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NOTE: In late August 2002, Tom Green was sentenced to five years to life for child rape. the sentence is to run concurrently with the sentence for bigamy (below). This is a very light sentence for this rape conviction.
Judge rules polygamy could be child rape SALT LAKE CITYAvowed polygamist Tom Green can be tried for child rape for having sex with his 13-year-old wife in 1986, a judge ruled Monday. A trial is scheduled for next week. "Im probably going to lose," John Bucher, Greens lawyer, told The Associated Press after hearing of the decision. Green and Linda Kunz admit they had sex in 1986 when she was 13their son Melvins age, 15, proves it. Greens defense had argued that the couple conceived their son while on vacation in Mexico and that Utah authorities lack the jurisdiction to prosecute. But 4th District Judge Donald Eyre said there is evidence that Green and the girls mother, who had approved of the marriage, hatched a "criminal conspiracy" in Utah, so prosecutors in this state can pursue the charges. Green is serving a five-year prison sentence for bigamy and failing to pay the state back for child support that was given to his five wives and 30 children. He might be paroled on those convictions this year, but he could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on the child-rape charge. |