Thread: 400 kids taken from polygamist compound

Jurors hear polygamist leader warn girls not to reject him
By Jim Forsyth | Reuters – 3 hrs ago

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Texas jurors heard polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, who heads a breakaway Mormon sect, warning underage girls in a tape played on Monday that God would reject them if they refused to have sex with him. One juror broke down in tears as prosecutors in the punishment phase of Jeffs' child sex assault trial played explicit audio recordings detailing his sexual involvement with multiple young girls at his group's west Texas ranch.

In one tape, Jeffs is heard telling the girls they "need to be excited." Jurors also heard him tell the girls that if they refused him in what he has dubbed the "heavenly sessions", they would be "rejected by God."

Jeffs, 55, faces a maximum of 119 years in prison after he was convicted last week on charges of sexual assault of two girls whom he "married" when they were 12 and 14 years old at his sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch in rural Texas. Jeffs fathered a child with the older girl.

Jeffs is considered the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and has argued in loud outbursts that the Texas court was trampling on his religious rights by trying the case. His polygamist sect, which experts estimate has 10,000 followers in North America, has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church and is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls.

Prosecutors also showed the jury several photographs of Jeffs casually dressed in shorts, a T-shirt, and a cap with a beer logo on it, countering the image of Jeffs in the courtroom as a conservatively dressed religious man. Also introduced into evidence were several written statements that Assistant Texas Attorney General Eric Nichols said Jeffs either wrote or dictated, including one in which he wrote, "If the world knew what I was doing, they would hang me from the highest tree."

POLYGAMIST COALITION DENOUNCES JEFFS

Jeffs has been "boycotting" the punishment phase of the trial since he walked out on proceedings on Friday, sitting instead under guard in another room of the Tom Green County Jail in San Angelo, where the trial is taking place. As the Jeffs trial raised the profile of U.S. polygamists, a coalition of fundamentalist and polygamist groups in Utah denounced the FLDS leader and pledged that women who choose to participate in plural marriages wait until they are 18 years old to do so.

Jeffs, whose banned offshoot of Mormonism says men have to have three wives to be admitted into heaven, represented himself in his own defense and has repeatedly said he was the subject of religious persecution. He introduced the Book of Mormon into evidence in his trial, and said the religion sanctions and protects polygamist relationships. The mainstream Mormon Church, which outlawed polygamy in the 19th century, considers the FLDS to be an outlaw cult.

The Utah-based Apostolic United Brethren, an umbrella group for several polygamist congregations, denounced what they called "despicable and unconscionable acts" by Jeffs, who Nichols says has 78 "wives," 24 of whom were under the age of 17 when the relationships began. "We repudiate and denounce Warren Jeffs' inappropriate actions in linking his despicable and unconscionable acts to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to (Mormon Church founder) Joseph Smith, Jr.," the group said.

The organization, which does not represent Jeffs' group, called his "spiritual marriages" with girls as young as 12 "radical religious deviations and abuses of power under the false pretense of priesthood authority."

Testimony was expected to resume on Tuesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/jurors-hear-po...234310786.html

comments

Heavenly sessions? Oh, I fervently hope he gets LOTS and LOTS of heavenly sessions in prison with really big guys with tattoos of a great diversity of ethnic backgrounds. Oh, yeah...

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exactly what "protected religion" is he exerting his right to freedom? Not the Mormon Church, and not even the Polygamist outbreak of that church. Polygamy is one thing, pedophilia is another. By claiming his rights. he is denying the rights of these children. Shouldn't our child abuse statutes trump his arguments?

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Jesus was right: many have been misled. If your religion tells you you need another human being to get to heaven, RUN........it's a cult! Even Peter, when Cornelius knelt down in front of him, said' "Get up, I too am only a man."

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I am good friends with a Mormon family. This man does NOT represent the Mormon religion, or their beliefs.

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This is so incredibly sickening. And I fear there are more like him in that so-called religious sect. True Mormons should work to find and expose these evil poseurs and remove them from society. These child molesters are allowing the (wacky but clean) image of the Mormon religion to be horribly tarnished.

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This wasn't a case of religion...if it had just involved polygamy with women 18 and over who were freely consenting, there probably be no trial, or no conviction anyway. All though Jeffs keeps claiming his religious rights have been violated, it is really a case of a dirty, disgusting pedophile using religion as a guise to manipulate vulnerable young girls into having perverted sex with him. The only appropriate punishment would be to "cut it off", have it stuffed and mounted in his jail cell where he will spend the rest of his life....and he can spend it looking at his "god" as frankly speaking, ti seems that "that" is the only "god" he does worship, other than himself!

Jurors hear more audio in polygamist leader trial
By PAUL J. WEBER - Associated Press | AP – Mon, Aug 8, 2011

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury has heard an audiotape of convicted polygamist leader Warren Jeffs preparing at least four underage girls to have sex with him.

Jurors considering Jeffs' punishment in his child sexual assault trial listened Monday to more than 10 minutes of Jeffs detailing how the girls would please him. An FBI agent testified that a 14-year-old, two of her sisters and a half-sister were part of the recording.

The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was heard telling the girls they were helping atone for sins in their church community.

Jurors heard similar tapes before convicting Jeffs last week of sexually assaulting two girls, ages 12 and 15, whom he'd taken as "brides." He faces up to life in prison.

http://news.yahoo.com/jurors-hear-mo...162233474.html

Texas jury sentences Warren Jeffs to life
By Jim Forsyth | Reuters – 9 mins ago

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Reuters) - A jury sentenced polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, who heads a breakaway Mormon sect, to over a century in prison on Tuesday for sexually assaulting two underage girls he claimed as "spiritual" brides.

