Warren Jeffs

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. 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.

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. 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. On November 20, 2007 he was sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years to life and has begun serving his sentence at the Utah State Prison.

Jeffs resigned from the presidency of the FLDS Church on the day he was sentenced. 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.

Biography

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. No information is available about Warren Jeffs on their website.

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.

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. 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.

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."

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. 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.

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.

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.

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. Former church members claim that Jeffs himself has seventy wives (Egan, 2005).

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, 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. 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 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.

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. 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.

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. Jeffs also admits to what he calls, "immoral actions with a sister and a daughter" when he was 20 years old. Other records show that while incarcerated, Jeffs tried to commit suicide by banging his head against the walls and trying to hang himself.

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."

Sex crime allegations and FBI's Most Wanted

In July 2004, Warren Jeffs' nephew, Brent Jeffs, filed a lawsuit against him alleging that in the late 1980s his uncle 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 sexually assaulting him as a child.

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 raped her repeatedly. She eventually left her husband and is now married to Lamont Barlow. 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.

In late 2005, Jeffs was put on the 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.

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 cards, 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. On July 14, 2006, he was sentenced to three years' probation and a $2500 fine.

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. Shortly after, on May 6, 2006 the FBI placed Jeffs on its Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was the 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 bodyguards".

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.

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."

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.

Arrest, trial and conviction

On August 28, 2006 around 9 p.m. Pacific time, Jeffs was pulled over on Interstate 15 in Clark County, Nevada, by Nevada Highway Trooper Eddie Dutchover because Jeffs' red 2007 Cadillac Escalade's temporary license plates were not visible. One of Jeffs' wives, Naomi, and his brother, Isaac, were with him, and Jeffs had four computers, 16 cell phones, disguises (including three wigs and twelve pairs of sunglasses), and more than $55,000 in cash.

In a Nevada court hearing on August 31, 2006 Jeffs waived extradition and agreed to return to Utah to face two first-degree felony charges of accomplice rape. 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.

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. In May and July 2007, he was indicted in Arizona on eight counts, including sexual conduct with a minor and incest.

In the run up to the trial, Jeffs apparently suffered a nervous breakdown. 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.

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 on September 25, 2007. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 10 years to life and has begun serving his sentence at the Utah State Prison.

Jeffs is now scheduled to be tried in Arizona. Jeffs entered a not guilty plea February 27, 2008, to sex charges stemming from the arranged marriages of three teenage girls to older men.

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.

Health issues

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.

Jeffs has engaged in 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.

Popular culture

Further reading

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

"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.

Documentary films

• 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."

• The documentary film Banking on Heaven was released in 2006. It documents Warren Jeffs and the FLDS in Colorado City, Arizona.

• 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.

• 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.

• In Canada on October 23, 2006 Global ran an hour-long documentary on Global Currents, which followed the lives of excommunicated members and featured their hardships.

• In 2007, Living Hope released a documentary entitled Lifting the Veil of Polygamy which includes interviews with former members of Warren Jeffs' fundamentalist sect.

• 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.

Fictionalizations

• On January 23, 2007 CTV aired a made-for-TV movie titled "In God's Country" which tells a fictionalized tale that alludes to FLDS and their behaviors and beliefs.

• 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.

• 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.

• "The Ultimate Sin", a film shown by True Movies, concerns a similar, fictional, cult and cites the case of Warren Jefferies as an example.

External links

• Polygamy Diaries - Arizona TV station profiles Jeffs and polygamists in Arizona and Utah (video)
• Full Coverage at America's Most Wanted
• Tapes Reveal Some of Polygamist Leader's Teachings
• CBC's documentary on Warren Jeffs and the FLDS. January 25, 2006
• Channel 4 (UK) Documentary July 2006
• Official FLDS website