Elissa Wall




Elissa Wall

In December 2005, a very brave young lady named Elissa Wall filed a lawsuit against Warren Jeffs because he had forced her into an underage marriage when she was only 14 years old. In 2001, Warren told Elissa that she had to marry her 19-year-old FIRST COUSIN, although she begged Warren not to make her do it. Since marriage to a first cousin at age 14 is illegal in Utah, theirs was not a legally recognized marriage. However, to Elissa it felt like a legal marriage. In this lawsuit, Warren was accused of using his influence as a church leader to coerce this little girl to enter this illegal religious union and have sex with her first cousin, over her objections. Warren had told her that she risked her salvation if she refused to have sexual relations with her husband. It was this civil lawsuit that later became the basis for Warren's charge of being an accomplice to rape. Below are some articles on Elissa's courage to stand up for her rights to not be forced into an underage marriage with her first cousin.


New lawsuit filed against polygamist leader Warren Jeffs
The Associated Press News 6 - Corpus Christi, Texas Originally published December 13, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY -- A woman who claims she was forced as a young teenager to marry a much older man to fulfill her duties as a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is now suing church leader Warren Jeffs, accusing him of arranging the union. The civil lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Cedar City's 5th District Court, Court Executive Rick Davis said. The case will be heard by Judge Michael Westfall but has not been scheduled for a hearing. The lawsuit names Jeffs and the FLDS church corporation as defendants, asks for a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages for the woman, who in court papers is identified only as "M.J." "The nonconsensual spiritual marriage, the required sexual relations and M.J.'s resulting pregnancies have been physically and emotionally devastating to M.J," court documents state. The lawsuit contends that Jeffs performed the marriage ceremony without her consent and then commanded her and her new husband to "multiply and replenish the Earth." It also contends Jeffs conspired to commit battery and sexual abuse on a child because M.J. was too young to be legally married in Utah. Read more


Victim in Jeffs case is also suing him
Settlement talks under way in other lawsuits against FLDS leader
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The woman at the center of the criminal prosecution against Warren Jeffs is the same woman who has filed a multi-million dollar personal injury lawsuit against him. Lawyers for "M.J." confirmed Tuesday that she is "Jane Doe No. 4" in Washington County's case against Jeffs. It was revealed in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court, when her lawyers announced she has placed her civil lawsuit on hold until the criminal prosecution of Jeffs is over. "The M.J. case and any settlement is complicated by the criminal prosecution," lawyer Roger Hoole said Tuesday. Greg Hoole, who is also representing "M.J.," said they did not want to undermine the criminal prosecution of Jeffs with a civil lawsuit. "It's not about the lawsuit for her," he told the Deseret Morning News on Tuesday. "It's about helping people and making sure that Warren's behind bars." Prosecutors in St. George refused to comment on it. "I won't confirm or deny," said deputy Washington County Attorney Brian Filter. Read more


'M.J.' seeks a default ruling against Jeffs
Does nonresponse by FLDS chief point to guilt?
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Friday, January 12, 2007
A personal-injury lawsuit accusing Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs of forcing a teenage girl into a marriage with her cousin may be over before it even gets started. Lawyers for the woman, known as "M.J." in court documents, are asking a judge to grant them a default judgment. "We had hoped that Mr. Jeffs would find the courage and decency to respond to M.J.'s allegations. He has chosen not to respond," attorney Roger Hoole told the Deseret Morning News on Wednesday. "That speaks for itself." The court papers filed last week in Cedar City's 5th District Court ask for a hearing to determine how much Jeffs and the FLDS Church should pay. "M.J." is also "Jane Doe IV," the star witness in the criminal case against Jeffs. She claims that at age 14 she was forced into a marriage with her 19-year-old cousin. The woman's captivating testimony about her quick wedding and her many pleas to Jeffs to release her from the marriage led to the FLDS leader being ordered to stand trial in April on two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. Read more


FLDS trust objects to a default
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, February 4, 2007
While Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is remaining silent on a personal-injury lawsuit filed against him, lawyers for the polygamist church's financial arm are registering their objections. In court papers filed in Cedar City's 5th District Court, lawyers for the United Effort Plan Trust registered an objection to a request for a default judgment against Jeffs, the FLDS Church and the UEP. A woman known in the lawsuit as "M.J." claims that at age 14, she was forced by Jeffs to marry her 19-year-old cousin. "M.J." is also known in criminal court papers as "Jane Doe IV," and is expected to testify against Jeffs when he faces a charge of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. Jeffs, 51, is scheduled for an April trial in St. George. Lawyers for "M.J." have asked for a default judgment in the civil case, saying Jeffs and the FLDS Church have not responded to their lawsuit. In court papers obtained by the Deseret Morning News, lawyers for the $110 million UEP Trust said they fear that "M.J." wants to hold them "jointly and severally liable for the conduct of the defaulting defendants." Read more