The Texas jury of 10 women and two men handed down the sentence after less than an hour of deliberations. Jeffs was given 99 years, or a life sentence, for one charge and 20 years for a second, the maximum for both. The 55-year-old leader of the breakaway Mormon sect was convicted last week of aggravated sexual assault on a child and sexual assault on a child in connection with his relationship to two girls he "married" when they were 12 and 14 years old.

Jeffs fathered a child with the older girl at his sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch in rural Texas and was heard on audio recordings telling groups of young teen girls that they would be "rejected by God" if they refused his sexual advances. Jeffs is considered the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and has argued in loud outbursts that the Texas court was trampling on his religious rights by trying the case. His polygamist sect, which experts estimate has 10,000 followers in North America, has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church and is accused of promoting marriages between older men and girls.

Prosecutors said Jeffs had "played a sick game of child molestation under the guise of religious ceremony."

REPRESENTED HIMSELF

"Mr. Jeffs had his big house, where he chose to warehouse hundreds of girls and women for his sexual gratification. The state of Texas has a big house too, and that is where Warren Jeffs should spend the rest of his days," Assistant Texas Attorney General Eric Nichols told the jury during closing arguments.

"Warren Jeffs made himself into something that harms each and every person he touches."

Jeffs instructed his defense attorneys to refrain from making closing arguments on his behalf, though he did make a written request for probation. Jeffs, who represented himself during his trial but had lawyers during the sentencing phase, has argued in loud outbursts throughout the trial that the Texas court was trampling on his religious rights by trying the case.

His polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been condemned by the mainstream Mormon Church. The conviction stems from a highly publicized April 2008 raid on the sect's compound in Eldorado, Texas, in which authorities took custody of some 400 children but later returned them to their families after an investigation and DNA tests.

Some legal experts have argued because it was triggered by a false report of abuse, the evidence gathered there could be disallowed. But Judge Barbara Walther, who has presided over the case in her San Angelo courtroom since the raid, allowed evidence prosecutors said proved Jeffs abused his position in power to have sex with girls as young as 12.

A dozen defendants connected to the YFZ Ranch have been indicted on sexual assault of a child, bigamy or other charges, according to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office. Eight have been convicted on felony charges, and the others are awaiting trial, the Attorney General's office said.

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-jury-del...155452500.html

It is awful cause this story does give true Mormons a bad name or gives people the wrong ideas... I am satisfied with his sentence. I really didn't think he would get so much time, I figured it would be another justice system failure.

Warren Jeffs in medically induced coma
By MICHAEL GRACZYK - Associated Press | AP – 40 mins ago

HOUSTON (AP) — Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was hospitalized Monday in a medically induced coma in critical condition after fasting in the weeks since receiving a life sentence for sexually assaulting underage followers he took as spiritual brides, officials said.

The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was expected to survive, an official familiar with Jeffs' medical condition told The Associated Press. It was not clear how long Jeffs — who has a history of refusing to eat while incarcerated — would remain in the coma or how long he would be hospitalized, the official said.

The official requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the information publicly.

Doctors were not specific about why Jeffs was put into the coma.

Jeffs' attorney Emily Detoto said her client "hasn't been feeling well" and was taken to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler on Sunday night. She declined to elaborate.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said Jeffs was in critical condition, but Lyons would not give specific details about his status. Lyons said Jeffs told corrections officers he's fasted in the time since his conviction earlier this month, though it was not immediately clear how long he'd gone without food before being hospitalized.

During Jeffs' trial, prosecutors used DNA evidence to show he fathered a child with a 15-year-old and played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old. Both were among 24 underage wives whom prosecutors said Jeffs collected.

Court documents show Jeffs tried to hang himself in January 2007 while awaiting trial on rape charges in Washington County, Utah. He also threw himself against the walls of his cell and banged his head, although he later told a mental health expert he really wasn't trying to kill himself.

During a visit with a brother that same month that was videotaped by jail officials, Jeffs said he'd been fasting for three days and remained awake during the night. Days later, he was taken to a hospital and given medication for depression. The court documents said he'd lost 30 pounds, was dehydrated and suffering from sleep deprivation.

Jeffs also had to be temporarily force-fed in 2009 while in the Kingman, Ariz., jail.

In Texas, Jeffs has been in protective custody, which is among the most restrictive forms of imprisonment in the state. He was to be alone in his cell daily, not be involved in any work programs and to be out of his cell only to shower and for recreation by himself.

Jeffs is among only 85 inmates in the 156,000-prisoner Texas corrections system to be assigned protective custody.

The life sentence was the harshest possible for Jeffs' convictions, and he isn't eligible for parole until he is at least 100 years old. He had been in a Huntsville prison immediately after his trial, then was moved last week to the Powledge Unit outside Palestine, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas.

Former church members have said Jeffs likely would continue to lead his Utah-based church from inside prison and that his followers likely still revere him as a prophet despite the considerable evidence presented at his trial showing he sexually assaulted girls as young as 12.

The basic principles of Jeffs' fundamentalist sect are rooted in polygamy, a legacy of early Mormon church teachings that held plural marriage brought exaltation in heaven. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the mainstream Mormon church, abandoned the practice in 1890 as a condition of Utah's statehood and excommunicates members who engage in the practice.

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-source-warr...224251923.html

comments

They don't like molesting priests and preachers in prison. He better starve himself to death before Lenny and Tony give him some big Italian Sausage where the sun don't shine

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These people are not Mormons they are not LDS, They are filthbags from the FLDS who live in old caravans in the desert with as many wives as they wish and have no ties to the Mormon Church so get your facts right.

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Plural marriage: "exaltation in heaven" or "excitation on earth"? Nowhere in the bible does it say that if you have muliple wives, you will be exalted in heaven. DUH!!! There is no sex in heaven and God does not promote plural marriage. He looks at the person you are inside