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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Warren Jeffs sentenced to life plus 20 years in prison as picture emerges of 50 brides, bred to worship the polygamous 'prophet'


Standing neatly side by side, 50 young girls pose as if for a school yearbook, their smiles every bit as uniform as their pastel outfits and tightly quaffed hairdos.  Their innocent enthusiasm is focused on one goal alone - worshiping the man framed behind them, who has cruelly bred them for manipulation.  As a Texas jury sentenced Jeffs to life plus 20 years in prison for his crimes as their church leader, extraordinary pictures have emerged of the wives of the notorious polygamist, offering insight into the twisted world of subjugation with which he surrounded himself. 

Jeffs, the 55-year-old self-proclaimed prophet and leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was last week convicted of two counts of sexually assaulting a child - one 12 and one 14-year-old.
Today, after brief deliberations, the jury at court in Texas sentenced him to the maximum possible time behind bars for his crimes.
Jeffs's wives were both the victims of his abuse and the accomplices, subjected to a cruel world of worship and sexual abuse, while also proving their worth to their leader by holding down their peers while they were assaulted.
Manipulated: This girl was 15 when she had a baby with warren Jeffs
Manipulated: This girl was 15 when she had a baby with warren Jeffs
He was on the FBI's Most Wanted list but had evaded arrest for years before his capture in 2006, surrounding himself with doting believers and underage wives who he bred to service his sexual desires.  
Of his 78 wives, 29 are said to have been former stepmothers - having previously serviced Rulon Jeffs, Warren Jeffs's father and predecessor as the church's ecclesiastical leader.
56 of the girls were each others sisters and 24 were under the age of 17.
Over the course of the trial, the jury in Texas has heard a series of depraved insights into the world of the dictatorial leader of a polygamist sect, which has more than 10,000 members worldwide.
One of Jeffs's nephews testified that he was raped by the supposed prophet when he was just five-years-old. He said Jeffs instructed him to keep the assault secret because it is 'between you, me and god'.
A niece also testified about an incident which occurred when she was aged seven and other witnesses spoke out, revealing a world of manipulation and control, where Jeffs banned followers from 'parades, dances, music, and even the color red'.
Perhaps most shocking of all has been the revelation that some of the young wives assisted the pedophile with his sexual assaults.
In a confused world where they were brainwashed to service the demands of their leader, however abusive, three of Jeffs’s wives were said in court to have held down the 12-year-old victim while Jeffs raped her.
One of the girls bound the child's arms and legs to stop her moving, tapes seized from the compound where they lived in Eldorado, Texas, revealed.
It is unclear whether the women will be prosecuted for their roles in the abuse. Many argue their submission was borne out of a deeply engrained fear of Jeffs, who took over the community in 1998 from his father, who had raised him to believe the women were rightfully his to abuse as a birthright. 
As sect leader, Jeffs 'documented everything he did, keeping track of every marriage he performed, every young woman he wed, even recording his intimate moments.'
During a 2008 raid, these recordings, which helped secure his conviction, were seized by authorities. The explicit tapes, when played in court, caused shocked jurors to break down in tears.
One was 'a 20 minute audiotape that began and ended with a man saying a prayer' before sexually assaulting the 12-year-old in front of three other of his wives, according to prosecutors.
The audiotape from 2004 was played in court  before another, made within hours of the first, in which prosecutors say Jeffs can be heard having sex with all the girls at the same time.
In one tape, he is heard telling the girls they 'need to be excited'. Jurors also heard him tell the girls that if they refused to please him in what he dubbed the 'heavenly sessions', they would be 'rejected by God'.
In a cruel irony, the girls were encouraged by Jeffs by being told their compliance would help atone for the sins of their community.
Other shocking photographs have also emerged, including ones showing Jeffs holding and passionately kissing an underage female church member and one revealing a bed where ritual sex sessions were carried out in front of a church audience.
State witness Rebecca Musser - a former FLDS member who was married as a young girl to Jeffs' father - told the court she had received training about how beds in the temple were to be used in sexual rituals before it was built.
Miss Musser said beds inside the temple were arranged so that witnesses could see the abuse and that a special seat was placed for someone to record the sexual acts. 
Jurors weep as court hears twisted tape of sexual instructions Warren Jeffs gave child brides threatening that God would 'reject them' before having sex by baptism pool
  • Court hears he was involved in 550 bigamous marriages including 67 that involved under-age girls
  • Horrific tape of Jeffs instructing child brides how to please him sexually played
  • Tells them God will reject them if they refuse to have sex with them
  • Comes after Jeffs' nephew told jurors he was abused by his uncle aged five
  • Shocking pictures also showed Jeffs kissing two child brides
  • Jeffs walked out of court in protest demanding to be set free after sentencing
  • Psychologist tells court cult leader groomed children like a 'pedophile'
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and one of the rooms inside the main temple, which contained a bed

