Warren Jeffs: Prophet of Evil (2018) - full transcript

( music playing )

Mike Watkiss: Mr. Jeffs,
did you rape those two girls?

Mr. Jeffs?

The trial was of Warren Jeffs
was as bizarre

as anything
I have ever seen

because, at one point,

they played the audio.

Warren Jeffs
had recorded himself

basically committing
statutory rape

against one of these
little girls.

His creepy voice
basically



grooming her
moments before

he was about to
sexually assault her.

It was stunning.

This little timid voice
responding to him.

It was probably
a really good thing

that there were all these
big Texas Rangers

in that courtroom

because I think
that jury would've
jumped across the railing

and killed him
with their bare hands.

Warren Jeffs:
So anxious for Heavenly
Father's spirit to guide me

and all of you
can receive the truth.

Larry King:
Osama bin Laden
and eight other men

were joined on the
FBI's Most Wanted List

by Warren Jeffs.



Reporter 1:
Prophet Warren Jeffs

is considered one of
the most sinister

polygamists of his time.

I think he had 78 wives.

Reporter 2:
Young girls no more
than 12 or 13 years old.

My dad is a pedophile.

I had tried so hard
to protect my children.

Mike:
I think he's a sociopath.

Flora Jessop:
He was able to convince

15,000 people

that he was
Jesus Christ to them.

I love him,
I know that he loves me.

The level of blind obedience

is staggering.

Mike:
It is a complete

church-run state.

If there were
a Taliban of America,

I would say this is it.

Richard Ream:
The church and Warren

controlled everything.

Brock Belnap: He's either
the mouthpiece of God

or the most
evil person on Earth.

Everybody deserves
to know the truth.

Woman:
And it will shock the world,
the evidence that comes out.

Reporter 3:
Mr. Jeffs,

should your followers

still consider you
a prophet?

Warren Jeffs
is a monster.

( music playing )

( birds chirping )

Hello, everybody.

Wonderful to see you.

- You all fit in.
- ( laughter )

Rachel:
I remember Father
telling me once,

"There's two things
a man loves...

( laughs )

women and power."

And he says,
"But they love power more."

Which position's better?

Warren:
No, this is fine.

You don't need to lean over,
that's fine.

I can see them.

- Do you see me?
- ( women chuckle )

Flora:
Warren Jeffs was
a special kind of predator.

He learned how to control

and manipulate people

to the point that
they couldn't see

the real him.

Warren:
♪ Sweet spirit ♪

♪ Of prayer ♪

♪ Sweet spirit of prayer ♪

Brock:
He has co-opted

the religious faith
of believers

and manipulated
and maintained his power

over them in a way
that satisfies

whatever personal
pleasure he gets.

I see him as both
a narcissist

and a sociopath.

There is this grandiose

false sense of self.

And other people tend to be
kind of objects to him.

Sam Brower:
There's been people who've
stood in front of trains,

shot themselves,
poisoned themselves

because of Warren's

ability to decimate
their lives.

The man has blood
on his hands.

He's as guilty as if he had
put the gun to someone's head

and pulled the trigger.

Dowayne Barlow:
This story of Warren Jeffs

has to be told

because the values,

the virtues of good people

has been marched through
and destroyed.

Elissa Wall:
A lot of people ask,

"How did Warren do
what he did?"

And it stems
to one thing: fear.

And Warren became a master
at commanding fear.

Well, thank you,
that was a privilege.

( music playing )

Mike:
In many ways, Warren Jeffs was
sort of the anointed prince.

Came from
this prominent family,

Rulon Jeffs
and Merilyn Steed.

Winston Blackmore:
Rulon Jeffs, the businessman,

he was just
focused on his job

and he was
very well-scriptured,

and he was a no-nonsense
kind of person,

and he didn't like jokes,

and he didn't
laugh at them.

And, you know, he was just
one of those kind of guys.

He was really tough.

I think that he

lived a life of shutting
the outside world out.

He had great big
concrete walls around his home

in Salt Lake.

By and large,
the Jeffs were reclusive.

