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| − | '''Warren Steed Jeffs''' (born December 3, 1955 in San Francisco, California) was the president of the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]] ([[FLDS Church]]) from 2002 to 2007.<ref>The FLDS Church was founded in the early twentieth century when the founders deemed the position of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] on the issue of [[plural marriage]] to be apostate. There is thus no official connection between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church.</ref> While president and "Prophet, Seer and Revelator" of the organization, Jeffs wielded considerable religious as well as secular power, in line with the FLDS Church's theocratic principles. | + | '''Warren Jeffs''' is the leader and self-proclaimed prophet of the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)]] and the owner of the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas. He was sentenced to prison in 2007 for abuse of underage girls. His father, Rulon Jeffs, was the President of the FLDS Church until his death in 2002. Shortly after his death, Warren Jeffs—one of his many sons—asserted his own leadership of the FLDS Church and subsequently married all but two of his father's widows, reinforcing his position of leadership and power in the community. |
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| − | Jeffs gained international notoriety in May 2006 when he was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution on [[Utah]] state charges related to his alleged arrangement of extralegal marriages between his adult male followers and underage girls. He was arrested in August 2006 in [[Nevada]], and agreed to be taken to Utah for trial. In May and July 2007 the State of [[Arizona]] charged him with eight additional counts—including sexual conduct with minors and incest—in two separate cases.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/12/polygamy.charges/index.html Sect leader indicted on sexual conduct with minor, incest charges]</ref> His trial, which began early in September 2007 in [[St. George, Utah]], lasted less than a month, and on September 25 the verdict was read declaring him guilty of two counts of rape as an accomplice.<ref>[http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4456432&version=12&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 Jeffs Found Guilty on Both Counts] 25 September 2007 {{Dead link|date=June 2008}}</ref> On November 20, 2007 he was sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years to [[life imprisonment|life]] and has begun serving his sentence at the [[Utah State Prison]].<ref name=Deseret112207>Winslow, B. (2007, November 22). Jeffs is now an inmate at Utah State Prison. ''Deseret Morning News''. Retrieved [[29 November]] [[2007]] from http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695229917,00.html</ref> | + | Jeffs formally resigned as president of the FLDS Church effective November 20, 2007. In an email to the ''Deseret Morning News'', Jeffs' attorneys stated: "Mr. Jeffs has asked that the following statement be released to the media and to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. . . . Mr. Jeffs resigned as President of the Corporation of the President of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Inc." The statement does not address his ecclesiastical position as prophet of the FLDS Church. There are also reports that Jeffs admitted his position of prophet in the FLDS Church was a usurpation in a conversation to his brother, and declared that "Brother William E. Jessop has been the prophet since [my] Father's passing", though Jeffs' attorneys have claimed he misspoke. In early 2011, Jeffs retook legal control of the denomination.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Jeffs] |
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| − | Jeffs resigned from the presidency of the FLDS Church on the day he was sentenced.<ref name = Perkins>Nancy Perkins, [http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695233512,00.html "Warren Jeffs resigns as leader of the FLDS Church"], ''Deseret Morning News'', 2007-12-05.</ref> There are also reports that Jeffs admitted his position of prophet in the FLDS Church was a usurpation in a conversation to [[William E. Jessop]], and declared that "Brother William E. Jessop has been the prophet since [my] Father's passing", though Jeffs' attorneys have claimed he misspoke.<ref>[http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/labels/William%20E.%20Jessop.htm Tribune Blogs - Polygamy Files: The Tribune's blog on the plural life<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> | + | Many in the FLDS communities still regard Jeffs as the prophet and their current leader. Many are leaving the church.[http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2015/03/27/ccj-crisis-of-faith-flds-migration-to-mainstream-mormonism-oprah-special-details-warren-jeffs-crimes/#.WqmYdsdkhHQ] [https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705396590/Sex-banned-until-Warren-Jeffs-prison-walls-crumble-FLDS-relatives-say.html] |
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| − | ==Biography==
| + | News accounts have suggested that Merril Jessop, who has been leading the Eldorado compound, is the de facto leader of the church. On January 9, 2010, documents filed with the Utah Department of Commerce named Wendell L. Nielsen as the president of the sect. Traditionally the president of the FLDS church was also the religious head, but the FLDS incorporation charter does not require the church president to be its prophet. A 2012 CNN documentary insisted that Jeffs still leads the church from prison. |
| − | <!--[[Image:Warrenjeffs.jpg|thumb|right|]]-->
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| − | Warren Jeffs is the son of [[Rulon Jeffs]]. His father, the leader of the FLDS Church at his death, was survived by 19 or 20 wives and has about 60 children.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE5D91F31F936A2575AC0A9649C8B63 New York Times obituary for Rulon T. Jeffs]</ref> No information is available about Warren Jeffs on their website.
