NEPHI — Melvin Green stands smack in the middle of a child rape controversy in which he happens to be the biggest evidence.
His father, polygamist Tom Green, gave his son a knowing nod as he was led in shackles into the courtroom Tuesday to continue the hearing that will determine if Utah has jurisdiction to prosecute Tom Green for fathering Melvin when his mother, Linda Kunz-Green, was 13 years old.
"I've done a lot of thinking about this and I've learned a lot of things," Melvin Green said outside of court. "And I trust what my mother and my father have told me. I mean, I wasn't there, so I don't know."
Tom Green contends that he married Kunz-Green in the state of Baja, Mexico, in 1986. It was there the couple honeymooned and conceived Melvin Green, said Tom Green's attorney, John Bucher. Because of this, Tom Green claims he was outside Utah's jurisdiction at the time.
Juab County prosecutor David Leavitt said his biggest piece of evidence for the child rape charge is Melvin Green himself, and his birth certificate, which puts his mother at age 13.
With his father already serving a 5-year sentence in prison for bigamy and criminal nonsupport, Melvin said he has found himself thrust into a family of five mothers and more than 30 children who now survive without a father. If convicted of child rape, Tom Green could spend the rest of his life in prison.
It's a sobering reality for Melvin Green, the oldest son, who at 15 may find himself the permanent patriarch of the family. Tom Green said it has been difficult maintaining any form of bright outlook in the family, knowing what is at stake.
"If he leaves, I'll have to take the role of a fatherly figure to my brothers and sisters," Melvin Green said.
In court the defense called one of the few witnesses to Tom Green's marriage to his 13-year-old bride.
DeWayne Hafen of Baja, Calif., testified that in January 1986, he attended the spiritual wedding in Mexico. Although Hafen said he too adheres to the principles of "Mormon fundamentalism," including polygamy, he attended the wedding under protest.
"I disagreed with what Tom was doing. I thought she was too young. I feel young women must be allowed to grow up and make choices," Hafen said. "I told him this was the sort of thing that gives polygamy a bad name."
Leavitt argued that even though Tom Green was in Mexico at the time, under Utah law the state has jurisdiction over any Utah resident who commits an act in another jurisdiction that is considered a crime in both Utah and that jurisdiction.
Tom Green denies being a Utah resident during 1986, claiming to be a traveling salesman who took his family to Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado and Wyoming. Tom Green took the stand and testified that he had no plans to return to Utah. But the family did return to acquire prenatal care for Kunz-Green from the family's midwife, and stayed.
Judge Donald Eyre asked that final arguments be submitted in writing and that he plans to have a ruling no later than June 17, one week before Tom Green is to stand trial on the child rape charge.
Although Utah law forbids sex between 13-year-olds and adults, Melvin Green has his own thoughts about the situation. He points to the fact that his mother has remained married to Tom Green for 15 years, and has had six other children with him since.
"I think my mother was mature enough to have me. I think that my mother was ready," Melvin Green said, adding Kunz-Green has always been a good mother to him.
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com