Polygamy Sect Leader on FBI Wanted List

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The FBI announced Saturday it has placed polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, hoping the additional exposure and reward money leads to an arrest in the long-running investigation.

Jeffs, 50, is the leader of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in the state line communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

The sect split from mainstream Mormonism after the broader church renounced polygamy in 1890. The mainstream LDS church excommunicates members found to be practicing polygamy.

Jeffs is wanted in Arizona on criminal charges of sexual conduct with a minor. He also was charged in Utah with rape as an accomplice. He is accused of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men."

more


Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

<snip>

"Investigators say that Colorado City, Ariz. is a community that's been living in servitude and secrets. The Arizona Attorney General's Office and the FBI began investigating reports of child abuse, domestic violence, incest and polygamy that stem from a powerful congregation called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and its leader, Warren Jeffs.

According to the FBI, Jeffs took control of Colorado City ten years ago and over time started similar communities in Utah, Texas, and Mexico. Mojave County Attorney General's Office investigators say that Jeffs' teachings and sermons were designed to keep his flock loyal, unquestioning, and living in fear of reprisals. For years, law enforcement officials were unable to move against Jeffs since his followers refused to testify against him."

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=33750

[jeff30997]

1. "keep his flock loyal, unquestioning, and living in fear of reprisals"

Mmm...Sounds familiar isn't it?

[Erika]

2. Mormon vote 98.9% GOP

Says it all.

[djg21]

22. These clowns ARE NOT "LDS" or "Mormon.

They are FUNDAMENTALIST Mormon, and actually have been excommunicated from the mainstream Mormon church.

[Judi Lynn]

3. You may have seen a young man on cable news recently, who has

gone public, and stated Warren Jeffs and Seth Jeffs, his brother both raped him. They are the uncles of this young man, Brent Jeffs. This really adds a new twist to these characters who acquire and trade women like baseball cards.

Did a quick trip to google and grabbed the first thing I saw which addresses this subject. It's a LTTE to the Phoenix NewTimes:

~snip~
referring to Hildale, Utah, resident and Mormon fundamentalist Prophet Warren Jeffs, who, Dougherty proved in his last exhaustive article, is not only corrupt and a pedophile but is also a homosexual rapist. Of his own nephew!

How can even the faithful in the polygamist communities of Hildale and Colorado City continue to support him after this sickening detail? Granted it's only in a lawsuit, but why would the, uh, holy man's own kin lie about something like that? I'm sure the young man had to work up the courage to come forward. And, as Dougherty noted, it only happened after young Jeffs' brother killed himself (probably because his uncles had gang-raped him for all those years).
(snip)

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2005-10-06/news/letters.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Article on Brent Jeffs:

Alta Academy Video Brings Back Ugly Memories for Jeffs' Nephew
April 15th, 2006 @ 8:06pm

~snip~
Brent says his other two brothers were also sexually abused in this building. One of them, Clayne, committed suicide a few years ago.
(snip/)

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=218036

[GoddessOfGuinness]

9. Culture of life at its finest.

:cry: Those poor children...

[mdelaguna2000]

4. Sounds like Tom Hanks' "Big Love" show on HBO.

Interesting.

[Copperred]

5. Consensual crimes should not be illegal.

O' Land of the Free....

[distantearlywarning]

6. I don't know about you

but to my mind that principle only counts when both the "consensual" participants are adults. It's hard for me to see how anyone can condone what amounts to the seduction and rape of 13-14 year old children by a fully adult man who is likely in his 40s. I don't think it's his polygamy that people have the big problem with, and the episode of AMW last night didn't focus on that but rather his tendency to engage in that behavior with very young, often unwilling teenage girls who were forced into the polygamous marriage by their parents. Oh, maybe also the fact that he fleeced his followers to buy himself things like an airplane. And also perhaps the defrauding of social services programs in Arizona and Utah. And the fact that he has thrown many teenage boys on to the streets without a penny because they might have courted some of the dozens of young girls he takes as wives. And maybe the fact that he raped his own young male relatives when they were children.