Potential-witness list released for Jeffs' trial
Wednesday is start date if jury is formed by then
By Nancy Perkins and Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published September 8, 2007
ST. GEORGE — Attorneys for jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs released a long list of potential witnesses on Friday that includes family members and friends of the woman known in court filings as "Jane Doe IV." Jeffs is charged with two first-degree felony counts of rape as an accomplice for his 2001 role in joining Doe, then 14, and her 19-year-old cousin together in a spiritual marriage. The bride testified during a preliminary hearing that she didn't want to marry her cousin and objected to having a "husband and wife" relationship with him. Fifth District Judge James L. Shumate instructed about 230 people who arrived at the Dixie Center in St. George about the jury selection process before asking them to be sworn in and fill out a questionnaire. The original jury pool of 300 had already been whittled down after more than 30 people were earlier excused by the judge for various reasons and another 30 or so didn't show up to answer the 75 questions posed to the group. The judge dismissed another seven people on Friday following an initial introduction and screening of the film, "Selected to Serve." Among the potential jurors were elderly men and women, one of whom was sobbing while filling out the form before she was released by the judge. Each person was assigned a time to report to court next week when individual interviews will be conducted by the attorneys and judge. If a panel of eight jurors and two alternates can be seated, the trial is expected to begin on Wednesday and last until Sept. 21. Read more


Polygamy leader told rape victim to repent
By Alexandria Sage Reuters Originally published Friday, September 14, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah (Reuters) - A young woman told a Utah court on Friday she wanted to die after being forced into sex at age 14 in a marriage arranged by one of the biggest U.S. polygamous sects. But the self-styled prophet of the breakaway Mormon clan told her she was disobedient and needed to repent and submit to her new husband, the woman testified. The woman, now 21, testified she had never been kissed or had a boyfriend before the 2001 wedding to her 19-year-old cousin and locked herself in the bathroom after the ceremony. The wedding was presided over by Warren Jeffs, 51, the leader and self-described "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, a breakaway Mormon sect that practices polygamy. Jeffs is on trial on two counts of being an accomplice to rape, a charge he denies. Jeffs is not charged with polygamy but the trial has focused attention on the practice and his secretive sect, whose approximately 7,500 members live in an isolated enclave on the Utah-Arizona border. The woman, who cannot be identified, said she begged her husband not to touch her as he undressed her one night soon after their wedding. "I can't do this, please don't,'" she said she told her husband. "I was sobbing. My whole entire body was shaking I was so scared. He didn't stop. He just laid me onto the bed and had sex." Read more


Teen Bride Cross-Examined in Second Week of Polygamist Warren Jeffs Trial
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press FOX News Originally published Monday, September 17, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah — A young woman who said she was forced to enter an arranged marriage at age 14 testified Monday that she never complained to her mother or sisters that she was being raped. "I never told anyone," the woman, now 21, said during cross-examination at the trial of polygamous-sect leader Warren Jeffs. Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice. Prosecutors say he used his influence to push the girl into a ceremonial marriage with a 19-year-old cousin in 2001 and force her to have sex. Last week the woman testified that she sobbed through the wedding and had to be coaxed by Jeffs and her mother when asked to say "I do." She hid in a bathroom after the ceremony at a Nevada motel. Defense attorney Tara Isaacson challenged her earlier testimony and her statements to police in 2006. The woman said Jeffs never specifically spoke to her about having sex because the FLDS faithful didn't use that word. She acknowledged her mother had a "great deal of influence" on her to go ahead with the marriage ceremony. The woman has been the only witness through nearly three days of trial. She recalled last week how she avoided sex for weeks but could no longer deny her husband when he said it was "time for you to be a wife and do your duty." Read more


