16-year old is considered a sex crime in that state.
In addition to the 45 days incarceration, Kingman County, AZ Judge Steve Conn sentenced Fischer to three years probation. He must will register as a sex offender in Arizona and will be listed in the new federal sex offender database which can be accessed by the general public.
The police and prosecutors had hoped for a harsher sentence for Fischer, as a means of discouraging members of the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints from taking teenage wives. Fischer is the first of seven church members who are being prosecuted for multiple marriages to underaged girls.
Gary Engels, a detective with the Mohave County Attorney's office told reporters, "I don't know if we've sent a strong enough message to these people."
"Polygamy is unconstitutional in Arizona, but it is not a crime," he said.
Prosecutors used birth certificates and testimony of former church members to convict Fischer of having sex with a minor and conspiracy for having sex with a 16-year-old.
Fischer's victim, who is now his third wife, refused to cooperate with prosecutors. She, along with 125 people, sent a letter to the judge praising the self-proclaimed polygamist's character.
She wrotes in her letter: "We have a beautiful family together. I love my husband. He loves us and takes very good care of us. The children adore their father ... I don't need to explain my personal life to anyone."
Fischer spoke to the court, saying there was no abuse in his home.
He said, "I can say for my life and my family that there's no one that's been pressured into doing anything they didn't want to do," the Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted Fischer as saying.
"Every single person is very happy. There's no pain."
Print
Email