But, hey, it's a free country, right? Why is poor Warren Jeffs being prosecuted for those "consensual crimes"? Poor him. Somebody ought to help him. :nopity:

Just as an aside, I once worked as a social worker in northern Arizona. Our office was the primary point of contact for the town of Hilldale, the sister city to Colorado City (Jeffs' town) across the border in Arizona. I met many of the young women who were living these polygamous marriages, and some of their husbands. I can personally confirm, at least anecdotally, that some of the things that Warren Jeffs is accused of doing are likely true, based on my own experience. On many occasions, I personally witnessed older men bringing multiple very young girls into my office to apply for various social benefits, claiming they were his "sisters" or "nieces" or similar. These girls were sometimes as young as 14 or 15, and all of them had babies or young children. It was a well-known secret that they were the wives of the man who brought them or another man back home, and that they were often committing welfare fraud by claiming to be unwed mothers to receive social benefits (and guess who gets the money - that's right, the leaders of the community like Warren Jeffs). Although it's true that none of these girls ever stood up in the waiting room and said, "help, help, I've been kidnapped, please help me", I can tell you that many of them looked depressed, beaten down, unhappy, and sometimes frightened. I suspect that most of them were trained from birth to be submissive and unquestioning, which in my opinion, would not allow them to make a truly "consensual" decision about when and how they wanted to marry in their communities. If you read some of the stories out there from the adult women who made a choice to leave, you will find that even women in their 20s and 30s find it a superhuman task mentally and physically to leave (because they are watched over by other members of the community), which makes it arguable that they have truly "consented" either.

[Coventina]

8. Educate yourself on the situation of these people.

What is going on is child rape, abuse, extortion, and all kinds of financial crimes.

We are not talking about a bunch of mature, consenting adults who freely choose an alternative lifestyle.

[951-Riverside]

10. He sodimized a 6 year old boy, kidnapped and raped little girls

but I guess thats okay with you, Warren.

[LostinVA]

11. I don't consider forcing young teeneaged girls to marry

middle-aged men consensual. I consider that child rape. I don't consider trading women from one man to another to "reward" the men consensual. I don't consider making young girls marry and have sex with their own uncles, stepfathers, etc. consensual. I consider all of this child rape, slavery, rape. And, that's not even talking about exiling teenage boys alone in other cities, because they are competition for the "Prophet's" favored men. Or the violence, government fraud, and child negligence (no school, etc.) these people proclaim.

It's sickening, and is NOT consensual.

'm gay, and would like nothing better than to be able to legally marry my SO of almost 12 years, and it pisses me off when people use the FLDS to try to "bolster" gay marriage. That is beyond apples and oranges.

[blondeatlast]

12. You seriously need to look into this sect--this ain't consenting adults--

not to mention welfare fraud, stockpiling arms, etc.

Jana Bommersbach has written extrensively about it--here's a link:

http://www.janabommersbach.com/pm-fea-may04.htm

[theHandpuppet]

13. The only thing your response indicates...

... is that you really don't know anything about Jeffs and his "church". There's nothing "consensual" about what goes on there. I suggest you read up on the subject before offering up such a flippant response.

[VelmaD]

7. I wish they would get their terms straight...this is NOT polygamy...

Polygamy is having more than one spouse...of either gender.

A system that only allows men to have multiple wives is polygyny.

A system that only allows women to have multiple husbands is polyandry.

What is practice in the case in question is NOT polygamy...only the men are allowed more than one wife. It is polyandry. *sigh*

[Gormy Cuss]

30. VelmaD --there's an error in your post.

I believe your last line should read "It is polygyny."
Polygamy is also a correct term although less precise.

[NaturalHigh]

14. Has anyone here read "Under the Banner of Heaven"?

This group, and the splinter groups that have broken off and formed, are seriously messed up. The book actually came out before the Warren Jeffs case broke, but it contains a lot of good information about the FLDS.

[anitar1]

16. I read it and thought it was very well written and informative.

I've read many books over the years about this problem. I lived in St George ,Utah for about a year and would see the pregnant "wives" with all their children trailing through town shopping.They were never alone. And always in long calico dresses.Nothing has ever been done about this problem. The Latter Day Saints accept it as a normal situation. Probably all have relatives in the cult. Women are nothing more than brood mares to these men. The glory for them is having their "seed" multiply.

[NaturalHigh]

17. When you say...

The Latter Day Saints accept it as a normal situation, do you mean the Fundamentalist LDS or the more mainstream Mormons? To be honest, I don't think I know any Mormons, but I have had a few come to my door. One of them gave me The Book of Mormon, which I never got around to reading.

[triguy46]

26. As pointed out in the book...

the LDS have a history of having official public policies, yet either endorsing contrary positions tacitly or by de facto. In short, they have been known to say one thing and doing another. I'm not sure if the Utah AG has pursued any of these cases on his turf. Must not be able to find them. Or isn't looking. Or doesn't see it as a problem. Or denies that it exists.

