ST. GEORGE, Utah — The former husband of the teen bride at the center of the Warren Jeffs trial testified Wednesday that she initiated their first sexual encounter, contradicting the young woman's account that he raped her a few weeks after their arranged marriage.

Jeffs' defense rested after the testimony from Allen Steed, who waived his right against self-incrimination upon taking the stand to deny he ever forced his young wife to submit to sex. (VIDEO)

A Utah jury of seven women and five men is set to return to court Friday for closing arguments after testimony in the case concluded Wednesday.

Jeffs, 51, faces life in prison on two counts of rape as an accomplice for allegedly coercing the 14-year-old into marrying and having sex with Steed, her cousin, when he was 19.

Steed, a truck driver who recognizes Jeffs as the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has not been charged in connection with the allegations.

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In emotional testimony last week, the alleged victim, who is now 21, said Jeffs refused to "release" her from the arranged marriage, despite her concerns that she was too young and uncomfortable with sex.

In her first sexual encounter with her husband after Jeffs married them in a Nevada hotel, the woman said her husband ignored her tearful pleas to stop and told her it was her "duty" to submit to him.

Prosecutors allege that Jeffs' used his religious authority to "entice" the teen into submitting to an act she would not have normally agreed to. But lawyers for Jeffs say he simply offered her advice consistent with the principles of their faith and that his actions do not rise to the level of criminal conduct.

Steed was the final witness called by defense lawyers to support their claim that the alleged victim was simply unhappy in the marriage and is fabricating the rape claims for financial gain in a civil action against Jeffs.

The soft-spoken witness, who has not remarried since separating from his wife, also provided further insight into the profoundly insular community of the FLDS, where contact with the outside world is rare.

Members of the FLDS believe that the man is the "priesthood head" of his family and receives the spirit of God, which he passes on to his wife and children.

Like other FLDS members who have testified for the defense, Steed said that his faith forbade the use of force and taught that the decision of when to have sex was in the woman's hands.

Despite his ordained role, Steed said his wife frequently disregarded his "counsel," in one instance moving to Canada for five months to be with her sisters.

"Who would you say was the boss of this relationship?" asked defense lawyer Walter Bugden.