( music playing )

Rachel:
So Grandfather Rulon ended up
marrying a lot of women,

but they didn't all
live in the same house

until my father
was 14 years old.

That's when all the families
came together

and lived under one roof.

I know he had
a lot of struggles

as a family
coming together.

Warren is

the son of a polygamist,

which means you have
a lot of competition

for your father's affection,

You have to stand out,

and Warren wasn't
really remarkable.

My understanding

was that Warren Jeffs
was a nerd.

Smart,
really liked technology,

but awkward.

Elissa:
He didn't have
a lot of education

when it came to sexuality,

or growing,
or how his body would change.

Lindsay:
Being raised in a large family,

you have lots of kids
without adult supervision

and you have
a lot of access to

really complicated
situations where

you have maybe a half-sister
that you weren't raised with

and all of a sudden,
you're 13 and you see this

cute girl,
and she's your half-sister,

but you're not quite sure
what the rules are.

Sam:
When Warren was a boy,

all the women and children

would put paper
over the windows,

towels under the doors

because Warren was a voyeur.

He had learned
how to peek in

on the girls
changing their clothes.

Lindsay:
Warren would have been around

some family members who,

the rumors are,

that their families
were known for...

sexual abuse.

Ron Rohbock:
My wife has a master's degree
in psychology,

and she tells me
all the time that

an individual that
ends up like Warren

usually has had it done to him
in some way.

Briell Decker:
There is a lot of
speculation on that

I don't know how you would
tell that for sure.

I do believe,
I believe he probably was.

Elissa:
I believe there was a lot of
unhealthy sexual

desires and questions
and problems that were swirling

within that family.

I think
not having an education

and maybe being
victimized himself

really added
onto the fact

that he turned around
and became a perpetrator.

Ron:
Warren molested
many of his sisters.

The three
that I had married,

he had molested
all three of them.

Attorney:
Would you tell us
your full name

and the community
in which you reside?

Lorraine:
Lorraine Jeffs Johnson.

( music playing )

Attorney:
"This first couple of times,

you took me into your room
downstairs..."

Do you remember
that happening?

Lorraine:
Yes. ( crying )

Attorney: "Another time,
taking me into the bathroom

by the backdoor.

You took off
your clothes and mine

and you asked if I wanted
to see what makes babies."

Do you remember
that happening?

Lorraine:
Yes.

( tape fast-forwarding )

Attorney:
Was this again
when you were about 14?

Lorraine:
It could've even been
in my 15th year.

I remember thinking,

"Do all my brothers do this
to all my sisters?

Was this a common thing?"

I didn't know,

I was never taught
one way or the other.

( tape deck clicks )

Whatever Warren
was dealing with,

it seems to me that shame
is a huge element there.

And I think he tried
to make sense of it.

And so, he studied
and read Mormon theology,

spent hours looking
for old Mormon documents,

trying to reconcile
that shame...

with God.

Rachel:
The religious studies

must've made him feel good.

It made him feel like

he was being
a good person.

And I think
he tried to deny

what he was becoming.

Noel:
He was looking for himself
outside himself.

That probably
limited his own

real,
deep self-awareness.

He was blinded
in many ways

to his own impulses
and thinking

that later come up and begin
to create problems for him.

Dowayne:
He felt like that he was

not accountable at all
to anybody.

That he was just
accountable to God.

Then that put this thing
on such a reckless course.

I think it was
the beginning

of big trouble.

( music playing )

Elissa:
In our religion,

we had a prophet.

And he was the one man on Earth
who was God to us.

For many generations,

any logic or any reasoning
or thinking,

these were slowly
weeded out,

all under the name
of religion.

I look back on it and Warren did
not just appear out of nowhere.

An entire society
created him.

They all prepared the pathway
that he came on.

Mike:
This story started long
before Warren Jeffs

That community has been
operating, basically,

in the same fashion
for generations.

Isaac Jeffs:
Father very much took
inspiration from Joseph Smith.

He always told us
that he was here

to continue Joseph Smith's work
in the Earth.

And I know that he was probably
his role model.

( music playing )

Lindsay:
The story goes that

Joseph Smith saw himself
as restoring

things from Bible.