[Scurrilous]

15. Behold the 'prophet'...

UNLAWFUL FLIGHT TO AVOID PROSECUTION - SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH A MINOR, CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH A MINOR; RAPE AS AN ACCOMPLICE

WARREN STEED JEFFS





DESCRIPTION

Date of Birth: December 3, 1955

Hair: Brown

Place of Birth: San Francisco, California

Eyes: Brown

Height: 6'3" to 6'4"

Complexion: Light

Weight: 150 to 155 pounds

Sex: Male

Build: Slim

Race: White

Occupations: Private school teacher, Accountant

Nationality: American

Scars and Marks: None known

Remarks: Warren Jeffs is the leader of a polygamous sect known as the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and is considered a "prophet" by his estimated 10,000 followers. Jeffs has ties to the following areas: Utah; Arizona; Texas; Colorado; South Dakota; British Columbia, Canada; and Quintana Roo, Mexico. Additionally, Jeffs may travel with a number of loyal and armed bodyguards. He may also wear glasses.

CAUTION
WARREN STEED JEFFS, THE LEADER OF A POLYGAMOUS SECT, IS WANTED FOR THE ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT ON A MINOR IN 2002. HE IS ALSO WANTED FOR ONE COUNT OF CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH A MINOR IN 2002. THE ALLEGED OFFENSES TOOK PLACE IN THE VICINITY OF COLORADO CITY, ARIZONA. ADDITIONALLY, JEFFS IS WANTED FOR RAPE AS AN ACCOMPLICE IN UTAH.


CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/jeff_ws.htm

[Scurrilous]

18. Tips trickle in after TV show on Jeffs

<snip>

"The national spotlight shined on Warren Jeffs on Saturday night.

And the result?

"America's Most Wanted" won't say how many tips it has received after an episode featuring the fugitive polygamous sect leader was aired Saturday on the popular crime show, but the FBI reported a "limited number" of calls to its Salt Lake City office.

Jeffs, wanted in Utah and Arizona on sex-abuse charges, was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitives list Saturday, less than an hour before the show aired. CNN quickly reported the listing on its Web site -even a news site in India picked up the story.

Avery Mann, a spokesman for "America's Most Wanted," said in an e-mail the show's re-enactment of the Jeffs case was one of the longest it had ever aired, coming in at more than 15 minutes."

more

[DUHandle]

19. A big, steaming pile of bull$h1t

Make a list of problems.

Polygamy wouldn't even be on it.

[theHandpuppet]

20. This is not so much a case of polygamy

As it is the forced sex slavery of minor women and girls. Please read up on this cult before you dismiss this as just a case of "polygamy" -- which, among truly *consenting adults*, is not an issue with which I have a problem.

[DUHandle]

24. I was not sufficiently clear - my bad

Jeffs’ is an O.K. candidate for the most wanted list and I did read a while ago about his group: bad people lead by a bad man.

My choice of the word polygamy was not the best either.

For clarification then: of all of the truly bad stuff coming down in this country, sure, put the name of a man who has not been seen publicly in two years on the FBI most wanted list.

Get some visibility for the agency at a time when Federal Agencies are under question for efficiency and don’t bother to wonder why it took so long

Just make certain that it doesn’t divert attention from other, less visible issues. That are as important or more important.

[Cooley Hurd]

21. Child abuse and molestation IS a problem...

...not to mention the inherent sexism in the concept of polygamy.

[LostinVA]

27. No, but child rape, incest, and the subjugation of women would

At least on my list.

[Dragonbreathp9d]

23. WHY IS HE ON TOP 10?!?!?!

He hasnt murdered anyone to my knowlege, smells fishy

[bleedingheart]

25. arranging the marriages of pedophiles to young girls...

that is why...

[LostinVA]

28. child rape, incest, subjugation of women, fraud, child abandonment

[Beaverhausen]

31. When is the last time you looked at the Ten Most Wanted?

They aren't all murderers. And besides, I have the feeling they knew if they did this they would catch him pretty quickly. Looks like they might. And I say...good!

[rememberearth]

29. YAY!

He's a sick one. Have you seen his followers?:crazy:
I feel for them that they bought into it. Fifteen year olds marrying Fiftyfour year olds, basically being forced to by their fathers. Not to mention the incest. AND still these poor women defend it.