| + | ==Fast Facts== |
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| − | Warren Jeffs' official title in the FLDS Church was "President and Prophet, Seer and Revelator". He also held the title of "President of the Priesthood," which meant that he was the head of the organization of all adult male church members that were deemed worthy to hold the church's priesthood. Jeffs was a counselor to his father Rulon Jeffs when the elder Jeffs held these leadership positions; upon the death of Rulon Jeffs in 2002, Warren Jeffs succeeded him and became FLDS Church leader.<ref> [http://www.mormonfundamentalism.com/ChartLinks/FLDSChurch.htm mormonfundamentalism.com: ''The FLDS Church (Fundamentalist LDS Church)''] and [http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/bustupinbountiful/timeline.html CBC: ''Timeline: History of polygamy''] </ref> | + | [[image:Warren_Jeffs.jpg|150px|left|alt=Warren Jeffs|Warren Jeffs]] |
| | + | # Born: December 3, 1955 |
| | + | # Official Title: President and Prophet, Seer and Revelator |
| | + | # May 2006: Added to FBI's Ten Most Wanted List |
| | + | # Arrested: August 28, 2006 |
| | + | # April 4, 2008: The Yearning for Zion ranch in Texas was searched after a complaint was made to state child welfare investigators |
| | + | # All children were removed from the ranch, but all but one were later returned |
| | + | # About 12 men at the ranch faced charges including bigamy and violations against underage girls due to the evidence found during the raid |
| | + | # In August 2011, Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison, plus 20 years for sexually assaulting two underage girls he claimed as his spiritual wives. He will have to spend at least 45 years in prison before being eligible for release |
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| − | One of Jeffs' statements after his father's death was directed at high-ranking officials in the FLDS Church: "I won't say much, but I will say this—hands off my father's wives." Addressing the recent widows, he said, "You women will live as if Father is still alive and in the next room." Within a week, Warren had married all but two of his father's several dozen wives.<ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/950/000055785/ Warren Jeffs] at [[Notable Names Database]]</ref> This act had the obvious political expediency of helping solidify his own power within the often-fractious community, while also insuring a measure of security for the widows who might otherwise be without means of support. After this, Jeffs continued to marry more women, many of whom were close relatives. Because of his claimed descent from [[Jesus Christ]] and [[Joseph Smith]], Jeffs has taught that his marriages are necessary to preserve sacred bloodlines, although from a sociological perspective much of the explanation may lie simply in the numerically small population base from which wives may be drawn.{{Fact|date=September 2007}}
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| − | Jeffs, the sole individual in the church who possessed the authority to perform its marriages, was responsible for assigning wives to husbands. Jeffs also held the authority to discipline wayward male believers by "reassigning their wives, children and homes to another man."<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4629320 Warren Jeffs and the FLDS]. May 3, 2005. [[National Public Radio|NPR]].</ref>
| + | ==The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FDLS)== |
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| − | Moreover, the FLDS Church owns essentially all of the homes and real estate in the areas where its members reside. This phenomenon is not dissimilar from the case with other religious denominations in the areas in which they predominate, but appears proportionally exaggerated in the case of the FLDS due to its relatively small scope. The FLDS also appears to exercise substantial if not complete control over the children born into the congregation. Children are often subjected to incidents that are currently considered torture in the Geneva Convention.{{Fact|date=April 2009}} Male subjects are reported to have been frequently exiled from the church due to their alleged competition with the elder male members of the church for the limited number of suitable marriage candidates.
| + | The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints broke off from the main body of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], the [[Mormon Church]], now over 15 million members strong, when polygamy ended in 1890. The FLDS believed that God still sanctioned polygamy and broke off to keep practicing it. The FLDS Church has about 10,000 members in the United States. |
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| − | In 2000, the [[Colorado City Unified School District]] had more than 1200 students enrolled. When the FLDS Church decided to remove its members' children from public schools, enrollment decreased to around 250. Jeffs, however, did not require the FLDS members who made up the majority of the school district's administrators to quit their positions.<ref>[http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/88285.php Fischer, Howard: "State officials prepare to seize control of Colorado City school district"; ''Arizonia Daily Star''. August 11, 2005]</ref>
| + | Members of the FLDS Church call themselves "Mormons," but they have no affiliation with the Mormon Church. The legitimate Mormon Church, or [http://Mormon.org The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], has denounced the polygamous sects and excommunicates members who attempt to practice polygamy. Polygamous sects have ended up in the thrall of powerful leaders who vie for leadership and power and exercise iron-fisted control over their followers. This coercion is opposite to the way God leads true religion, guaranteeing agency and the verification of faith through personal revelation to all. The power won by leaders in these sects has opened the door to abuse of power and authority. |
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| − | Until courts in Utah intervened, Jeffs controlled almost all of the land in [[Colorado City, Arizona]], and [[Hildale, Utah]], which was part of a church trust, the United Effort Plan (UEP). The land has been estimated to be worth over $100 million. Currently, all UEP assets are in the custody of the Utah court system pending further litigation.
| + | ==Fugitive== |
| | + | In May of 2006, Jeffs was added to the FBI's Most Wanted List. Jeffs fled to avoid prosecution in a case in Utah where he was accused of arranging the marriages between his adult male followers and young girls. |
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| − | In January 2004, Jeffs expelled a group of 20 men from Colorado City, including the mayor, and reassigned their wives and children to other men in the community. Jeffs, like his predecessors, continued the standard FLDS and Mormon fundamentalist tenet that faithful men must follow what is known as the doctrine of "Celestial Marriage" or plural marriage in order to attain the highest degree of Exaltation in the afterlife. Jeffs specifically taught that a devoted church member is expected to have at least three wives in order to get into heaven, and the more wives a man has, the closer he is to heaven.<ref> [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/archives/2006_05_07_ac360_archive.html Several postes on ''Anderson Cooper Blog 360°'' (CNN)]</ref> Former church members claim that Jeffs himself has seventy wives (Egan, 2005).