Husband says girl initiated sex, Jeffs trial hears
By Daphne Bramham Vancouver Sun Originally published Thursday, September 20, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah - It all comes down to credibility in the trial of Warren Jeffs, the prophet of the largest polygamous group in North America. He is charged with two counts of being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old girl by her 19-year-old cousin. Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, officiated at their arranged marriage and later gave them marriage counselling. Her cousin, Allen Steed, who has never been charged with rape, testified Wednesday. Steed wept on the stand as he talked about how he loved his wife, who CanWest News Service is identifying as Jane Doe to protect her privacy. He denied ever having raped her and that the first time that they had intercourse - which Doe said was the first time she was raped - Doe initiated sex. "I came home. I was putting in long hours at my job and I was really, really tired," the sturdily-built, soft-spoken Steed said. "I went to sleep in my work clothes and as the night progressed, she woke me up and asked me if I cared about her and I said I loved her. She rolled up close to me and asked me to scratch her back and one thing led to another." He said he found himself "guided to her" and they had sex. Under cross-examination, Steed corrected when the first sexual contact happened. Initially he said it was nearly two months after the wedding. But shown a photo of a trip they made to Canada three weeks after the wedding, Steed said the sexual contact was before that time. He testified that he had been counselled by Doe's stepfather to "take it slowly" with the 14-year-old. One of the few conversations he and his "wife" - they were not legally married - had about sex was in relation to having children. Steed said Doe told him she wanted to wait to have children. Read more


Warren Jeffs' accuser no longer anonymous
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published September 21, 2007
ST. GEORGE — Her name is Elissa Wall. The woman at the center of the case against Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs made her name known today, when her attorneys released a photograph of her at age 14 — the age she was when she claims she was forced into a marriage with her 19-year-old cousin. "It's important to keep in mind that she's a 14-year-old girl when this occurred," said her attorney, Greg Hoole. "This picture helps people keep that in mind." Wall, now 21, was relieved to see the trial go to the jury late this afternoon, Hoole said. "She's doing well," he said. The jury is now deliberating whether Jeffs is guilty or innocent of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. Jeffs is accused of performing a marriage between Wall and her 19-year-old cousin, Allen Steed, at a Caliente, Nev., motel room in 2001. As the prosecution's star witness, Wall presented a heartbreaking case against Jeffs. She testified she did not want to be married to her cousin, and begged Jeffs to be spared from the union. No one, she claims, came to her defense. She said her mother and others betrayed her by insisting she go through with the marriage. Read more


Jeffs follower charged with rape of child bride
From Amanda Townsend and Gary Tuchman CNN Originally published Wednesday, September 26, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah (CNN) -- A young man whose arranged marriage to a young cousin led to the conviction of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was charged Wednesday with her rape. Prosecutors filed the rape charge against Allen Steed, 26, a day after a jury found Jeffs guilty of two rape-accomplice counts in connection with Steed's ill-fated 2001 marriage to Elissa Wall. Jurors found that Jeffs used his authority as leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, to push the girl into a marriage she did not want. Steed was 19 and his bride, who also was his first cousin, was 14 when Jeffs "sealed" them in spiritual marriage at a motel in Caliente, Nevada, where many FLDS weddings were performed. Three other couples also were married that day in separate ceremonies, according to testimony. Steed is accused of having sex with the girl against her will several weeks into the marriage. Steed testified for the defense at Jeffs' trial. He said his new wife was affectionate to him in private, but cold in public. He denied that he or Jeffs had forced sex on her. Wall agreed to be identified publicly as the trial ended in hopes of encouraging other women who feel trapped by polygamy to come forward. She testified that she told Steed she was not ready and that her first sexual encounter made her feel dirty, used and trapped. Her pleas to church leaders to end the marriage were ignored, and Jeffs told her to submit "mind, body and soul" to her new husband, Wall told the jury. Read more


Civil Claim From Jeffs Would Help Girls Escape Polygamy
Elissa Wall and Her Husband, Lamont Barlow, Talk Exclusively to GMA About Life in Sect
Good Morning America ABC News Originally broadcast October 1, 2007
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs faces life in prison thanks to the chilling testimony from Elissa Wall, who said she was forced to marry her 19-year-old cousin when she was 14. Wall is now 21 and remarried to Lamont Barlow, who also left Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, the renegade Mormon group that practices polygamy. While testifying against Jeffs was extremely brave, Wall had already taken the most courageous step of her life by leaving the sect. For her and Barlow, leaving the group meant leaving behind family members and everything they had known before. Wall said today in an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America" that she is still in a sort of emotional exile from her family. "We love so many people from there, and it's really hard for them to understand what we're doing," she said. Read more


Steed is booked into jail, will be in court today
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published October 4, 2007
Allen Steed, who testified on behalf of Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs about Steed's failed marriage to a 14-year-old girl, has been booked into the Purgatory Jail on an arrest warrant. Steed, 26, was booked late Wednesday night by Hildale Town Marshal Helaman Barlow. According to a probable cause statement filed with the jail booking information, Steed contacted Barlow and turned himself in at Hildale town offices. "I get the sense it was a planned thing because he had the money all ready when he turned himself in," Washington County Sheriff's Lt. Jake Adams told the Deseret Morning News this morning. "He was booked in and paid bail and was released within 30 minutes." Steed paid $5,000 bond to be released. "He was booked in exactly the same fashion as anybody else would be," Adams said. "There was no special conditions to his release. He promised to appear in court." Steed has been charged with rape in connection with his marriage to Elissa Wall, the star witness in the case against Jeffs. She testified that at age 14, she was forced to marry Steed in a ceremony presided over by Jeffs. Steed was 19 at the time, and is her first cousin. Read more


Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Gets Maximum Sentence
Edward Lawrence, Reporter KLAS TV Channel 8 - Las Vegas Originally broadcast November 20, 2007
Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs got the maximum sentence under Utah law Tuesday. The 51-yesr-old Jeffs was convicted of two counts of rape as an accomplice in September. The charges stem from his role in arranging the marriage between a then 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin in 2001. Warren Jeffs will spend at least 10 years in prison. Utah law works a little differently. The judge imposed two five-year to life sentences running consecutively, which is the most the judge could sentence him to serve. At some point after 10 years the Utah Board of Pardons will set a parole hearing. But that does not mean Jeffs will get out. The judge in this case was very clear. Utah District Court Judge James Shumate said, "I know from fact that whatever I do today will not make it better. You live under a life sentence. Your courage in carrying on is laudable. You don't have to do it alone." Judge Shumate asked the victim, Elissa Wall, if she wanted any restitution. Elissa said no. Her restitution would be the maximum sentence under Utah law. That is what the judge did. In addition, Judge Shumate imposed a maximum fine under the law of $37,050. The judge came to the decision weighing heavily the victim's statements in court. Elissa Wall said, "I do not seek restitution, nor would I accept it from him. My restitution is knowing that I spoke the truth and you and the justice system have done your job." Read more


With 'prophet' in prison, child bride can heal
The Associated Press CNN Originally published November 21, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) -- To Elissa Wall, seeing polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs sentenced to prison was worth more than the restitution to which she's entitled. It was Wall who testified in September that Jeffs' influence as a church leader trapped her at age 14 in an unwanted marriage in which she was forced into sex against her will. Dabbing at a tear, Wall told state Judge James L. Shumate on Tuesday that seeing Jeffs brought to justice would help her with the healing process more than $5,000 in restitution payments. "My restitution is knowing that I spoke the truth and that you and the justice system have done your job," she told Shumate. Shumate then sentenced Jeffs to two consecutive terms of five years to life in prison for his role in the 2001 spiritual marriage between Wall and her 19-year-old cousin. Now 21, Wall testified against the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in September. A jury convicted Jeffs, 51, of two first-degree felony counts of rape as an accomplice. Although she declined the restitution, which Utah law provides for, she has received more than $16,000 from a state fund and has sued the trust that oversees the FLDS church assets for more than $1 million in cash and property. Read more


9 Jeffs followers get subpoenas
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, November 21, 2007
ST. GEORGE — Elissa Wall strode out of the Washington County Attorney's Office, smiling to herself. As she was escorted by her attorneys into a waiting vehicle, the former child bride declined to comment to a Deseret Morning News reporter on Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs' sentencing. Meanwhile, her multimillion dollar civil lawsuit against Jeffs and the FLDS Church is taking a new twist. Just before he was sentenced on Tuesday, Washington County sheriff's deputies served subpoenas on some of Jeffs' most loyal followers who showed up to lend their support to the FLDS leader. "We did it as a matter of efficiency," said Roger Hoole, one of Wall's attorneys. The subpoenas are seeking depositions in Wall's personal injury lawsuit, which stems from her marriage at age 14 to her 19-year-old cousin. Wall was the prosecution's star witness in the rape as an accomplice case against Jeffs. It was her compelling testimony that led to his conviction. She sued the FLDS leader over the marriage, and defense attorneys pointed out during the criminal trial that Wall hired lawyers before she ever met with police to report a rape. Her lawyers have denied accusations that she is strictly out for money. Nine people were served with the subpoenas. They include former Hildale police officer Rodney Holm, who was convicted of bigamy and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Hoole declined to say why their depositions would be sought. Read more


Child-bride suit set for '09
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, December 19, 2007
A multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by a former child bride against polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs may finally go to trial in 2009. A judge in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court signed a proposed scheduling order on Friday in Elissa Wall's personal injury lawsuit against Jeffs, the Fundamentalist LDS Church and its real estate holdings arm, the United Effort Plan Trust. The order lays out a timetable for the lawsuit, setting a potential trial date for March 2009. "The estimated length of trial is four days," said the order. Attorneys for the court-controlled UEP Trust have filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed against them. They are asking the judge to rule on their motion before the court process commences. The order includes a cap of 20 depositions, each taking no more than seven hours, but an unlimited number of document requests. Read more


