ICSO: Iron County doomsday preppers married each other's underage daughters

The founder of a religious sect called the Knights of the Crystal Blade has been charged with sodomy on a child out of Sanpete County.

Samuel Warren Shaffer of Cedar City and another follower, John Alvin Coltharp, were arrested in December after they allegedly ignored a court order to return Coltharp's children to their mother. Shaffer is said to be the leader of a religious sect known as the Knights of the Crystal Blade, which is described in court documents as "an LDS offshoot that believed in fundamental doctrines."

The pair are now suspected of marrying each other's underage daughters, according to a search warrant affidavit.

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Coltharp was charged Monday with one count of sodomy on a child, according to court documents. The alleged assault occurred on Aug. 1. The case was filed separately from the previous first-degree felony child kidnapping and misdemeanor obstructing justice by concealing a person filed in connection with the alleged December kidnapping.

In a search warrant dated Dec. 11, Iron County Sheriff's Office Detective Nathan Houchen detailed an interview conducted with Shaffer where the 34-year-old said he had married Coltharp's 8-year-old daughter. Coltharp had also been betrothed to Shaffer's 7-year-old daughter.

Shaffer allegedly told investigators he had physically inspected the underage female's genitals to determine if she was a virgin, according to the statement.

Shaffer has not been charged with any additional crimes at this time. Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett told The Spectrum Friday it is not out of the question, though.

"If there is the possibility of more charges, we will look at it as it comes to light," Garrett said.

Investigators also received information from an out-of-state man that Shaffer and Coltharp had "forcefully baptized" him into their religion and "promised a child bride." The man had travelled to Utah after making contact with Shaffer and Coltharp about the religious group.

He also told police to look for a laptop that would contain evidence of their correspondence. Four cell phones, three tablets, four laptop computers, an external hard drive, a wifi hotspot and 33 recordable CD's were recovered, according to the search warrant.

Both Shaffer and Coltharp are scheduled to appear in court Wednesday. Shaffer's preliminary hearing is expected to be continued at that time. He is charged with two first-degree felony counts of child kidnapping in addition to four counts of intentional child abuse causing injury, a second-degree felony.

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A statewide Amber Alert was triggered on Dec.4 after Coltharp ignored court orders to return their four children to his ex-wife. She described Coltharp as a "doomsday prepper who believes that the world will soon come to an end."

The Iron County Sheriff’s Office later learned the children were at the West Desert compound located near Lund associated with the Knights of the Crystal Blade. Writings and videos published on Shaffer’s website promoted fundamentalist Mormon beliefs, including polygamy and child marriage. Multiple family members expressed concern that the two girls were being hidden to be placed in a marriage.

The two boys were found living with their grandparents in approximately 800 square-feet of storage containers on the makeshift compound, court documents said. The grandparents told authorities the girls had spend the night with Shaffer in a tent on the property, which belonged to Coltharp.

Shaffer was later found walking alone on a dirt road near Lund. Court documents state he told investigators he had hidden Coltharp's two daughters and his own two biological daughters in 50-gallon plastic blue water barrels in subfreezing temperatures and a locked mobile home in "deplorable living conditions" miles from the compound.

The children weren’t dressed for the freezing conditions and had no access to food or water.

Follow reporter Bree Burkitt, @BreeBurkitt. Call her at 435-218-2241.