FLDS Church Leader Warren Jeffs And His Collection Of Child Wives
YouTubeWarren Jeffs is one of the most infamous individuals in Mormon history. Here is Jeffs with one of his child brides.
The crimes of the former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), Warren Jeffs, were so egregious that he made the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List in 2006.
Jeffs fathered 60 children in total and had between 70 and 80 wives. Most unnerving, however, were the methods by which Jeffs secured his power over his religious career. When he was finally arrested, Jeffs was sentenced to life for the sexual assault of children in 2011. Two of his own children claimed that he had molested them when they were younger.
Jeffs was born on Dec. 3, 1955, in Sacramento, California and grew up in the FLDS community. While the sect has been staunchly disavowed by the Mormon church, both groups do share a belief in polygamy.
The Jeffs were staunch polygamists for generations. Jeffs’ father Rylon had at least 50 wives with whom he had as many as 80 children. Warren Jeffs was born premature and was thus seen as a miracle, but his deeds as an adult firmly proved otherwise.
After working as the strict principal of the FLDS’ private Alta Academy school for more than 20 years, Jeffs positioned himself as his father’s successor in the church. When his father died in 2002, Jeffs took over as leader, property owner, and prophet.
He even married some of his father’s widowed wives before establishing the Yearning for Zion (YFZ) Ranch in west Texas. There he controlled what acolytes wore, who they could marry, and prohibited television and internet access.
In 2004, Jeffs was hit with several lawsuits from followers he had excommunicated. Most notably, his nephew Brent sued him for sexually assaulting him as a child. Arizona officials also indicted Jeffs the following year on charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to do so.
“If the world knew what I was doing, they would hang me from the highest tree.” — Journal entry by Warren Jeffs.
In 2006, he was further charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice for arranging the marriage of a 19-year-old man with his 14-year-old cousin. But by this point, Jeffs had seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth, earning him a spot on the FBI’s Wanted list.
According to Biography, Jeffs was finally captured in Nevada that August with over $50,000 in cash, numerous wigs, sunglasses, and cell phones in his car. Though his rape accessory conviction was overturned, he accrued a litany of additional charges after authorities raided the YFZ Ranch the following year.
YouTube14-year-old Elissa Wall and her 19-year-old cousin, who she was forced to marry in 2001.
Jeffs 2011 trial focused on two “celestial marriages”; one with a 12-year-old girl and another with a 15-year-old girl — with whom he fathered a child. Fortunately, Jeffs’ habit of recording his actions and having his wives write down his activities only helped to criminalize him further.
His defense was extremely weak and largely consisted of Mormon scripture that had no merit against actual acts of rape. But his fate was arguably sealed when audio of his assault of a 12-year-old was played in court. Jurors also discovered that around one-third of his 70 illegal marriages were with children.
According to CBS News, Jeffs has since suffered a mental breakdown and tried to commit suicide in prison. He had to be force-fed in 2009 and was put into a medically induced coma in 2011 after fasting behind bars.