Ex-child bride writing tell-all
'Stolen Innocence' is expected in April; will cover Jeffs saga
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The former child bride who helped convict polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has written a book about her life. Elissa Wall's book, tentatively titled "Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Triumphing over Warren Jeffs," is scheduled to be published in April by William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. Pre-order sales for the 288-page book have already showed up on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble's Web site. "It's going to be a great book," Wall's attorney, Roger Hoole, told the Deseret Morning News Monday. "She's never told her story. She's only told little pieces of it." Hoole declined to disclose the terms of Wall's publishing contract and said the book was still in progress. Representatives for the publishing company did not return a call seeking comment. "She hopes it will help a lot of people," Hoole said. "It's her chance to fully tell her story." Read more


Shurtleff deposition set in child-bride suit
By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Monday, May 12, 2008
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff will give a deposition in a former child bride's multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Fundamentalist LDS Church and its leader, Warren Jeffs. Shurtleff confirmed to the Deseret News on Monday that he will be deposed later this month in connection with Elissa Wall's personal injury lawsuit. "They wanted to ask me about a meeting I had in August 2002, when a bunch of representatives of the FLDS tried to talk me out of going forward on investigations of child-bride cases," Shurtleff said Monday. "I don't know how the meeting I had comes into play, but that's what I was told they wanted to ask me about." Wall's attorney, Roger Hoole, declined to say why exactly he needed the attorney general's testimony. "It's going to be a very short deposition," he told the Deseret News. "I need to establish one point." Wall was the star witness in the criminal case that led to Jeffs' conviction in Utah on charges of rape as an accomplice. Jeffs performed a marriage between the then-14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. Jeffs is serving a pair of 5-to-life prison sentences. In Arizona, Jeffs is facing more charges of sexual misconduct and incest, accused of performing similar child-bride marriages. Wall is a witness in one of those cases. The time period that Shurtleff said he will be deposed about was when the state was prosecuting Rodney Holm, an FLDS member and Hildale police officer who was later convicted of unlawful sex with a 16-year-old girl who was his third wife. Shurtleff said he will have to rely on his memory of the 2002 meeting with FLDS representatives. The investigator who sat in on the meeting died, and notes of the meeting cannot be found. Read more


Ex-child bride's book released
By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The former child bride whose testimony led to the conviction of Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is telling her story in a new book. Elissa Wall's much anticipated autobiography, "Stolen Innocence," hit bookstore shelves on Tuesday, at a time when interest in the FLDS is at a national high because of the raid in Texas. The book was published by William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins. Wall devotes most of the 431-page book to her upbringing in the FLDS Church and her marriage that led to the criminal charges being filed against Jeffs, spending the last third devoted to the high-profile trial and her views of it from the witness stand. It was Wall's testimony that led to Jeffs' conviction on charges of rape as an accomplice for performing the marriage between the then-14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. "I wanted to run as Uncle Warren droned on with the vows," she wrote of the wedding ceremony at a Caliente, Nev., motel in 2001. After repeatedly being asked if she took Allen Steed to be her husband, and even having her mother stand beside her, Wall finally responded: "OK. I do." "My soul was broken," she wrote. "I was now going to be Allen's wife for eternity and there was nothing I could do about it." She wrote about attempting suicide the night she first had sex with her new husband, the night she also alleges she was raped. Wall writes in the book that her attempts to be "released" (divorced) from her husband were rebuffed by Jeffs. "Warren knew without a doubt what I was talking about, even though I had no idea how to talk about such personal, secret things with the most powerful man in our community," she wrote. "I didn't even know words such as sex or rape, but I communicated to Warren the only way I could, and I knew that he understood." She was told to go back to her husband, where she said she attempted to make their marriage work, but was secretly miserable. Read more


