AP News, August 28th, 2007
Prosecutors have agreed to drop charges against a former police officer in the polygamist communities of Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah, before his trial was scheduled to get underway next week.
Rodney Holm faced three counts of sexual conduct with a minor between Dec. 1, 1998, and March 31, 1999, and was the last of eight Colorado City men facing similar charges for taking underage girls as plural wives.
But the Mohave County Attorney's Office entered into an agreement with Holm to dismiss the charges without prejudice because his victim allegedly took part in a blackmail scheme.
Authorities said the woman and her brother allegedly tried to obtain money from a leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Based in Hildale and Colorado City, the sect of nearly 10,000 members practices polygamy in arranged marriages.
"This attempt was fairly recently discovered by all of the parties and upon investigation it appears that the victim did in fact write a letter indicating that she would not testify against certain defendants if excessive money was given to her brother and another man by one of the members of the FLDS Church," Mohave County Attorney Matthew Smith said in a statement.
Smith was not available for additional comment immediately Monday, his secretary said.
Holm's lawyer, Bruce Griffen, was tied up in court and not available for comment Monday, his secretary said.
If Holm completes 40 hours of community service and does not commit any similar offenses over the next year, the charges will be dismissed with prejudice, meaning that they can't be refiled, the statement said.
