Nasor said:
But Utah's three-year barrier doesn't apply if the people involved are married. And, somewhat astoundingly, it's actually legal for a 14-year-old to marry a 19-year-old in Nevada (where their marriage ceremony was performed) if the parents consent. It was still technically illegal, since they simply had a ceremony without properly registering the marriage with the state, but they were actually obeying the spirit of the law.
I admit I haven't gone back and checked the statutes on this one, but in either Utah or Nevada, is it legal to marry your cousin? If so, I guess there's an issue to settle with Utah or Nevada. If not, I don't think Steed has much of a defense. What will be interesting is if we get to hear or read the context of Steed's statement, given under cross-examination in the Jeffs trial, that for some reason the laws don't apply to him. (See Riccardi article; or not, since we don't have the actual quote of Steed's words.)