Attorney objects to teen bride's book, tour
The Associated Press The Spectrum Originally published Wednesday, May 14, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A book and promotional tour by the teen bride who helped convict Warren Jeffs could spoil the jury pool in a criminal case against her former husband, his attorney said. Elissa Wall's book, "Stolen Innocence," was released Tuesday by publisher William Morrow. It chronicles her life, including her time with cousin Allen Steed, whom she describes as having a violent temper and a "calculating and controlling" personality. Steed is charged with raping Wall during their relationship, which was arranged in 2001 by leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect that practices polygamy and arranged marriage. Wall, who was 14 at the time, said she was forced into sex with Steed, who was 19. "Ms. Wall needs to specifically understand that her conduct may compromise Mr. Steed's ability to obtain a fair trial and that she may have to make some choices regarding her quest for publicity and her desire to have Mr. Steed prosecuted," defense attorney Jim Bradshaw said last week in a letter to Washington County prosecutors. Wall, now 21, was the key witness last year in the trial that sent Jeffs to prison for rape as an accomplice. She claimed he refused to release her from the relationship. Steed, 27, testified for Jeffs and was charged with rape a day after the FLDS leader was convicted in 5th District Court in St. George, 300 miles south of Salt Lake City. Bradshaw's letter says professional rules of conduct prohibit out-of-court statements by attorneys and others associated with a prosecutor's office if the comments might prejudice a case. Read more


'Stolen Innocence' Excerpt
Elissa Wall's Testimony Helped Convict Sect Leader Warren Jeffs
ABC Good Morning America Originally broadcast May 16, 2008
May 16, 2008 — Elissa Wall's harrowing testimony in a packed courtroom September 2007 helped convict polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs. Her vivid account detailed the harsh realities of living inside the closed community of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints. Now Wall's new book, "Stolen Innocence," goes beyond her courtroom heroism and gives her incredible story of a turbulent past, tumultuous youth and how she became a child bride who endured years of abuse. Wall discusses sleeping in her truck rather than sharing a bed with her tormentor and how she retained hope - even in her bleakest times - that she would escape someday. Click here for more information on the book and read an excerpt below. Chapter Ten The Celestial Law Take this revelation, or any other revelation that the Lord has given, and deny it in your feelings and I promise that you will be damned. - Brigham Young I had been in the FLDS Church from the moment I was born. It was all I knew and the only way I could imagine living. From my teachings, I knew that the prophet's job was to dictate what was best for us and that the words he spoke came straight from God. I believed that my impending marriage was the will of God and therefore nothing could be done to stop it. But still, I had to try. I also knew that I was different from other girls in my community. I wanted an education, and maybe even to become a nurse or teacher someday. During my year in public school, I'd come to realize things were possible that I'd never dreamed before. Sure, I knew that I wanted to be a mother of good priesthood children, but not at fourteen. I wanted children and a future, and I dared to think that both were possible. Read more


Elissa Wall Speaks Out About Her 'Stolen Innocence'
Forced Into Marriage at 14, She Testified Against Polygamous Prophet Warren Jeffs
By JOSEPH DIAZ ABC 20/20 Originally broadcast May 16, 2008
May 16, 2008 — The recent raid on Warren Jeffs' Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado, Texas, which resulted in the removal of more than 400 children from their homes, has thrust allegations of widespread child abuse at the polygamous sect into the national spotlight. But one of the darkest secrets of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints unfolds at a seedy roadside motel in the remote Nevada desert, where underage girls - some as young as 14 - are allegedly forced through hasty and secret wedding ceremonies. Elissa Wall says she was one such 14-year-old who was taken to the motel and plunged into wedlock with no choice but to accept and obey the command of Jeffs. Sam Brower, a private detective who has spent five years investigating Jeffs and his sect for a number of former members, says the weddings are done "covertly, real cloak-and-dagger like." Wall, now 21, told ABC News' John Quinones that, "I was trapped. I felt like I had nowhere to turn. I did not want to go through with this marriage. I felt, honestly, what it was like to die." Read more


Ex-FLDS child bride to speak at book signing
By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Elissa Wall said it is painful to watch the events unfold in Texas involving her kin within the Fundamentalist LDS Church. "All of those people down there I know and love very deeply. I know they feel like they're doing what they're supposed to do to get to heaven," she said. "I also know what can happen to these children from first-hand experience." The former child bride who was the star witness in the criminal case against FLDS leader Warren Jeffs is speaking out about the raid as she promotes her book, "Stolen Innocence." Wall will appear at Sam Weller's Bookstore on Salt Lake City's Main Street tonight, where she will read from her bestseller and have a book signing. The event begins at 7 p.m. In an interview with the Deseret News, Wall spoke at length about the raid on the YFZ Ranch in Texas, Jeffs' high-profile trial and their feelings about the FLDS Church. "I know in my heart I did what I had to do to protect other people and give other women a chance that I did not have," she said. Wall was married at age 14 to her 19-year-old cousin Allen Steed in a 2001 marriage performed by Jeffs. In her courtroom testimony and in her book, she said she tried to resist efforts to be married and she begged Jeffs to let her out of the marriage. She wrote that she attempted suicide the night she first had sex with her husband, the night she alleges she was raped. The marriage ultimately ended when Wall met Lamont Barlow. Pregnant with his child, the two left the FLDS Church. Read more


