ST. GEORGE, Utah — Opening statements are scheduled for Thursday afternoon in the trial of a polygamist sect leader accused of coercing a reluctant teen bride into consummating her marriage to her cousin.

After three days of jury selection, prosecutors and defense lawyers in the case of Warren Jeffs whittled down a pool of 300 prospective jurors to 28 finalists on Wednesday.

On Thursday, lawyers selected a final panel of five men and seven women. The jury, which includes at least two Mormons, at least one Catholic and one member of the Greek Orthodox Church, will convene in Fifth District Court in St. George, Utah, to hear evidence in Jeffs' trial on two counts of rape as an accomplice.

Judge James Shuter said he would have moved the selection process to another jurisdiction had they not been able to find unbiased jurors in Washington County, where Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is based in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

Jeffs, 51, faces five years to life in prison if convicted of enticing a 14-year-old follower to marry her 19-year-old cousin and have sex with him against her wishes.

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As the prophet of the FLDS church, which broke from mainstream Mormonism over the issue of polygamy more than a century ago, Jeffs' followers believe that God reveals to him who should be married and when the marriage should occur.

The alleged victim in this case claims that, when she voiced her objections to Jeffs over the union, he told her she would face eternal damnation if she did not fulfill her duties as a wife.

Under Utah law, Jeffs can be found responsible for the alleged rape if the jury finds that the teen did not consent to sexual intercourse. The age of consent is 14 in Utah, but the jury can find that consent did not exist if the teen was coerced or enticed into doing something she would not have normally done.

Much of the three days of questioning focused on whether potential jurors could disregard Jeffs' adherence to polygamy, which was banned in the Utah state constitution as a condition of statehood, and focus on the issue of whether a rape occurred.

During jury selection Wednesday, a retired IBM employee wondered out loud whether the issue of polygamy really mattered at all, because Jeffs was not being prosecuted for his practice of taking multiple wives.

"What is your reaction to the fact that Mr. Jeffs and his community of followers have undertaken a continued course of civil disobedience in practicing polygamy?" Judge Shuter asked the potential juror.

"My response to that is then, where has the state been? Why is polygamy not part of this case?" the man answered. "If a law is not enforced, then it's not really a law."

Dressed in a black suit and a silver tie, Jeffs listened attentively to the dialogue, shifting his gaze from one speaker to the other as they spoke.

Openings are expected to begin Thursday afternoon after the judge instructs jurors on the law.