28 comments:

  1. 1. Where are the older wives? Out to pasture?
    2. There MUST be some accountability from the other adult members that were watching, partaking in this. Friend of Flora, will there be?

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  2. LOL On the RED Shackles! Justice served. I wonder if he spent any time contemplating over the cruel things he told people and realized the irony of it all being reiterated to him now!

    Too much freedom for too long, Warren!


    Oooo Press Conference is on right now! Eric Nichols is speaking. I can't find a full clip of his press release.


    Here is AG statement:

    Warren Steed Jeffs Sentenced to Life in State Prison

    Statement from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott
    “A Tom Green County jury today sentenced Warren Steed Jeffs to life in prison for the aggravated sexual assault of a twelve-year-old child. The jury also returned a 20-year sentence for sexual assault of a fifteen-year-old child. Jeffs will serve both sentences consecutively. Today’s sentences follow last Thursday’s verdicts finding Jeffs guilty of both crimes.

    “A total of 12 YFZ Ranch-related defendants have been indicted on sexual assault of a child, bigamy or other charges. Eight defendants have been convicted on felony charges and sentenced to prison. The other four defendants are awaiting trial. All prosecutions are being handled by the Office of the Attorney General, which is working in cooperation with 51st Judicial District Attorney Steve Lupton.”

    https://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagNews/release.php?id=3815

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  3. I don't know. Mitigation will be very interesting!

    I sure hope someone can key us in!

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  4. I am so lost today without my buddy!!! Friend of Flora!!!!
    I didn't follow this until this very end, I want to know, will more be brought to trial and get prison, too?

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  5. I don't feel like rejoicing; I can only cry for so many people who have been hurt over the years, who are being hurt now, and who will be hurt in the future by this cult. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

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  6. They keep showing clips of Eric Nichols but I can't find a full clip of the release to see if they gave any details on mitigation.

    I wonder if Jeffs super team will come back and try something to get his conviction over turned. The Judge allowed due process above and beyond but one never knows what they will come up with.

    Oh they are asking Eric now if he will move in to dismantle this flds outfit in other states etc and they did bring up all the other people involved. Pressure to feds to step in now & strike while iron is hot , FLDS controlling law enforcement, escape impossible when FLDS has taken over small town police forces...all of these are being put to question to Eric by interviewers.



    Typing as he speaks so this is loose:

    The Man Act prohibits and penalizes state line crossing , trafficking children. They have testimony from the trial about the kids coming from Canada to be sealed to Warren but he says they have to deal with cases one at a time. It requires a pro active effort to prosecute and the state of Texas Utah Nevada Arizona will continue to investigate and bring these individuals to justice.

    That sounds like a yes on mitigation but it also sounds like they have to have cooperation and willingness from other states and even internationally, i.e. Canada.



    I KNOW right now the feds have admitted to ongoing investigations at CO City Az and Hildale Utah. I can't help but feel there will be some associations to the Jeffs case.

