IRON COUNTY, Utah, Feb. 21, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — The former leader of the Knights of the Crystal Blade, widely described as a Doomsday cult, has pleaded guilty to two felony charges related to his abuse of an 8-year-old girl he claimed as his “wife.”
On Wednesday in 5th District Court, Samuel Warren Shaffer, 34, pleaded guilty to one first-degree felony count of rape of a child and one second-degree felony count of child abuse.
Shaffer acknowledged he had engaged in a sexual act with the young daughter of another member of the religious organization. He faces 25-years-to-life for the rape charge and one to 15 years for child abuse.
Shaffer is still facing two counts of first-degree felony sodomy of a child in Sanpete County. He’s also charged with one count of second-degree felony obstructing justice in addition to one county of second-degree felony child bigamy.
Shaffer, along with John Alvin Coltharp, also 34, were charged with child bigamy after officials say they married each other’s daughters, who were ages 7 and 8 at the time.
Coltharp, who allegedly took his four children from his estranged wife and left town, triggering an Amber alert in December, faces charges including:
- Kidnapping, a first-degree felony
- Sodomy, a first-degree felony
- Child bigamy, a second-degree felony
Coltharp was arrested in December at his home by Spring City, and initially was charged with custodial interference. His children were not with him.
Both men’s daughters were found in Iron County at or near the cult’s compound in Lund. Two girls were found in a trailer and two others were found in empty 50-gallon water drums.