Former FLDS bride's book will be made into a movie
By Ben Winslow Deseret News Originally published Friday, May 30, 2008
Former child bride Elissa Wall's best-seller about her life in the Fundamentalist LDS Church reportedly will be made into a movie. The Hollywood industry-newspaper Variety reports that "Stolen Innocence" is being developed for the big screen. Wall's book details her upbringing in the polygamous sect and her marriage at age 14 to her 19-year-old cousin. It was her marriage that led to rape as an accomplice charges being filed against FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. She was the prosecution's star witness, and her testimony is credited with convicting Jeffs, who is serving a pair of 5-years-to-life sentences. "Stolen Innocence" is listed at No. 6 on the New York Times Bestseller List, and No. 51 on Amazon.com's list. The film is being made by Sharp Independent (the in-house film arm of the book's publisher, HarperCollins) and independent film company Killer Films, Variety reported. No word on who will play Elissa Wall or Warren Jeffs. E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com


'Stolen Innocence': Story of a teenage bride
The book: 'Stolen Innocence' By Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer (William Morrow) The buyer: Sharp Independent and Killer Films
By Josh Getlin Los Angeles Times Originally published June 5, 2008
The deal Sharp Independent at HarperCollins and Killer Films option Elissa Wall's "Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs," the story of a girl forced into marriage at 14 as a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and her later escape from the polygamist cult. The players Jeffrey Sharp ("Evening" and "Proof") and Christine Vachon ("Boys Don't Cry" and "I'm Not There") are producing. Wall is represented by attorney Roger Hoole. The back story When Wall escaped the FLDS -- and delivered dramatic courtroom testimony against cult leader Warren Jeffs -- she got a crash course in how to present herself to the news media. But she wasn't quite as prepared when Hollywood came calling. Soon after William Morrow agreed to publish "Stolen Innocence," HarperCollins' book-to-movie unit raised the idea of turning her story into a film. Sharp, who runs the unit, was keen on partnering with Vachon, with whom he'd worked before. When they sat down with Wall, however, the author expressed concerns. "I was hesitant about a film, and still am," she said. "I wanted the integrity of my story to be respected. I wanted to know that things wouldn't get overly dramatized if the story moved to the screen." Read more


Wall's book is lacking any heroes
By Lee Benson Deseret News Originally published Friday, June 6, 2008
n Elissa Wall's new tell-all book, "Stolen Innocence," we learn, among other things, that polygamists spell dysfunction just like the rest of us, only with a capital D. Elissa is the FLDS child-bride whose testimony sent FLDS leader Warren Jeffs to two consecutive five-years-to-life prison terms on accomplice-to-rape charges. In her book, written with New York freelance writer Lisa Pulitzer, she not only provides details of the why and how Jeffs got convicted, but gives us an insider's tour through the mostly walled-off world of plural marriage. And if you think things can sometimes get upside down in a normal monogamous family, try multiplying that by a power of x multiple wives. For Elissa's family, it all started when Doug Wall, a native of central Utah and a football player at BYU, got married, joined the FLDS, and then got married again ... and again. In the summer of 1986, he had Elissa, one of 24 offspring he would produce, with his second wife, Sharon, and for a time everybody lived in Salt Lake City, where they were the biggest family on the block — until the wives didn't get along and Doug had to travel a lot to keep everyone fed and some of the kids started acting out and all of that conspired to have Doug's priesthood taken away by the church leaders because he "couldn't control his family." After that it went from bad to worse to real bad until Elissa's mother and her respective children were ordered to the FLDS compound in southern Utah, where they were grafted into a whole new family headed by Fred Jessop, aka Uncle Fred. It was Uncle Fred, Elissa's newly appointed father, who "placed" her to be married to her 19-year-old first cousin, Allen Steed, three months before Elissa turned 15. Remember Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in "War of the Roses?" A model marriage, by comparison. Read more


Wall's book did have a hero
Opinion Deseret News Originally published Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I was totally upset by Lee Benson's column of June 6. He authoritatively proclaimed that "Wall's book is lacking in heroes." I had just finished reading "Stolen Innocence" by Elissa Wall and Lisa Pulitzer. My conclusion was that there was one definite hero in the book, Elissa Wall herself. After all, it was her testimony that finally put Warren Jeffs behind bars. Jeffs had caused untold suffering among his followers. He had put people out of their homes and misused money. The list goes on. Others have written books about their unhappy lives. It was, however, Elissa Wall's voice that was finally heard in court. Marna H. Adams St. George


Term Limits followed by Stolen Innocence
News 88.9 KNPR Nevada Public Radio Originally published July 8, 2008
07/08/08: The NV Supreme Court will hear arguments over the constitutionality of term limits for elected officials. We'll take a look at how the court's ruling could impact the upcoming primary election. Then: We'll talk with Elissa Wall about her new memoir "Stolen Innocence." Wall grew up in the FLDS in UT and was married when she was only 14. Her accusations of rape resulting from that underage marriage put the group's leader, Warren Jeffs, in prison for 10 years.


