Where Are Warren Jeffs’ 80 Wives Now? A Look at Their Lives After the Cult Leader Was Imprisoned for Sexually Assaulting Minors
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Warren Jeffs called himself a prophet, but he was, in reality, a polygamist cult leader and a perpetrator of sexual abuse.
As the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), an offshoot of Mormonism, Warren forced marriages for others, including between minors, and had as many as 80 “spiritual wives” of his own, The Guardian reported, though those marriages weren’t legally recognized.
ABC News reported in The Doomsday Prophet: Truth and Lies that as many as 24 of Warren’s wives were underage when he married them.
While Warren attempted to hide his nefarious activities from the public eye, he eventually landed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for sexually abusing children across several states — many of whom he considered his wives.
After going on the run from authorities, Warren was convicted in 2011, allowing many of his victims and “wives” to find freedom and peace. Because few of Warren’s marriages were legal and many of them were minors, not many of his dozens of brides are publicly known. However, some have spoken out about their experiences.
Here’s a look at where some of Warren Jeffs’ wives are now.
Warren was born in 1955 to Rulon Jeffs, the leader of FLDS. The church preaches that all men must have at least three wives, and church leaders were able to punish other men by “reassigning” their wives and children to others, NPR reported.
As an adult, after working as an accountant for his father, he ran the Alta Academy schools for FLDS compound members, The Deseret News reported. Warren then took over the church after his father suffered a series of debilitating strokes.
Warren was the only member of the church permitted to perform marriages and to assign wives to husbands. In many cases, those wives were often underage.
After a number of accusations by family members, which later included his own children, son Roy and daughters Rachel and Becky, Warren was charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct of a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct of a minor.
He was also charged in multiple states, before ultimately being convicted of two counts of being an accomplice to rape in Utah and sentenced to 10 years to life in prison, per CNN.
However, in 2010, Warren’s Utah conviction was overturned and a new trial was ordered. Later that year, he was extradited from Utah to Texas for his trial, in which he pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child.
In August 2011, he was convicted of sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 and a separate charge of sexual assault of a child under the age of 17. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Content retrieved from: https://people.com/where-are-warren-jeffs-wives-now-11797854.