Anne Wilde:
Abraham had more than one wife

and several others
in the Old Testament

had more than one wife.

And so that's when the Lord
made known to them

that it was
a celestial principle

and that it was something
that they should do.

Lindsay:
Some Mormons believe that

if you have three wives,

you can go
to the lower level

of the highest
level of Heaven.

If you have five wives,
you go into the middle level.

And seven, seven or more,
gets you into

the highest level
of the celestial kingdom.

Anne:
Joseph Smith
had about 30, 33 wives.

Was very controversial,

even in the early days
of the church.

Lindsay:
When we have to abandon

this idea of polygamy,

there are still
thousands of people

that are living
this principle.

What do you do
with those people?

They don't just,
like, disappear

because the church
says it's over.

Anne: Some of
the plural families then

were going to Mexico

so that they would
hopefully get away from

the legal persecution.

And some of the people went to
what now is called Short Creek.

Lindsay:
They have to go on this exodus

into the wilderness.

Short Creek
is the wilderness.

They've got big
vermillion cliffs on one side,

Grand Canyon
on the other side.

It's the perfect place
to hide out.

Mike:
They went to isolated places

so they could continue
what is the most fundamental

and most important practice
in their lives:

plural marriage.

And this
little dusty town

morphed into the center

of the practice of polygamy
in America, and certainly

the most dramatic example of,
in essence,

a small cult called
the FLDS Church.

Noel:
The only way that
the fundamentalists

could hold their religion,

they had to go into very
isolated places.

And that's part of the context
for Warren Jeffs.

Isolation worked for
a long time for this community,

but it became
extremely difficult

to maintain.

( music playing )

Roger:
In 1953, there was a raid

with law enforcement coming
from Arizona on one side

and from Utah
on the other side

to get this community

and shut down
plural marriage.

It was against the law.

Dowayne:
My father was

a 15-year-old boy
in the time of the raid.

And so he saw a lot of
the emotional trauma

that was involved
in that raid.

At the time,
Leroy Johnson,

who was the
Fundamentalist Mormon leader
there in Short Creek,

his announcement to
the Arizona Law Enforcement is,

"These sands
will drink our blood

before we're gonna
give up our principles."

Dr. Dan Fischer:
After the raid of '53,

the people were taught
to really live in secret.

In fact,
my second mother,

she never came out
of the house in the daylight

for 11 years.

They end up having extreme
trust for each other

and very little trust
for anybody else

because it was them
against us, basically.

Brock:
"Life" magazine
published a bunch of pictures.

The fallout

was very negative

about families
being torn apart.

Roger:
It was a
public relations disaster.

Arizona and Utah
were burned so badly

that, for the most part,

they looked the other way
for years.

Mike:
The fallout from all of that

basically inoculated
the FLDS community

from any outside interference
or involvement

for decades.

And in that vacuum,

I have always argued
that Warren Jeffs

was a historic
inevitability.

Flora:
The first time I remember

interacting
with Warren Jeffs,

I was maybe
eight or nine.

And we were
climbing the trees.

I was sitting up
on a branch

and he's very tall.

And he come up and was standing
there talking to us

looking up at us

and he's running his hand
up my leg

underneath my dress.

Warren Jeffs
was absolutely

abusing children
from the get-go.

( film reel clicking )

Roger:
Soon after Warren Jeffs

graduated
from high school,

he became the principal

of what's called
the "Alta Academy,"

where the FLDS kids living
in the Salt Lake City area

went to school.

And they were taught a
religious curriculum

and Warren Jeffs
was made the principal

at age 17 or 18.

Noel:
His father felt
this was a preparation

for him for bigger things.

And Warren took
that opportunity.

And so a young generation
grew up knowing him

and seeing him
as their leader.

Stand up and stretch,
please.

- ( children clamoring )
- Stretch time.

Your own strength.

Flora:
He used the Alta Academy

and all of the students

as a means
of perfecting

his ability

to control people.

( music playing )

Dan:
Warren Jeffs became

obsessed in trying
to enforce

such extreme dress codes
and the like.

Having 'em stand on a chair
to measure

the length of the hem.

