Caroline Cooke




Caroline Cooke

15-year-old Caroline Cooke ran away from her home in April, 2001 because she was afraid that she was going to be forced to become a child bride of Warren Jeffs. Her father had 3 wives and 23 children. His second wive Roberta had a daughter named Afton, whom Marvin took as his 3rd wife. 3 more sisters, who considered Marvin Cooke to be their stepfather, begged for outside marriage "placements", one at age 15 to avoid following Afton's fate of marrying her own stepfather. 45-year-old Warren Jeffs was counseling Caroline once a week for 30 minutes, from the 2nd to the 6th grade, when she was pulled from school. She believed he was grooming her to become one more of his many wives. Caroline decided to run away instead. The local Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith gave her back to her father on condition that he would let her leave the religion and live with an uncle. Caring people intervened on her behalf and were able to get this uncle of Caroline’s, who is not a polygamist, to file for a power of attorney and take custody of her as guardian. She went to live with her uncle’s family and attended school. Today, she is happily married and living with the rights and privilages the rest of U.S. citizens know. Caroline is one of the lucky ones to escape. Below are some articles discussing Caroline's ordeal to escape becoming a "Child Bride".


Teen girl runs from Colorado City
By Angie Parkinson The Spectrum Originally published April 1, 2001
ST. GEORGE — A Colorado City teen-age girl left her home, in part, to avoid an arranged marriage. The 15-year-old said she decided at age of 14 that she did not want to stay in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). She said she was being groomed to become a wife to Warren Jeffs, high-ranking FLDS official and son of FLDS prophet Rulon Jeffs. The teen was on vacation in Salt Lake City last week when her father called to say her brother would be picking her up. She did not want to return to Colorado City and decided to stay with a cousin in Salt Lake City, beginning Saturday. Her cousin contacted Hurricane resident Jay Beswick, an advocate with the child abuse prevention organization For Kids Sake, and St. George resident Les Zitting, who is trying to start a support group for those who want to leave the FLDS church. Zitting — who is also the girl’s great uncle — and Beswick met the teen and her cousin in Fillmore. The teen stayed at Beswick’s and then Zitting’s home from Monday until Wednesday. Zitting contacted the police Wednesday after he received a threatening phone call. Read more


Teen-Age Girl Flees Polygamous Family But Is Sent Back
The Associated Press Originally published April 6, 2001
ST. GEORGE, -- A 15-year-old girl who ran away from her polygamous family, saying they planned to force her into an arranged marriage, was returned to her family Thursday by Washington County authorities. People who helped the girl run away said her family told her they had planned her marriage to Warren Jeffs, the No. 2 leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the son of its top leader, Rulon Jeffs. The sect is based in the border communities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. Activists and sympathetic family members contacted state and county officials to arrange protective custody. "We had offered [to] the Sheriff's Department that we would provide shelter and were waiting to hear whether they were going to provide shelter, and we never heard from them," Janina Chilton of the Utah Department of Human Services told KSL-TV. "We just found out the girl had been released back to her family, so we will certainly start an investigation at this point." Read more


Runaway case elicits criticism
By Jennifer Dobner Deseret Morning News Originally published April 7, 2001
A Salt Lake anti-polygamy group says the Utah Division of Child and Family Services should have been called to interview a 15-year-old Arizona runaway before the girl was returned to her parents by the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Had a child protection caseworker talked with the girl, she might now be in the protective custody of the state and not living in fear of being forced into an arranged marriage, said Doug White, an attorney for Tapestry Against Polygamy. The girl, who fled a friend's home in Salt Lake City last weekend, told White that her father had already arranged a polygamous marriage for her. The family lives in Colorado City, Ariz., and is allegedly involved in the polygamous sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The girl is reportedly supposed to marry Warren Jeffs, one of the fundamentalist church leaders. "I did talk to the child and ascertained that she was fearful," White said Friday. "In fact the father had said he would tell her the time and the place (of the marriage) and that she would have no voice, she would consent. Within five minutes of talking with her I was on the phone to child protective services." But officials in the Washington County Sheriff's Office refused an offer from DCFS to shelter the girl and conduct an investigation, saying they were going to work it out with the parents, said Abel Ortiz, DCFS director of Child Protective Services. Had DCFS assumed custody of the girl, a shelter hearing would have been held and a juvenile court judge would have the authority to determine the girl's future. Read more


Teen-age girls flee fundamentalist sect to avoid polygamy
By C.G. Wallace Star-Tribune Originally published August 24, 2001
Salt Lake City -- One of the first things Caroline Cooke did after she escaped from her polygamist community was cut her knee-length hair to an above-the-shoulder bob. She also traded her full-length dresses for sleeveless shirts and shorts. They were radical and symbolic moves for the 15-year-old girl who walked away from her family and religion, which encourages pioneer-style long hair and long dresses for women. Cooke left the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of the country's largest polygamist groups, four months ago because she feared she soon would be married to a man three times her age who already had more than a dozen wives. "I just feel free. I get to listen to music, to watch TV, to look on the Internet. For the first time in my life I get my own room," said Cooke, who now lives with her uncle's family in rural southwestern Colorado. Read more




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