PROVO — It was a small triumph for defense attorney John Bucher when a judge ruled Wednesday that celebrity polygamist Tom Green would not have to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation. Small in light of the quick guilty verdict handed down against Green by a jury last month.
But despite the defeat, Green's family has stood by their attorney, who has no legal staff. As gratitude for his pro-bono work, Green's third wife, LeeAnn Beagley, announced Wednesday that the family had decided to name Green's 30th child after Bucher.
Cradling the 2-week-old infant in her arms, Beagley casually talked to the media surrounding her. "His name is John Richard Bucher Green," she said.
"I'm kind of honored, I mean nobody's ever named a child after me before," Bucher said. "I mean except my wife."
"He's such a sweet man. I mean he knows that we don't have a lot of money, but John is willing to stand by us," Beagley said.
After several false labors, one of which excused her from testifying during Green's trial, Beagley finally gave birth to her son in Delta at the home of their family doctor. "I like to wait a while before naming them, to get the feeling if the name is right, and I think the name felt right," she said.
In court, Bucher argued successfully that subjecting Green to a psycho-sexual evaluation before his sentencing in August would be intrusive and force Green to violate his religious beliefs against pornography. "An evaluation is not appropriate in a case where sex is not a basis for the conviction," Bucher said.
Bucher said the state should not force Green to undergo an evaluation in which he might be subject to a Penile Plethysmograph test. During the test, an electronic sensor is attached to the subject to monitor sexual arousal in different sexual situations.
In Utah, subjects are presented audio descriptions of various sexual acts, but Bucher said in other states, graphic pictures are shown. "It's another thing to say we're going to subject you and your body to sexual material," Bucher said.
But Juab County Attorney David Leavitt argued the evaluation was warranted, given that Green married his wives at the ages of 13 and 14.
Leavitt pointed out that as recently as last week on CNN's "Crossfire" show, Green stated that puberty was God's way of saying that girls were ready to marry and have children. Judge Guy Burningham said he too has heard such statements from Green.
"In marriage, sex is not criminal; it's part of building a family," Green said outside court, adding he is relieved that the judge spared him the evaluation.
"This is not a crime charged in the sexual section of the code," Burningham said.
Adult Probation and Parole official Ron Wilson, who requested the sexual evaluation, said it was not out of the ordinary to request the evaluation in a non-sex case. In reviewing Green's case, Wilson said he became concerned over the fact that three of Green's wives were also technically his stepdaughters. Such facts, he said, might indicate sexually deviant behavior.
But Burningham ruled the court had no need for the tests before sentencing Green, finding that the evaluation would be "intrusive and unpleasant."
Green was convicted on four counts of bigamy and one count of criminal nonsupport, all third-degree felonies, which carry up to five years in prison each. In an effort to direct the media's attention, Green had his 11-year-old daughter distribute material from a company that produces sexually explicit slides for sexual evaluations.
Farrall Instruments of Grand Island, Neb., creates "stimulus slides" for authorities to use in testing subjects on a variety of sexual situations.
By handing out the material, Green said he wanted to give the impression of what material he would have been subjected to.
Green still faces a felony child rape charge for allegedly fathering a child with head wife Linda Kunz when she was 13.
E-MAIL: gfattah@desnews.com