    White-Slave Traffic Act aka Mann Act
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Act

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  7. E.N. said all of this info is in his post trial comments so if we can find his post trial release in full, we will have a clearer idea of what is intended as far as possible mitigation and ongoing investigations.


    Issues episode tonight will have Warren's Nephew on as a guest.

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  8. 1. Praise God be the Glory! Thank you Lord, for putting away this false prophet. We know you are the one and only true God, no one can ever BE like you. No one can get to heaven except by your grace, and all the evil cult activities of ALL the Mormons, in one shape or another need to be brought down. The abuse of these women will take generations to get over, much like what the slave endured.
    2. We Pray that the SW show backfires, and more Americans really see that, just because your another branch of Mormon or Lds- They are ALL made by evil.
    3. We pray for the people that know no other life, that when, and if (we pray they do) reach out, that the one they reach to is a good christian that will not harm them or hurt them, but bring them to your glory, and nurse their needs.
    4. We pray that the more women that get out, the more men will go to jail for what they've done. Wicked.
    5. We pray that even the Sister Wives see that the AUB is the same with a prettier bow wrapped around it. May they get out and find you, Lord.
    6. We pray that all the children, when they turn of age, TURN AWAY from this church, and it becomes less and less strong, and their lives saved.
    7. We pray that the authorities start doing their job. If they are a polygamist, put them in jail. Period.
    Thank you Lord, we pray for all these little girls. I wish I could go get some and bring them home with me.

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  9. The bed thing is one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. I honestly used to have nightmares about something similar.

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  10. http://www.abc4.com/content/news/state/story/Brother-of-Warren-Jeffs-pressured-to-drop-lawsuit/dXv9gP46_E-AOAd9icGiPQ.cspx

    Missed this one, Warren's brother lawsuit, said Warren is a fraud.

    http://www.azfamily.com/community/blogs/mike-watkiss/The-Media-Is-Guilty-126451953.html

    Ongoing blog coverage has a lot to say about the female villains of FLDS and attacks the media and more.

    It is good to have levity and rejoice in victories even if they seem small in comparison to the big picture. Even if it makes us worry a hundred times over.

    I think this victory is big and I think it deserves some rejoicing if only for a little levity after such a long haul.

    It is a dual edged blade. Sadness and mourning for the women of FLDS as well as wanting justice for the young girls. These FLDS women are both victim and villain.

    Hang in there, Terra! Lots of love your way today.

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  11. But if they don't stop the hurt, it would continue. I know Terrasola, we don't want to hear that this goes on, it's quite disturbing. Yet, if we don't get shaken up, it will continue, with a slicker version like the Brown's getting away with illegal activity, and pushing on the cultist ways. Seems odd in yesterday's video, they were all a-klempt about the kids dating, but, if a daughter becomes wife 3 at 19, that's OK. A son have 5 by 25, that's cool. No, it is not, it's adultery, plain and simple. The man that started this religion was a sick, cult obsessed, sex addict, so pretend what they want, it's as false as those prairie dresses. Those poor women actually are doing a good thing by being modest, and getting raped in the dark. Let it end!

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  12. I GOT IT!! BLOOD ATONEMENT!!! SAVE TAXPAYERS WHAT, 60 GRAND A YEAR FOR HIM????

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  13. Girl2, no kidding! ALL Great comments!
    I love to come back and read, it's so fun!
    Let's do say a prayer it's an awakening for these folks, not a Jonestown. They have known nothing else, it scares me.

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  14. Great Hearts Here!

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  15. Who will take care of all those young girls and their children? Will the FLDS provide for them?

    I really hope that Warren Jeffs, repents, finds God, and does the right thing.
    I fear he will commit suicide if he can't become a leader at the prison.
    They won't take kindly to child abusers, do they?

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  16. Tells them God will reject them if they refuse to have sex with them

    Doesn't it make you shudder, the pure evil?
    Some strange way, I feel a bit sorry for him. He'll never switch to Christianity, he will go to hell, I don't see him changing. He's too narcissistic.