| + | ==Charges== |
| | + | Jeffs was arrested in August of 2006 in Nevada. He agreed to go back to Utah and face his charges. Arizona also charged him with eight additional counts in two separate cases in May and July of 2007. The charges included various gross violations against laws of the land regarding sexual conduct. |
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| − | Before his 2006 arrest, Jeffs had last been seen on January 1, 2005, near [[Eldorado, Texas]], at the dedication ceremony of the foundation of a large and elaborate new FLDS temple on an area of land called the [[YFZ Ranch]]. The ranch, which Jeffs' church reportedly planned to designate as its new home base, {{Fact|date=April 2008}} came into the public eye when Texas authorities took legal custody of 416 children on April 7, 2008 when a 16-year-old girl reportedly phoned to report abuse. The girl in the report claimed to have said that she was married to a 50-year-old man and had given birth to his child at age 15. However, residents told authorities that there was in fact no such girl; the calls were ultimately traced to a woman totally unconnected to the FLDS, [[Rozita Swinton]], and known for repeated instances of filing false reports. Nevertheless, Texas authorities continued to investigate whether it was a hoax. <ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/07/texas.ranch/ CNN: ''Texas takes legal custody of 401 sect children'']</ref> The children and women who were suspected of being minors were returned after Texas courts established that the state had not presented sufficient evidence of abuse to have removed all of the women and children
| + | Members of the FLDS church and the Yearning for Zion Ranch filed motions in March 2009 seeking to seal the abuse investigation of a 17-year-old girl. They also requested that any evidence seized during the raid and investigation be returned. Jeffs' attorneys are claiming that the allegation of abuse made by Rozita Swinton were false. The abuse claims made by Swinton led to the search and seizure of Zion Ranch, but the raid was inconclusive, not finding evidence of abuse. |
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| − | On June 10, 2006, Arizona [[Attorney General]] [[Terry Goddard]] told the ''[[Deseret Morning News]]'' that he had heard from several sources that Jeffs had returned to Arizona, and had performed marriage ceremonies in a mobile home that was being used as a wedding chapel.<ref> [http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2006/06/10/410637.html&cvqh=itn_Polygamist Associated Press: ''Ariz. AG: Fugitive Polygamist Has Returned'']</ref>
| + | The ranch came into the public eye when Texas authorities took legal custody of 416 children on April 7, 2008, when a 16-year-old girl reportedly phoned to report abuse. The girl in the report claimed to have said that she was married to a 50-year-old man and had, at age 15, given birth to his child. However, residents told authorities that there was in fact no such girl; the calls were ultimately traced to a woman totally unconnected to the FLDS Church, Rozita Swinton, and known for repeated instances of filing false reports. Nevertheless, Texas authorities continued to investigate whether it was a hoax. The children and women who were suspected of being minors were returned after Texas courts established that the state had not presented sufficient evidence of abuse to have removed all of the women and children. |
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| − | On March 27, 2007, the ''[[Deseret Morning News]]'' reported that Jeffs had renounced his role as prophet of the FLDS Church in a conversation with his brother Nephi. Nephi quoted him as saying he was "the greatest of all sinners" and that God never called him to be Prophet. This statement was reportedly given to his brother Nephi and Jeffs and his defense team had no comment on it. Rumours suggest it was a lie from his brother Nephi, trying to assume his brother's role, while more rumours circulated saying he must step down as prophet so a new man may perform marriages and continue adding wives to the men of the community. An unnamed source said that he retracted this statement.<ref>[http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660206525,00.html Winslow, Ben. "A prophet no more? Jeffs called himself a 'sinner' in jailhouse conversation," ''Deseret Morning News''. March 27, 2007]</ref> However the veracity of that source was called into question when Jeffs presented a handwritten note to the judge at the end of trial on March 27 saying that he was not a prophet of the FLDS Church.<ref>[http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy625.html Adams, Brooke "Mystery note: Warren Jeffs may have abdicated polygamist prophet role," ''[[Salt Lake Tribune]]'' April 5, 2007]</ref> | + | ==Indictment== |
| | + | On July 22, 2008, Jeffs and five other men were indicted on charges related to a gross violation of the [[Law of Chastity]]. Jeffs was indicted by a Texas grand jury on a charge of violation of a child. The indictment proceedings followed the child custody case of more than 400 children taken away from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Texas. |
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| − | On November 7, 2007, the Washington County Attorney's Office released video of jailhouse conversations between Nephi and Warren Jeffs. In the videos Warren renounces his prophethood, claiming that God had told him that if he revealed that he was not the rightful prophet, and was a "wicked man", he would still gain a place in the [[telestial kingdom]].<ref name="dnvideoshows">{{cite web|url=http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695225779,00.html| title=Released video shows emotional Jeffs in jail| accessdate=2007-11-11| last=Winslow| first=Ben| coauthors=Nancy Perkins| work=[[Deseret Morning News]]}}</ref> Jeffs also admits to what he calls, "immoral actions with a sister and a daughter" when he was 20 years old.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/us/02jeffs.html| title=In Recordings From Jail, Polygamist Had Doubts| accessdate=2007-11-11| last=Johnson| first=Kirk| work=[[New York Times]]}}</ref> Other records show that while incarcerated, Jeffs tried to commit suicide by banging his head against the walls and trying to hang himself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/11/07/jeffs/| title=Polygamist Jeffs tried to hang himself in jail, documents say| accessdate=2007-11-11| work=[[CNN]]}}</ref>
