U.S. & World

SALT LAKE CITY (CBS) ― The FBI has placed polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, hoping the additional exposure and reward money leads to an arrest in the long-running investigation.

Jeffs is wanted in Arizona on criminal charges of sexual conduct with a minor. He also was charged in Utah with rape as an accomplice. He is accused of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men.

``We are doing everything we can to track him down,'' said Tim Fuhrman, special agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City field office.

``We just made the determination that this is the next step that we can take as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to potentially result in the apprehension of Mr. Jeffs.''

The FBI's announcement in a rare Saturday evening news conference coincided with Jeffs' case appearing on the television program ``America's Most Wanted.'' Although Jeffs, who is 6-foot-4 and 150-155 lbs, isn't considered armed, he believed to travel with armed bodyguards.

Jeffs, 50, is the leader of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in the state line communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

Jeffs has not been seen by anyone outside of the FLDS community for nearly two years. He is believed to have safe houses in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, South Dakota and in Canada. The FLDS church, which is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is also building a compound in Eldorado, Texas.

Although there has been speculation that Jeffs may be hiding in the Texas compound, Fuhrman said authorities haven't had probable cause to go inside and search for him. Adding Jeffs to the list won't change that, he said.

``We have to observe the Constitution,'' Fuhrman said.

By putting him on the top-10 list, the reward goes from $60,000 to $100,000. The list is also distributed worldwide, putting head shots of Jeffs everywhere on a list that also includes terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

``One of the things that you need to keep in mind is that in this region, Mr. Jeffs is a relatively familiar face. You get outside of our region and nobody knows who Warren Jeffs is,'' said Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith, who attended the news conference. ``This gives us national and international attention.''

Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap last month filed two counts of rape as an accomplice against Jeffs in 5th District Court in St., George Utah. Each count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Jeffs is accused of arranging and performing a religious marriage ceremony between a teenager, identified as Jane Doe, and a man, identified as John Doe, in Nevada, according to court documents. The girl objected to the marriage, the documents say, telling Jeffs she was too young to marry.

But Jeffs allegedly told the teenage girl that it was her ``spiritual duty'' to marry and to have children, the documents said.

The Arizona charges include conspiracy to commit sexual conduct wit ha minor for allegedly arranging a marriage between a teenage girl and a 28-year-old man who already was married. If convicted, Jeffs could face up to two years in jail on those charges.

``We've learned a considerable amount about Mr. Jeffs and the entire community. We feel like we're very close. We don't feel like it's far off,'' Smith said.

The FLDS church practices plural marriages, which the mainstream LDS church disavowed in 1890 and excommunicates members found to practicing polygamy.

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