Warren Jeffs sentenced to life for child sex abuse

By: Camille Mann
Topics: Daily Blotter

Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is escorted into the Tom Green County Courthouse, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011, in San Angelo, Texas

/ AP Photo

(CBS/AP) Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what his church deemed "spiritual marriages."

The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stood quietly as the decision of the Texas jury was read. He received the maximum sentence on both counts

The jury deliberated less than half an hour.

The 55-year-old Jeffs was convicted Thursday.

Police had raided the group's remote West Texas ranch in April 2008, finding women dressed in frontier-style dresses and hairdos from the 19th century as well as seeing underage girls who were clearly pregnant. The call to an abuse hotline that spurred the raid turned out to be a hoax, and more than 400 children who had been placed in protective custody were eventually returned to their families.

Jeffs has claimed he was the victim of religious persecution. The FLDS, which has at least 10,000 members nationwide, is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism.

Jeffs represented himself after firing seven attorneys in the six months leading to the trial. He broke his courtroom silence with an objection marked by a nearly hourlong speech defending polygamy, and twice threatened the judge and the court with warnings of punishment from God.

Eleven other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy. The seven others who have already been prosecuted were convicted, receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years.

Complete coverage of Warren Jeffs on Crimesider

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by phwtb August 12, 2011 8:46 AM EDT: This is NOT a Christian man. He is just one more sick SOB that was never made to STOP doing what he was doing. I think they should have arrested those girls' fathers too! They should have killed this pig the second he laid a hand on their daughters!!; Reply to this comment


by talita-koomi August 11, 2011 1:38 PM EDT: The Mormon religion is WAY wacked and in NO way consistent with the foundational beliefs of Christianty, despite their claims. The man who began the whole charade, Joseph Smith, was arrested and convicted of Fraud as a young man for using a "peep-stone" in an upside-down hat, which he'd put his face against and "read", to dupe farmers out of money by claiming he could find "Indian treasure" with it on their lands. His mother was deeply into the occult and passed her beliefs on to her children. One day Joe found some particularly pretty white sand at the foot of a tree. He decided to take some home and so put it in a box, and the box in a bag & headed home. When his family saw the bag and asked what was inside, the pathological liar Joseph Smith said he had found ancient gold plates, bound together in book form, with "heiroglyphic writing by God" on them. To his amazement, they believed him! When they wanted to see this wonder (naturally!), he had to come up w/ a reason why they couldn't and so told them that the plates were given by God for his eyes only, and if anyone else tried to view them, they'd become SAND before the box was open. Pretty slick, and believable to a handful of superstitious, ignorant farmers that formed the basis of the farce that is LDS. My info comes from an EXCELLENT biography about Smith written by Fawn M. Brody (a now deceased former UCLA professor) who did meticulous research on the book, titled,"No Man Knows My History". It is a fascinating read for anyone who wants to know more about 19th century America, and how the independence movement helped provide a push for this particular, bizarre religion, which is the fastest-growing on the planet, I am sorry to say. Hey, who WOULDN'T want to rule over their own universe as a "god" with a multiple of wives, making "spirit babies" to be born on various Earths! Wasn't that the snake/satan's big promise to Eve? "You shall be like God." The great Lie...and man has been trying to make himself into a god, instead of following The God, ever since. Pride and selfishness vs. humility and sacrifice- this is what divides those who follow the shepherd from those sheep who THINK they've got it all and go off on their own. Resist those clean young Mormon missionaries! Poor kids work for the Father of Lies and don't even know it.; Reply to this comment


by NotPartyControlled August 11, 2011 11:49 AM EDT: A religious pervert is still just a pervert. At least this one got caught.; Reply to this comment


by darkknight_55 August 10, 2011 7:24 AM EDT: Gotta love it when a pedophile says that he's a victim of religious persecution.
Glad that he got the maximum sentence, but I have sympathies for those poor girls that were brainwashed into thinking that his actions were alright. They are screwed up for life as well.; Reply to this comment


by Jaylah54 August 10, 2011 3:12 AM EDT: Which means he'll be out on parole and sexually assaulting other female children in what...about 5 years?; Reply to this comment


by djseavy August 10, 2011 12:36 AM EDT: I fully agree with those who say this has nothing whatsoever to do with religion. It's about an out-of-control child molester that hide behind religion (The term religion being liberally construed these days). He is going right where he belongs.; Reply to this comment

by Ericwvb August 9, 2011 11:56 PM EDT

The jury spent 29 minutes getting their coffee and one minute deliberating.

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by gbgentleman August 10, 2011 12:27 PM EDT: Actually the head of the jury needed to finish his Sudoku puzzle before he could lead the vote.


by diamruby August 9, 2011 10:33 PM EDT: The "Mormons" do still believe & practice polyogamy but because of the Government must pretend it is against their religion now. Religious cult clubs brain wash their members from birth & pass it on to each generation. They use fear to control their members lives, some of these cults use severe forms of punishment to keep control. Our government & law enforcement officials are fully aware of who, what & where these cults are but choose to ignore it. Children are at the mercy of the adults around them & the parents are sacrificing their lives to these religious nuts for their personal pleasure. All of the adults, men & women, are guilty & should be punished. These children are not allowed any freedom, no education, no childhood fun & games, they only know that they are born to be abused; sexually, physically & mentally by a "Choosen One". What they do not know is that this lunatic thrives on the power of control, money, greed, sexual abuse on chilren of either sex. He is so insane, like "Hitler" that he is worshipped for the pain & suffering on others. Lets not forget either that all these cults are tax free, they all live on welfare with their multiple children with many medical problems due to incest & abuse. No one cares if adults want to all live together in one big happy unlimited sexual partner family, what we do care about is the producing of children to abuse & the use of our tax dollars to support you. Jeffs is in the same league as the recent child sex porn group arrested, we all need to work together to prosecute & eliminate them.; Reply to this comment


by doctor_know August 9, 2011 10:14 PM EDT: So where is this God of yours now Warren?; Reply to this comment


by tryhonesty August 9, 2011 9:28 PM EDT: The most important next move by Texas is to introduce the Moron to the general prison population. THEN, true justice will be served.; Reply to this comment