Richy Maria Jacob
Warren Jeffs made headlines when he was charged with the rape and sexual assault of a minor, along with arranging the marriage of a teenager with her cousin in 2005. In addition, he was previously accused of having sexually molested his nephew when he was young. This was the beginning of many allegations that would lead to his conviction.
In 2011, he was sentenced to prison for several accounts of rape and other forms of sexual offenses, including fixing marriages of minors with older men. A raid in his compound also found evidence of teenage girls being sexually exploited. Thus, he was sentenced to serve life in prison. In 2015, two of his children came to the front to speak about how they were sexually abused in their childhood by Jeffs. His daughter, Rachel Jeffs, spoke about how she was sexually abused by her father when she was very young. In an interview, she said: “I mean, first, presenting what a man looked like…And then, he started sexually abusing me as a young child. And, it was so against his teachings…”
She even said that he would take her to book stores and show her pornographic materials. Jeffs’ son, Roy Jeffs, also came out stating that his father had molested him as a child, and it was a constant struggle growing up. In 2019, he ended up committing suicide. In this way, many had come forward to speak about the atrocities they were subjected to when they lived in the FLDS church community.
In 2018, A&E even made a documentary titled, ‘Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil.’ This was one of the many documentaries that were made on him. Jeffs is believed to have over 70 wives with several children born to them. As the spiritual head of the sect, every man and woman were bound by obedience to him. In the case hearing, there was a sex audiotape that he had recorded of one his so-called, ‘devout sessions’ in which he had sex with a minor.
While he was first in prison, he tried to hang himself; however, it turned out to be a failed mission. Later, he forcefully starved himself, after which the authorities intervened and force-fed him. Once he was sentenced, a similar pattern ensued, after which he was put in a medically induced coma for a while. In prison, he is still believed to have strong authority over his community members. There are still members of the group who believes that he is indeed their savior. A still devout FLDS member, Maggie Jessop said: “If people will follow [Jeffs’] teachings of faith and love even in part, they will not commit suicide.”
Is Warren Jeffs Still in Jail? Is He Alive?
Yes, Warren Jeff is still alive and continues to serve his life sentence in Louis C. Powledge Unit Prison in Texas. In 2019, it was reported that he suffered a mental breakdown. The claim then deemed him unable to give a deposition against a case filed against him. In the many years post his conviction, many other cases have been registered against him. This is because previous FLDS members who were sexually exploited have come forward filing civil lawsuits against him and his trust.
The community lawyers in charge of the trust said:“The trust has received reports that Warren Jeffs has suffered a mental breakdown, and there seems to be a high likelihood that Warren Jeffs is not mentally competent to provide admissible testimony.” Thus, Warren Jeffs continues to serve his sentence in jail with possible parole in the year 2038.
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