| + | ==Trials and Sentences== |
| | + | The Warren Jeffs trial in St. George, Utah, began in September 2007. The trial lasted less than a month. On September 25, Jeffs was convicted of two counts of accomplice to rape, sentencing him to two consecutive sentences of five years to life. Jeffs stood trial and was convicted in Utah for his role in allegedly arranging marriages among his followers. He was found guilty, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. In a unanimous decision, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that a state judge had erred when he failed to tell the jury that Mr. Jeffs could not be found guilty unless he specifically intended for the girl’s husband to have nonconsensual sex with her, which Mr. Jeffs denied. |
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| − | Jeffs resigned as president of the FLDS Church effective November 20, 2007. In an email to the ''Deseret Morning News'', Jeffs' attorneys made the following statements: "Mr. Jeffs has asked that the following statement be released to the media and to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," ... "Mr. Jeffs resigned as President of the Corporation of the President of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Inc." The statement does not address his ecclesiastical position as prophet of the FLDS Church, and many in the FLDS communities still regard him as the prophet and their current leader."<ref name = Perkins/> | + | On July 28, 2011, a Texas jury found Jeffs guilty of sexually assaulting two girls he had taken as "spiritual wives." DNA samples proved that one of the girls, aged 15, had a child by Jeffs, and there was audio tape presented as evidence of Jeffs' advances toward a 12-year-old girl. Jeffs faced a sentence of up to life in prison (119 years if found guilty on all counts). "Texas prosecutors said at the sentencing phase they would present evidence that Jeffs had 78 wives in addition to his legal spouse. They said 24 of those were under 17." [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44021900/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/polygamist-leader-found-guilty-child-rape-case/#.TjxWb2GeqSp] |
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| − | ==Sex crime allegations and FBI's Most Wanted==
| + | The prosecution produced evidence that Jeffs used the compound's temple for sex with young girls under the guise of religion, and claimed that the judiciary had to save a religion and a people from Jeffs' corrupt leadership. Prosecutors also showed evidence that Jeffs has 78 plural wives, including 12 girls married at age 16 and another 12 who were 15 or younger. |
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| − | In July 2004, Warren Jeffs' nephew, Brent Jeffs, filed a lawsuit against him alleging that in the late 1980s his uncle [[sodomy|sodomized]] him in the Salt Lake Valley compound then owned by the FLDS Church. Brent Jeffs said he was five or six years old at the time, and that Warren Jeffs' brothers, also named in the lawsuit, watched and participated in the abuse. Two of Warren Jeffs' other nephews also made similar abuse claims against him. One of the alleged victims, Clayne Jeffs, committed [[suicide]] with a firearm after accusing Warren Jeffs of [[sexual assault|sexually assaulting]] him as a child.<ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002996905_secttwo16.html Insider accounts put sect leader on the run] May 16, 2006 </ref>
| + | Jeffs appeared before a federal court in San Angelo, Texas, in July 2011. Jeffs was appearing in his own defense and made a motion to dismiss a "bishop's list," as evidence. The list was gathered as evidence in the raid, and therefore might not be admissable. The list purportedly contains the names of male members of the sect and their wives. The sect is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls, and has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church. It appears that the sect considers it mandatory for a man to have at least three wives to earn exaltation in heaven. Jeffs lost his composure during one session, and the outburst and subsequent interruptions of other attorneys in the case led State District Judge Barbara Walther to dismiss the jurors and adjourn the court session. He accused the U.S. legal system of persecuting a peaceful, God-fearing people. |
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| − | In June 2005, Jeffs was charged with sexual assault on a minor and with conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct with a minor for allegedly arranging, in 2002, a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old first cousin, Allen. The girl, known as "Jane Doe IV" testified that she begged "Uncle Rulon" to let her wait until she was older, or choose another man for her. Rulon Jeffs was apparently "sympathetic", but Warren Jeffs was not, and she was forced to go through with the marriage. The 14-year-old alleged that her new husband [[rape]]d her repeatedly. She eventually left her husband and is now married to Lamont Barlow.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3673963&page=1 Good Morning America Interview] October 1, 2007</ref> Jeffs faced the above charges in [[Mohave County, Arizona]]. In July 2005, the Arizona Attorney General's office distributed wanted posters offering $10,000 for information leading to Jeffs' arrest and conviction.
| + | The Texas jury sentenced Jeffs to life in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl and 20 years in prison for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. He must serve at least 35 years of the life sentence and half of the other sentence, Strickland said. The judge in the case ordered that the sentences be served consecutively. The Texas case against Jeffs stemmed from documents recovered in an April 2008 raid on the FLDS compound near Eldorado, Texas. Prosecutors also introduced evidence seized from a vehicle when Jeffs was arrested as a fugitive in 2006. Jeffs is incarcerated at the Louis C. Powledge Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice near Palestine, Texas. |
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| − | In late 2005, Jeffs was put on the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]'s most wanted fugitive list, offering $60,000 for information leading to his arrest. Shortly after being placed on the FBI list, Jeffs was featured on the television program ''[[America's Most Wanted]]''.