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  17. Yes, there are more prosecutions which will take place. Merrill Jessop is to stand trial for giving his 12 - 13 yr old daughter in marriage to Warren Jeffs.

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  18. It has also been suggested that the older wives of Warren Jeffs will be charged with child abuse for grooming the younger girls to perform sex acts for Warren.

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  19. http://www.fox13now.com/entertainment/kstu-warren-jeffs-child-brides-photos-warren-jeffs-and-child-brides-20110809,0,1227866.photogallery

    There is a photo gallery of the child brides. Faces blurred for their privacy and protection.

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  20. http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/publications/cid/OffendOrientHbkNov04.pdf

    Orientation for Prison. I wonder if Warren will read it. I pity for Warren as much as he disgusts me. I have read the women at the compound are split up in houses. Those that believe and support more are in one house and the lesser are in another. Conflicting reports so I don't know. I do pray for their safety.


    Canada sending the mounties over after hearing at least 12 underage girls were sent to US to marry Jeffs or FLDS men.

    http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110809/rcmp-investigate-bc-polygamous-community-110809/

    Canadian police are preparing to send investigators to the U.S. to investigate allegations that child brides from a Canadian polygamous commune were sent across the border to marry older men.
    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched a new criminal investigation into a polygamous community in western Canada after allegations surfaced earlier this year amid a constitutional case examining Canada's anti-polygamy law.

    British Columbia Supreme Court heard that more than two dozen girls as young as 12 were sent to the U.S. to marry older men, including polygamous leader Warren Jeffs, who was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for sexually assaulting two teen girls.

    Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said Tuesday investigators will head to the U.S, particularly Texas, to locate Canadian girls who were sent to be brides.

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  21. He deserved it all. In Islam if you cannot support a wife you cannot have one. And there is a limit. Four. A man cannot have more than 4 wives.

    And I did change my comment so anyone can comment anon!

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  22. Oh1 I just have to say this. In Islam a man can not marry another wife for sex. He has to marry her to support her.
    But, we have this problem in Islam as well a man saying a women will not go to heaven if she does not sleep with her husband. OMG! The Quran is clear you cannot have sex with a women unless she consents. Still they say this.

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  23. Thanks, Patricia. Is this the americanmuslimah site? I will make a visit.

    I mostly find respect for our other cultures and religions that practice polygamy. They often give reminders and make efforts to encourage men to take widowed, divorced , displaced women as wives out of respect , moral and spiritual obligation and need of care for them. Unlike the recent FLDS that has put out women in need and encourage younger and younger wives like Warren did.

    I wish men would not alter the written word against women and threaten their salvation to obtain sex/control. I don't know what to think or comment on it.

    Thanks so much for sharing with us.

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  24. Patricia, I could get lost in your website and blogs! So many great resources! Thank you for giving anon comments and sharing with all of us here! Do you have recipes up some where?

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  25. Lindsay Whitehurst @ SLT put up Warren's mug shots. Also, her and another tweeted the mug. He doesn't look affected. Dead pan eyes. Sad man. Oh, well guess another shaved head for the FLDS wall of shame. I hope the women, men and children he has abused find peace.

    http://twitter.com/#!/lwhitehurst

    http://yfrog.com/kf3anquj

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  26. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/10/warren-jeffs-the-secret-statue-of-the-polygamy-cult-felon.html

    Things that make you go hmm. 35 foot Jeffs? Scary!

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  27. GREAT story, thank you, I am putting it up.

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  28. I do not have anything against the Mormon religion, but this was just sick. Closed-off communities like the FLDS need to be watched to make sure nothing like this ever happens. The poor dears, they're all brainwashed into obeying Jeff's every request, it really isn't their faults. I don't understand how that man only got twenty years. I believe all child molesters should be put to death. Maybe then Jeff's hold over the group would break and they'd see how horrible a man he really was.

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