Rape Trial Under Way For Man Who Allegedly Claims To Be Holy Ghost

A rape trial is under way for the 45-year-old co-leader of a small religious sect that started in Utah and settled in Idaho and then Montana.

The church had tried to set up a complex for 20 people on the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho in 2009, but the Tribal Land Use Commission denied it a building permit.

The president of the Church of the Firstborn of the General Assembly of Heaven is charged with raping a 15-year-old girl and commanding her to have sex with another church leader in 2005. The Salt Lake Tribune reports Terrill Dalton’s trial started Tuesday in Salt Lake City.

Prosecutors say Dalton told the girl he was “the Holy Ghost” and promised blessings if she had sex with him. He’s also accused of directing fellow church leader Geody Harman to have sex with the girl because it was God’s will.

Dalton maintains he is innocent. His attorney testified the accusations stem from an effort to destroy the church.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com