| + | "Eleven other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy. All seven of those who have been prosecuted were convicted, receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years." |
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| − | Around this time, Warren Jeffs' brother, Seth, was arrested under suspicion of harboring a fugitive. During a routine traffic stop on October 28, 2005, in [[Pueblo County]], [[Colorado]], police found nearly $142,000 in cash, about $7,000 worth of prepaid [[debit card]]s, and Warren Jeffs' personal records. During Seth Jeffs' court case, FBI agent Andrew Stearns testified Jeffs had told him that he did not know where his older brother was and that he would not reveal his whereabouts if he did. He was convicted of harboring a fugitive on May 1, 2006.<ref>[http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=240154 "Polygamist's Brother Pleads Guilty to Harboring a Fugitive"]. Associated Press. May 1st, 2006</ref> On July 14, 2006, he was sentenced to three years' probation and a $2500 fine.<ref>[http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/co/press_releases/2006/July06/7_14_06.html "Seth Steed Jeffs Sentenced for Harboring Fugitive Brother"]. United States Attorney's Office District of Colorado. July 14, 2006.</ref>
| + | ==Updates== |
| | + | Jeffs has engaged in lengthy hunger strikes, which his doctors and attorneys have claimed were for spiritual reasons. In August 2009, Superior Court Judge Steve Conn ordered that Jeffs be force fed. Thereafter, Jeffs was fed through a stomach feeding tube. On August 29, 2011, Jeffs was taken to East Texas Medical Center, Tyler, Texas, and hospitalized in critical condition under a medically induced coma after excessive fasting. Officials were not sure how long he would remain hospitalized, but expected Jeffs to live. |
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| − | On April 5, 2006, the state of [[Utah]] issued an [[arrest warrant]] for Jeffs on [[felony]] charges of accomplice rape of a teenage girl between 14 and 18 years old.<ref name="findlaw">[http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/polygamy/utjeffs40506crinf.html "Polygamist Charged With Felony Accomplice Rape of a Minor"] Findlaw.com. April 5, 2006</ref> Shortly after, on May 6, 2006 the FBI placed Jeffs on its [[FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives|Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives]] list.<ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/page2/may06/jeffs050606.htm HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN? FBI Announces New Top Tenner], FBI Headline Archives, 05/06/06</ref> He was the [[FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 2000s|the 482nd fugitive listed]] on that list. In addition, the bounty on his head was raised to $100,000, and the public was warned that "Jeffs may travel with a number of loyal and armed [[bodyguard]]s".<ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/fugitives/cac/jeffs_ws.htm Warren Jeffs] at the FBI Web site</ref>
| + | In August 2011, the Christian Post reported that some of Jeffs' followers have decided to erect a three-story tall statue of Jeffs in the Yearning for Zion compound. The article was very careful to explain that the FLDS have nothing to do with the mainstream Mormon Church. [http://www.christianpost.com/news/flds-plans-to-build-giant-monument-of-warren-jeffs-53898/] |
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| − | The updated posters warned that Jeffs had ties to [[Utah]]; [[Arizona]]; [[Texas]]; [[Colorado]]; [[South Dakota]]; [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]; and [[Quintana Roo]], [[Mexico]]. There was also information that he had ties to some rural farms run by some of his followers near [[Pioche, Nevada]], as well as construction companies in [[Mesquite, Nevada]].<ref>Hollenhorst, John. [http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=254455 "Warren Jeffs' Money May Have Ties to Mesquite"]. KSL.com May 8, 2005.</ref>
| + | In December 2012, Jeffs predicted that the world would end before the year 2013 and called for his followers to prepare for the end. |
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| − | On May 27, 2006 Bruce Wisan, the court-appointed [[accountant]] in charge of the FLDS' [[trust fund]], filed civil suits against Jeffs. Wisan claimed that Jeffs is responsible for "fleecing trust assets". Along with church leaders, former trustees Truman Barlow, Leroy Jeffs, James Zitting, and William Jessop were also named as defendants. "We feel that they’ve taken things from the trust," Wisan said. "Their actions have caused harm to the trust."<ref>[http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_147211137.html "New Lawsuit Filed Against Warren Jeffs"]. May 27, 2006. Associated PRess.</ref>
| + | ==External Sources== |
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| − | On June 8, 2006 Jeffs returned to Colorado City to perform more "child bride" marriages. Nearby citizens pointed out a [[mobile home]] where the weddings had allegedly taken place.<ref>Winslow, Ben. [http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640185888,00.html "Jeffs seen in Arizona?"] Deseret Morning News. June 10, 2006.</ref>
| + | *[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865557917/Justice-Dept-to-sue-Arizona-Utah-FLDS-towns-for-religious-discrimination-attorney-says.html FLDS sued for policies in religion-dominated towns Deseret News article] |
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| − | ===Arrest, trial and conviction===
| + | *[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/us/28jeffs.html New York Times article] |
| − | On August 28, 2006 around 9 p.m. Pacific time, Jeffs was pulled over on [[Interstate 15 in Nevada|Interstate 15]] in [[Clark County, Nevada]], by Nevada Highway Trooper Eddie Dutchover because Jeffs' red 2007 [[Cadillac Escalade]]'s temporary [[license plate]]s were not visible. One of Jeffs' wives, Naomi, and his brother, Isaac, were with him, and Jeffs had four [[computer]]s, 16 [[cell phone]]s, disguises (including three [[Wig (hair)|wigs]] and twelve pairs of [[sunglass]]es), and more than $55,000 in cash.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,210959,00.html "Fugitive Polygamist Sect Leader Arrested in Las Vegas"]. August 29, 2006. Associated Press.</ref><ref name="wrt1">[http://www.thespectrum.com/news/extras/jeffs/courtdocuments.pdf Arrest Warrants and Affidavits] August 30, 2006</ref>
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| − | In a Nevada court hearing on August 31, 2006 Jeffs waived [[extradition]] and agreed to return to Utah<ref>McCabe, Francis. [http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/August-31-Thu-2006/news/9362667.html "POLYGAMIST LEADER: Jeffs bound for Utah"]. Review Journal. August 31, 2006</ref> to face two first-degree felony charges of accomplice rape.<ref name="findlaw" /> Each charge carries an indeterminate penalty of five years to [[life in prison]]. [[Arizona]] prosecutors are next in line to try Jeffs. He was held in the [[Washington County, Utah]], jail pending an April 23, 2007, trial on two counts of rape as an accomplice for his role in arranging a 2002 marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old first cousin.<ref> [http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6243736 Police academies consider future of officers in polygamist towns]</ref>
| + | *[http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/27/utah.polygamy.ruling/index.html CNN article] |
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| − | Jeffs was believed to be leading his group from jail, and a Utah state board expressed dissatisfaction in dealing with Hildale police, believing that many had ties to Jeffs, and as such, did not cooperate.<ref> [http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2006/12/07/news/regional/aecf26f72f3ff83c8725723d006991c1.txt Associated Press: ''Authorities concerned about Jeffs' ties to border officers''; Thursday, December 7, 2006]</ref> In May and July 2007, he was indicted in Arizona on eight counts, including sexual conduct with a minor and [[incest]].<ref name=autogenerated1 />
| + | *[http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/09/texas.polygamist.jeffs/index.html CNN article] |
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| − | In the run up to the trial, Jeffs apparently suffered a nervous breakdown.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/09/jeffs.hospitalized/index.html CNN: Polygamist Warren Jeffs Taken to Vegas Hospital] July 9, 2008</ref> He refused food for a month, developed ulcers on his knees from kneeling in prayer to excess, attempted to hang himself, and afterwards repeatedly banged his head on the wall of his cell.
| + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Jeffs Wikipedia article] |
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| − | Jeffs' trial ran from September 11 to September 25, 2007. The trial was held in [[St. George, Utah]], with [[judge]] James L. Shumate presiding. Jeffs was housed in Utah's Purgatory Correctional Facility in [[solitary confinement]] for the duration. At the culmination of the trial, Jeffs was found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=3645951 Polygamist Leader Convicted in Utah: Polygamist Leader in Utah Convicted of Sex Charges in Arranged Marriage] September 25, 2007</ref> on September 25, 2007. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years to [[life imprisonment|life]] and has begun serving his sentence at the [[Utah State Prison]].<ref name=Deseret112207 />
| + | *'''See also [["Mormon" Polygamy]] |
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| − | Jeffs is now scheduled to be tried in [[Arizona]].<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/12/jeffs.walkup/ "Polygamist prophet is now a criminal defendant"], cnn.com.</ref> Jeffs entered a not guilty plea February 27, 2008, to sex charges stemming from the arranged marriages of three teenage girls to older men.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/27/jeffs.charges.ap/index.html, "Polygamist 'Prophet' pleads not guilty in Arizona child bride case"], cnn.com</ref>
| + | [[Category: Controversial Topics]] |
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| − | On May 27 2008, the Smoking Gun website released images of Jeffs with two under-aged wives, one of which was 12 years old, celebrating one-year anniversaries in 2005 and 2006.
| + | {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffs, Warren}} |
| − | <ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0527081flds1.html The Kiss Of Jeffs - May 27, 2008<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
| + | [[es: Warren Jeffs]][[es:La Iglesia Fundamentalista de Jesucristo de los Santos de los ultimos dias]] |
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| − | == Health issues ==
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| − | On July 9, 2008, Jeffs was taken from jail in Arizona to a Las Vegas hospital for what the sheriff described as a serious medical problem. Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan didn't specify Jeffs' medical problem, but said it was serious enough to move him about 100 miles from [[Kingman Regional Medical Center]] to the Las Vegas hospital. <ref>http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_9823858</ref>
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| − | Jeffs has engaged in [[Ascetical theology#Other religious traditions|lengthy fasts]], which his doctors and attorneys report have been for spiritual reasons. In August of 2009, Superior Court Judge Steve Conn ordered that Jeffs be force fed. Thereafter, Jeffs was fed through a stomach feeding tube.<ref>http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy771.html</ref><ref>http://www.religionnewsblog.com/20733/warren-jeffs-101</ref>
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| − | ==Popular culture==
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| − | ===Further reading===
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| − | * In 2003, author [[Jon Krakauer]] published ''[[Under the Banner of Heaven]]'', a nonfiction book that explores some of the history of both the LDS church and its spin-off sects, focusing largely on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The book describes illegal activity in the (Fundamentalist) Church, mainly [[polygyny]], [[statutory rape]], and [[rape]].
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| − | * ''[[Escape (Carolyn Jessop and Laura Palmer book)|Escape]]'' by [[Carolyn Jessop]] with Laura Palmer is a personal account of the deterioration of human rights (especially women's and children's rights) and institutionalized abuse in the FLDS organization under Warren Jeffs' leadership.
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| − | *''[[Stolen Innocence (book)|Stolen Innocence]]'' by Elissa Wall with [[Lisa Pulitzer]] is an autobiography about a girl inside the FLDS church and her experiences in the community and her escape as well as her accounts in the Warren Jeffs trial.
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| − | * ''When Men Become Gods'' (2008) is a book about Warren Jeffs and the FLDS by US writer [[Stephen Singular]]. The book chronicles the details of Jeffs rise to power, the activities of FLDS members in Colorado City and Hildale and their trials. He draws comparisons between the FLDS and Muslim extremists today.
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| − | "Lost Boy" by Brent W. Jeffs is an autobiography concerning the youth of Brent Jeffs, Warren Jeffs nephew. Warren Jeffs was convicted of committing sex crimes against the author.
