The evidence against polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs
 
Reported by: Brent Hunsaker
ABC 4 News
Warren Jeffs

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Warren Jeffs remained in jail in Kingman, Arizona, Friday evening. Now that a judge there has dismissed the last of the charges against him, the prophet of the largest polygamist group in North America is awaiting transfer back to the Utah State Prison where he is serving two, consecutive sentences of 5-to-life for being an accomplice to rape.

How long he will stay in Utah is open for debate. Texas authorities want him to stand trial for child rape. A conviction there could guarantee that Jeffs would spend the rest of his life in prison.

No Texas warrant has been received by the Utah Department of Corrections, but with stakes high, members of Jeff's legal team have already sent notice they will fight extradition.

How strong is the Texas case against Jeffs? "Very strong," answers Carolyn Jessop. She was once married to polygamist leader Merril Jessop who was a counselor to Jeffs and runs the Texas ranch. She has been following the Texas case very closely since it is alleged that Merril Jessop gave his 12-year old daughter to Warren Jeffs as a "spiritual wife."

"A lot of these girls were hurt," said Jessop who still confessed shock her ex-husband would give up a little girl to supposedly be raped by Jeffs. "I realized Merril had the ability to commit some really horrific crimes. I naively assumed he might protect his daughters when it came to that level of abuse."

"When I left, Warren was marrying girls as young as 14," Jessop continued. "I didn't think he'd take it below that. But when I realized he'd married my step-daughter who had barely turned 12 ... it's heartbreaking."

Texas prosecutors have already given a good indication of the evidence they have against Jeffs through filings in other cases. That evidence includes photo albums full of what they say are wedding pictures of Jeffs and his child brides. There is also DNA evidence that may link Jeffs to babies born to some of those child brides.

Carolyn Jessop was scheduled to testify in one of the Arizona cases against Jeffs. But from the beginning, she had doubts about the strength of both the case and the Mohave County prosecutor. "When the prosecuting attorney is making excuses for why he's going to lose the case, you're a little concerned about being on that stand testifying."

But she has no such misgivings about the case and the prosecutor in Texas. The Attorney General of Texas has handled all five cases against FLDS men so far and has a perfect record: Two plea bargains involving jail time and three jury convictions. She observed, "Warren going to Texas and being tried as a rapist and especially in the circumstances in the two cases that Texas has, this is Warren's worst nightmare. Once he goes to Texas it's over. The truth is going to come out about who he is, that, yes, these children were being hurt."

Reporter's note: Since leaving the life of a polygamist wife in Colorado City, Carolyn Jessop has written two books. Her latest is entitled: Triumph: Life After the Cult - A Survivor's Lessons

To read more about the book, click here.
 
ABC4.com
Originally broadcast June 12, 2010
 
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