Jailed polygamous church boss faces takeover

Jailed polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs may no longer have control of his southern Utah-based church after a senior leader moved to replace him.

William Jessop filed papers with the Utah Department of Commerce to take over as president of the corporation that is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Jessop, 41, a bishop, said he was trying to preserve the church.

Jeffs, 55, was convicted in Utah in 2007 on two counts of rape as an accomplice and was ordered to serve life sentences, but the convictions were later overturned.

Earlier that year, while jailed and awaiting trial, Jeffs tried to cede authority of the church to Jessop in a series of recorded phone calls to followers.

Jeffs is in a jail in Texas awaiting trial on bigamy and aggravated sexual assault charges.