| Jeffs reaches out to FLDS faithful from Purgatory Jail Phone calls allow him to hold 'church' sessions | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News | |
Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is apparently holding "church" — from Purgatory. Jeffs has reportedly been making phone calls from Hurricane's Purgatory Jail to his faithful followers, who gather in groups to hear the words of the man they call "prophet." "He makes a call to a group of people waiting to hear from their prophet," a law enforcement source familiar with the phone calls told the Deseret Morning News. "They sing songs to him, and he goes into dissertations, his prophetic utterances." The calls are also being heard by officials at the Purgatory Jail, who can monitor phone calls made by all inmates. However, there is reportedly nothing that is alarming or illegal about what Jeffs is saying. "Nothing that we've heard has been the slightest bit inflammatory or threatening," the source said. Jeffs is being kept in isolation at the Purgatory Jail. He is allowed out of his cell for one hour a day to receive visitors and make telephone calls. The Washington County Sheriff's Office would not discuss the phone calls and has refused to release jail visitation logs. Several FLDS members, including one of Jeffs' brothers, have been visiting him at the Purgatory Jail. Another source, who asked to remain anonymous, witnessed them "furiously scribbling" notes during a jailhouse visit with Jeffs. It is unknown if any recorded phone calls from jail will make their way into the hands of Washington County prosecutors, who are building a criminal case against Jeffs. The Washington County Attorney's Office declined to comment about any jailhouse phone calls or their case against the FLDS leader. Prosecutors have told the Deseret Morning News they are reviewing other sermons and tape recordings Jeffs has made in recent years. "We haven't made any specific decisions about what's going to be introduced or not, but certainly it is possible that (the sermons) will be introduced to support that portion of our case," deputy Washington County Attorney Brian Filter said in an interview last month. Jeffs, 50, is charged in St. George's 5th District Court with two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of forcing a teenage girl into a marriage with an older man. The girl, identified in court papers as "Jane Doe IV," objected to the union, but prosecutors claim Jeffs threatened the girl with her "eternal salvation." "No matter what happens you cannot fight with the priesthood because if you do you'll lose your salvation," Jeffs is alleged to have told her. Across the border in Mohave County, Ariz., Jeffs Jeffs is facing felony charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. He is accused of arranging more child bride marriages there. Prosecutors in Mohave County have not decided when they will seek to extradite Jeffs to face charges there. Jeffs is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 21 for a preliminary hearing on the Utah charges. E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published Saturday, November 4, 2006 | |
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