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| − | ===Documentary films===
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| − | * In 2006, Pawel Gula and Tom Elliott produced the documentary feature ''Damned to Heaven''. The film premiered in Europe at the Krakow Film Festival in Poland. In September 2007, it premiered in the U.S. at the [[Temecula Valley International Film Festival]], where it received honors in the Best Documentary category. The film investigates the practice of plural marriage, and includes 20 minutes of Warren Jeffs' original teachings, recorded for the purpose of "educating" followers. [[Janusz Kaminski]] said, after seeing the documentary, "This film is shocking. As a society, we are obligated to see it."<ref>[http://www.damnedtoheaven.com Damned to Heaven]</ref>
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| − | * The documentary film ''[[Banking on Heaven]]'' was released in 2006. It documents Warren Jeffs and the FLDS in Colorado City, Arizona.
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| − | * On July 19, 2006 Britain's [[Channel 4]] ran the documentary ''[[The Man with 80 Wives]]''. The program featured presenter [[Sanjiv Bhattacharya]]'s unsuccessful search for Warren Jeffs in [[Colorado]], [[Utah]] and [[Texas]]. Filmed before Jeffs was put on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, the documentary features interviews with one of Jeffs' brothers as well as with several excommunicated FLDS members.
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| − | | |
| − | * In Canada in 2007, CBC's news show ''[[The Fifth Estate]]'' aired an episode called "Bust Up in Bountiful" focusing on Jeffs's one-time rival, [[Winston Blackmore]], and Blackmore's belief that Jeffs was not only responsible for the split in [[Bountiful, British Columbia]]'s community, but is also a dangerous man.
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| − | * In Canada on October 23, 2006 [[Global Television Network|Global]] ran an hour-long documentary on ''Global Currents'', which followed the lives of excommunicated members and featured their hardships.
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| − | | |
| − | * In 2007, [http://www.livinghopeutah.org Living Hope] released a documentary entitled [http://www.livinghopeutah.org/polygamy.htm ''Lifting the Veil of Polygamy''] which includes interviews with former members of Warren Jeffs' fundamentalist sect.<ref>[http://www.livinghopeutah.org/polygamy.htm Lifting the Veil of Polygamy<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
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| − | | |
| − | * In September 2007, the Australian current affairs program ''[[A Current Affair]]'' sent reporter Amanda Patterson to Utah on a number of occasions to report on the sect. While filming in Colorado City, her crew was persistently harassed and stalked by a number of local men in their pickup trucks. She also attempted to interview a number of men, who saw nothing wrong with what they were doing, and with women, who refused to talk on air.
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| − | ===Fictionalizations===
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| − | * On January 23, 2007 CTV aired a made-for-TV movie titled "In God's Country"<ref>{{imdb|0814150|In God's Country}}</ref> which tells a fictionalized tale that alludes to FLDS and their behaviors and beliefs.
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| − | | |
| − | * The HBO show "[[Big Love]]" contains a scene where [[Roman Grant]] (played by [[Harry Dean Stanton]]), the leader of a fictional fundamental and polygamist sect, observes Warren Jeffs being arrested. He refers to him as a pervert and worries that he will ruin things for other polygamist sects.
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| − | | |
| − | * The Season 3, Episode 12 "Nine Wives" of [[Numb3rs]] was based on the FLDS Church. The episode follows the FBI's search for a pedophilic polygamist fugitive.
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| − | * "The Ultimate Sin", a film shown by True Movies, concerns a similar, fictional, cult and cites the case of Warren Jefferies as an example.
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| − | ==References==
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| − | {{Reflist|2}}
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| − | | |
| − | ==External links==
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| − | * [http://www.azfamily.com/polygamy/ Polygamy Diaries] - Arizona TV station profiles Jeffs and polygamists in Arizona and Utah (video)
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| − | * [http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=33750 Full Coverage at America's Most Wanted]
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| − | * [http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?sid=191104&nid=5 Tapes Reveal Some of Polygamist Leader's Teachings]
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| − | * [http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/bustupinbountiful CBC's documentary] on Warren Jeffs and the FLDS. January 25, 2006
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| − | * [http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/80wives.html Channel 4 (UK) Documentary] July 2006
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| − | * [http://www.fldstruth.org/index.php Official FLDS website]
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Jeffs formally resigned as president of the FLDS Church effective November 20, 2007. In an email to the Deseret Morning News, Jeffs' attorneys stated: "Mr. Jeffs has asked that the following statement be released to the media and to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. . . . Mr. Jeffs resigned as President of the Corporation of the President of The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Inc." The statement does not address his ecclesiastical position as prophet of the FLDS Church. There are also reports that Jeffs admitted his position of prophet in the FLDS Church was a usurpation in a conversation to his brother, and declared that "Brother William E. Jessop has been the prophet since [my] Father's passing", though Jeffs' attorneys have claimed he misspoke. In early 2011, Jeffs retook legal control of the denomination.[1]
Many in the FLDS communities still regard Jeffs as the prophet and their current leader. Many are leaving the church.[2] [3]
News accounts have suggested that Merril Jessop, who has been leading the Eldorado compound, is the de facto leader of the church. On January 9, 2010, documents filed with the Utah Department of Commerce named Wendell L. Nielsen as the president of the sect. Traditionally the president of the FLDS church was also the religious head, but the FLDS incorporation charter does not require the church president to be its prophet. A 2012 CNN documentary insisted that Jeffs still leads the church from prison.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints broke off from the main body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church, now over 15 million members strong, when polygamy ended in 1890. The FLDS believed that God still sanctioned polygamy and broke off to keep practicing it. The FLDS Church has about 10,000 members in the United States.