Escape to freedom
Ian Munro, Utah The Age - Melbourne, Australia Originally published July 12, 2008
She gave evidence that sent the leader of a US polygamous sect to jail. Now, this brave young woman is helping others caught in the same trap. NO LONGER the star prosecution witness against cult leader Warren Jeffs, nor a fully disappeared participant in the FBI's witness protection program, Elissa Wall remains guarded about her whereabouts. Who knows what some particularly devout supporter of Jeffs might do? Say she lives "somewhere in Utah". That is near enough. We meet at a hospital where Wall's husband — her true husband, the man she loves and chose to marry — is being treated for a lymphatic disorder. She is blonde and bright and welcoming. But her eyes are prone to welling up when she reflects on life in the fundamentalist Mormon sect that made her an unwilling teen bride to her first cousin, Allen Steed. Jeffs, 52, was sentenced last November to at least 10 years in prison for facilitating Wall's rape when he ordered Steed to consummate their forced marriage. Jeffs, the sect's prophet, claimed he was acting on a revelation from God when he directed Wall to marry Steed. Wall thinks it was mere vindictiveness, a malicious assertion of his power over members of the enthusiastically polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints. She had, after all, defied this self-proclaimed messenger of God, telling him more than once that she was not ready to marry. "Especially after the way I stood up to him, he thought: 'How can I punish her forever?' I think he saw that I did not want to marry (Steed), so that's exactly what he wanted me to do," she says. "In the beginning," says Wall, who during the trial spent months moving to secret addresses as a secured witness, "(the marriage) was so traumatising I didn't know what to do. I was still a child mentally, physically and emotionally, and I was not prepared for the responsibility of being a wife, or being forced to be a wife. Part of me could not wait for the end of the world to come and end this pain I was in. I had no love for Allen and he hurt me so deeply and so much. "My marriage was a slap in the face and I should have been able to wake up sooner, but I had been so deeply conditioned to believe this was what I was supposed to do. I only had a sense of the reality that they gave me." Read more


'I honestly think he believed he was God'
By Elizabeth Day The Observer - London, England Originally published Sunday, September 7 2008
Elissa Wall can clearly remember her wedding day. She remembers the simple white dress made by her mother and sister, the sparkly tiara she wore in her hair and the ride she took in a horse-drawn carriage. But most of all, she remembers being 14 years old and trying her hardest not to cry. 'I felt so hurt, so betrayed by these people I trusted,' she says now, eight years later. 'I was looking down at this pure white dress that should have been symbolic of a very happy moment in my life, a symbol of beautiful things and it was quite the opposite. To me, that dress was like a set of shackles being fitted.' She no longer has the dress. It was bagged up by police officers and used as evidence in the trial of the polygamist sect leader, Warren Jeffs, a man now serving between 10 years and life in Utah State Prison. It was Jeffs, the self-appointed head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, who forced the 14-year-old Elissa to marry her 19-year-old first cousin, Allen Steed, in 2001. And it was Jeffs who insisted, despite her tearful pleas, that she must submit to her husband 'mind, body and soul' in order to achieve godly salvation. For three years, Elissa, who had been raised within the FLDS to believe that marriage was the pinnacle of a woman's achievement, was routinely raped and sexually assaulted by her husband. By the age of 17, she had suffered four miscarriages and a stillborn child. At her lowest point, she attempted suicide with a handful of Ibuprofen pills. 'I had been so sheltered, so closed-off,' she says when we meet in a cafe in Utah. 'I'd been taught to think of men as "poisonous snakes", so being exposed to marital relations was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I probably had the innocence of a nine-year-old and that was brutally shattered. It broke a piece inside me that I don't think will ever be completely healed.' Read more





See the photos of Elissa Wall and Allen Steed after their "marriage" from the trials's Evidence - 1 Black Photo Binder released September 25, 2007



Read the "M.J." Settlement Agreement with the UEP Trust presented to Bruce Wisan on May 17, 2007 and publically released on September 21, 2007

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"Religion" is no excuse for committing child abuse

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