Kriti Mehrotra
Born December 3, 1955, Warren Steed Jeff is the former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) Church, a polygamous Mormon denomination and one of the strictest American religion factions. Warren himself grew up within the FLDS community and saw the tradition of polygamy, or plural marriage be carried on. For more than 20 years, he even served as the principal of Alta Academy, an FLDS private school in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was known to be “a stickler for rules and discipline,” and demanded order.
In 2006, Warren was placed on the FBI’s most-wanted list for arranging marriages between his adult male followers and underage girls in Utah, and when in 2008 a raid on the FLDS compound in Texas resulted in evidence of the assault of underage girls, Warren was extradited and found guilty for sexual assault of a child resulting in a sentence of life in prison plus twenty years.
Who Are Warren Jeffs Wives?
Warren Jeffs own father, Rulon Jeffs became the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1986, he changed the entire structure of the community and eliminated the council so as to make himself the sole leader. It is said that Rulon had around 20 wives and 60 children, out of which Warren became his successor.
In 2002, when Rulon passed away, Warren obtained the official titles of “President and Prophet, Seer and Revelator” as well as “President of the Priesthood” in the FLDS. Warren told his father’s widowers that they should continue to live on as if he was still alive and within a week had married all but two of them. One of them had refused and was forbidden ever to marry someone again, and the other had fled the compound. Naomi Jessop was one of the first of Rulon’s wives to take Warren as her husband, and she subsequently became his favorite wife.
Along with his father’s wives, Warren had others as well. It is reported that he is married to around 87 women and has fathered more than 50 kids himself. As the sole leader, only he had the authority to orchestrate and perform marriages; therefore, he not only assigned wives to men but also reassigned wives and children of men to others so as to maintain discipline. He split families apart, banished young male members from the church, and took young girls to be his own brides. He even banned socializing, most technologies, as well as contact with the outside world.
Where Are Warren Jeffs Wives Now?
When in 2011, Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for raping minors, some of his wives were happy while some stood behind him to support him. His 65th wife, Brielle Decker, who had run away after she was forced to marry him at the age of 18, ended up getting the keys to his 3-acre property in Colorado City, Arizona, after his sentence. She subsequently went ahead to turn it into a global non-profit refuge organization by the name of The Dream Center.
A few of his wives, who are Canadian natives and were forced into marriage with him when they were just kids, still appear to be loyal to him. According to Desert News, a couple of Warren’s other wives were even caught trying to sneak contrabands to him in prison to make his life more comfortable. Unfortunately, it is not known exactly how many of his wives are still faithful to him or how many of them saw their chance and left to start a new life for themselves.
Read More: Where is Warren Jeffs Now?
