A jury in St. George, Utah, on Tuesday found polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs guilty of being an accomplice to the rape of a teenager for performing a marriage between the then-14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.

Prosecutors argued that Jeffs forced the girl, who identified herself just last week as Elissa Wall, into marriage and sex against her will.

Prosecutors tried to discredit Wall by painting her as a gold digger, pointing out the she went to a civil attorney before criminal charges were filed.

The Washington County jury's decision and subsequent announcement came just hours after one juror, a woman, was replaced for unspecified reasons. The alternate who took her place is also a woman.

Jeffs, who is the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, faced two first-degree felony counts. After deliberating for 16 hours over three days, the jury found him guilty on both.

The trial threw a spotlight on the renegade community where as many as 10,000 of Jeffs' followers practice plural marriage and revere him as a prophet.

Jeffs, 51, faces the possibility of life in prison in the wake of today's conviction.

He also faces trial on a variety of charges -- eight felony counts -- in Kingman. Those charges include sexual conduct with a minor and incest. There are at least two victims involved.

Wall was the key witness for the prosecution in the Washington County case. She will also be a witness for the prosecution in the Kingman trial. It's not clear when that trial will take place.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.