Members of the FLDS Church call themselves "Mormons," but they have no affiliation with the Mormon Church. The legitimate Mormon Church, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has denounced the polygamous sects and excommunicates members who attempt to practice polygamy. Polygamous sects have ended up in the thrall of powerful leaders who vie for leadership and power and exercise iron-fisted control over their followers. This coercion is opposite to the way God leads true religion, guaranteeing agency and the verification of faith through personal revelation to all. The power won by leaders in these sects has opened the door to abuse of power and authority.
In May of 2006, Jeffs was added to the FBI's Most Wanted List. Jeffs fled to avoid prosecution in a case in Utah where he was accused of arranging the marriages between his adult male followers and young girls.
Jeffs was arrested in August of 2006 in Nevada. He agreed to go back to Utah and face his charges. Arizona also charged him with eight additional counts in two separate cases in May and July of 2007. The charges included various gross violations against laws of the land regarding sexual conduct.
Members of the FLDS church and the Yearning for Zion Ranch filed motions in March 2009 seeking to seal the abuse investigation of a 17-year-old girl. They also requested that any evidence seized during the raid and investigation be returned. Jeffs' attorneys are claiming that the allegation of abuse made by Rozita Swinton were false. The abuse claims made by Swinton led to the search and seizure of Zion Ranch, but the raid was inconclusive, not finding evidence of abuse.
The ranch came into the public eye when Texas authorities took legal custody of 416 children on April 7, 2008, when a 16-year-old girl reportedly phoned to report abuse. The girl in the report claimed to have said that she was married to a 50-year-old man and had, at age 15, given birth to his child. However, residents told authorities that there was in fact no such girl; the calls were ultimately traced to a woman totally unconnected to the FLDS Church, Rozita Swinton, and known for repeated instances of filing false reports. Nevertheless, Texas authorities continued to investigate whether it was a hoax. The children and women who were suspected of being minors were returned after Texas courts established that the state had not presented sufficient evidence of abuse to have removed all of the women and children.
On July 22, 2008, Jeffs and five other men were indicted on charges related to a gross violation of the Law of Chastity. Jeffs was indicted by a Texas grand jury on a charge of violation of a child. The indictment proceedings followed the child custody case of more than 400 children taken away from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Texas.
The Warren Jeffs trial in St. George, Utah, began in September 2007. The trial lasted less than a month. On September 25, Jeffs was convicted of two counts of accomplice to rape, sentencing him to two consecutive sentences of five years to life. Jeffs stood trial and was convicted in Utah for his role in allegedly arranging marriages among his followers. He was found guilty, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. In a unanimous decision, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that a state judge had erred when he failed to tell the jury that Mr. Jeffs could not be found guilty unless he specifically intended for the girl’s husband to have nonconsensual sex with her, which Mr. Jeffs denied.
On July 28, 2011, a Texas jury found Jeffs guilty of sexually assaulting two girls he had taken as "spiritual wives." DNA samples proved that one of the girls, aged 15, had a child by Jeffs, and there was audio tape presented as evidence of Jeffs' advances toward a 12-year-old girl. Jeffs faced a sentence of up to life in prison (119 years if found guilty on all counts). "Texas prosecutors said at the sentencing phase they would present evidence that Jeffs had 78 wives in addition to his legal spouse. They said 24 of those were under 17." [4]
The prosecution produced evidence that Jeffs used the compound's temple for sex with young girls under the guise of religion, and claimed that the judiciary had to save a religion and a people from Jeffs' corrupt leadership. Prosecutors also showed evidence that Jeffs has 78 plural wives, including 12 girls married at age 16 and another 12 who were 15 or younger.
Jeffs appeared before a federal court in San Angelo, Texas, in July 2011. Jeffs was appearing in his own defense and made a motion to dismiss a "bishop's list," as evidence. The list was gathered as evidence in the raid, and therefore might not be admissable. The list purportedly contains the names of male members of the sect and their wives. The sect is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls, and has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church. It appears that the sect considers it mandatory for a man to have at least three wives to earn exaltation in heaven. Jeffs lost his composure during one session, and the outburst and subsequent interruptions of other attorneys in the case led State District Judge Barbara Walther to dismiss the jurors and adjourn the court session. He accused the U.S. legal system of persecuting a peaceful, God-fearing people.
The Texas jury sentenced Jeffs to life in prison for aggravated sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl and 20 years in prison for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. He must serve at least 35 years of the life sentence and half of the other sentence, Strickland said. The judge in the case ordered that the sentences be served consecutively. The Texas case against Jeffs stemmed from documents recovered in an April 2008 raid on the FLDS compound near Eldorado, Texas. Prosecutors also introduced evidence seized from a vehicle when Jeffs was arrested as a fugitive in 2006. Jeffs is incarcerated at the Louis C. Powledge Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice near Palestine, Texas.
"Eleven other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy. All seven of those who have been prosecuted were convicted, receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years."
Jeffs has engaged in lengthy hunger strikes, which his doctors and attorneys have claimed were for spiritual reasons. In August 2009, Superior Court Judge Steve Conn ordered that Jeffs be force fed. Thereafter, Jeffs was fed through a stomach feeding tube. On August 29, 2011, Jeffs was taken to East Texas Medical Center, Tyler, Texas, and hospitalized in critical condition under a medically induced coma after excessive fasting. Officials were not sure how long he would remain hospitalized, but expected Jeffs to live.
In August 2011, the Christian Post reported that some of Jeffs' followers have decided to erect a three-story tall statue of Jeffs in the Yearning for Zion compound. The article was very careful to explain that the FLDS have nothing to do with the mainstream Mormon Church. [5]
In December 2012, Jeffs predicted that the world would end before the year 2013 and called for his followers to prepare for the end.
