NEPHI — The man who put Tom Green in prison is now fighting to keep the polygamist's son out of prison.
Former Juab County Attorney David Leavitt is now the criminal defense attorney for William Green, 18, who is facing two charges of rape of a child, a first-degree felony.
"I felt an obligation to help him," Leavitt said Monday. "I think I possess — because of the Tom Green case — a unique snapshot into Bill's upbringing and Bill's life."
William Green is accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl he met on the Internet, Draper police said.
It was Leavitt who put Green's father, Tom Green, in prison for rape of a child and bigamy. Tom Green was convicted of having sex with one of his wives when she was just 13 years old. At the time of the crime, Green was 37 and had five wives. He is scheduled to be released from prison in 2007.
Some court observers believe that Leavitt lost his re-election bid for Juab County attorney in part because of the controversy surrounding his prosecution of Green. But the former prosecutor has also reached out to the polygamist's family, helping them relocate from their compound of mobile homes in Utah's western desert to Utah County.
Leavitt said it was family members who contacted him about defending William Green. One of Tom Green's ex-wives is the teenager's mother.
"My feeling is that Bill Green is as much a victim of polygamy as any child bride," Leavitt said.
The lawyer, who is former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt's brother, said several people he has prosecuted have turned around and hired him as a defense attorney. Asked why, Leavitt said he could only guess they felt that even though he "hit 'em hard," they also believed he was fair.
Draper police have said William Green's case has nothing to do with polygamy. The 18-year-old is accused of meeting the 13-year-old girl through the Web site, MySpace.com. According to documents filed in West Jordan's 3rd District Court, Green is accused of having sexual relations with the girl this past February and March.
"There's no indication or nothing in our complaint" that links the incident to Tom Green's ideology, Draper Police Sgt. Gerry Allred said at the time of the arrest.
Leavitt declined to discuss the specific allegations against William Green.
"We don't believe that he's a predator or that he's a sex offender," he said. "He doesn't merit being posted on the Internet as a sex offender. We don't think society will be better off having him being painted that way."
Leavitt described his client as someone who "is as anti-polygamy as you'll find." He characterized his client as a "victim" of polygamy.
"He is the product of polygamy," he said, "and it (has) both female and male victims."
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com