Sect polygamist found guilty

THE first of a dozen polygamist sect members to be tried over charges including child sex offences faces jail after being found guilty.

Raymond Jessop, 38, was convicted in a Texas court of sexually assaulting an underage girl with whom he had entered a so-called spiritual marriage.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member could now be jailed for up to 20 years when he is sentenced on Monday.

He was among 12 people charged following a 2008 raid at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, during which more than 400 children were removed — making it the largest child custody case in US history.

The compound houses a sect that believes polygamy brings glorification in heaven.

Jessop is said to have nine wives, including a daughter of sect leader Warren Jeffs. Prosecutors allege he married the girl a day after her 15th birthday.