A polygamous sect man convicted of sexual assault isn’t giving up his fight against the search warrant that led to a massive raid on the sect’s remote Texas ranch.
Attorneys for Michael Emack filed a motion for rehearing in the Texas Third Court of Appeals this week.
In a ruling that could influence the cases of a dozen polygamous men, including their leader, Warren Jeffs, a Texas appeals court on Friday said 2008 searches of the sect’s headquarters were legally justified.
In his appeal, Michael Emack claimed the search warrant used to gather the evidence against him was illegally obtained because the raid on the FLDS’ Yearning For Zion ranch was based on a hoax call.
A jailed member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is asking an appeals court to overturn his conviction.
Michael Emack is challenging the search warrant that led Texas authorities to place more than 400 children from the cult’s compound into protective custody — and to subsequently seize evidence later used to indict 12 FLDS followers on bigamy and sexual assualt charges.
Michael Emack and Lehi Barlow Jeffs were the latest Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sect members, fellow residents of the Yearning for Zion Ranch, to be sentenced as an outcome of the state raid on the ranch two years ago.
Michael Emack, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, pleaded no contest to the accusation of sexual assault of a child Friday, was found guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Emack is the third of 10 FLDS members indicted, with trials scheduled to go on through December.