And so obsessed with

the color red,
that nobody could wear red.

He had a craving
for power.

We learned later

after getting out of there

of scary things that he
put those young people through.

Noel:
You have this incredible power

and was grooming them

for his later pleasure.

Warren:
I trust today
I'm talking to young ladies

who are more
spiritually minded.

Ahead of you is the test
of how you will get married.

Let the Lord reveal

the man
that you belong to.

( music playing )

Lindsay:
He used scriptures

and doctrine in theology

to groom his victims.

And I think that
that was

more probably for Warren.

He needed
a scriptural basis

for doing it.

What I noticed about him
is that he--

my older sister was very,
like, favored by him

a lot,

but he didn't
ever notice me.

I mean,
he acted like he didn't.

But I knew he did.

He called in six of
my sisters and brothers,

and skipped me.

I'm just like,
"Yeah, right."

You knew that
I was the only one

you didn't call on.

There was no way
that you just

didn't notice me at all,
you know?

And I knew
it was a tactic.

Brock:
He knew exactly
what he was doing,

he preparing
the young brides.

And, as he rose
in power and prominence,

he got to pick the ones
that he wanted.

Sam:
That was like
his training ground,

he could setup
anybody he wanted to,

go after
anybody he wanted to,

and molest
anybody he wanted to.

And in the meantime,
he's starting to have

his own family.

( camera shutter clicking )

Rachel:
As the principal's daughter,

Father required us
to be a good example

to the rest of the children
in the school.

There was always some kind
of spiritual teaching

to help us
become better people.

( music playing )

As a child,
we had a lot of fun times

with Father.

He sang with us a lot.

Warren:
♪ As a child I learned ♪

♪ That my mothers need ♪

Rachel:
He made it a point to

take time
with his children.

He was there for us.

Most of us were
pretty close to him.

Warren:
♪ A young boy prayed ♪

♪ And opened up the heavens ♪

Roy Jeffs:
There was a lot of
the wives having children,

and so there
was always babies.

And we'd have a line of five
or six high chairs at least.

It was very lively.

I would give anything now
to just spend a day with my mom

weeding a flower bed.

Most of my memories here
are actually quite fond.

Rachel:
There was a wonderful,
fun, religious

yearning-for-us-to-be-good
-people side of him.

And yet,
I also got to experience

that he had a weakness.

I was at eight years old
when he started his abuse.

It was like...

he was just
two different people.

He had taken me
in one of the bathrooms

and he had said...

he had said,
"Don't ever do this."

He was trying to teach me
to never touch myself.

And then, at that point,

I can't clearly remember

if he exposed himself
to me

or if he touched me.

I just remember there was
some sexual contact

and I was so confused.

Rachel:
I knew as a child
that he was doing wrong.

And he also would tell me
he was doing wrong.

It was like
he couldn't help himself.

I don't think he wanted
to be that way, but he was.

'Cause most of the time,
I mean,

I would always just think,

"Oh, Father won't
be like that anymore."

But then it would
happen again.

( music playing )

Roy:
From a young age,
they teach, you know, the boys

that we're supposed to
grow up and be men.

Women are inferior

so we can't
confess to women,

so I couldn't talk
to my mom about it.

I never thought that it was
anybody's fault but my own.

It was always my fault...

in my mind.

Rachel:
Everybody felt like
he was a very good person.

He was very good
with his words and teaching,

and explaining the gospel.

His abusive side was
so hidden from the church

and the world.

And that's why

being a victim
of his abuse,

I knew that nobody would
believe me if I ever told 'em

that he was doing that.

He played his part as a father
very well and then...

not as an abuser--
I mean, he played his part well

as an abuser too,
I should say, but...

yeah, there was
two sides to him.

( music playing )

Warren: ( over recording )
We come to third Nephi,
chapter 12 now,

where the Lord himself
appeared and gave

the sinners the law,

the keep sweet training.

And you will see
we have always been taught

to keep sweet.

Roger:
The phrase "keep sweet"

was a phrase introduced
by Rulon Jeffs,

Warren Jeffs' father.

"Keep sweet no matter what"
means...

always have a smile
on your face.

Flora:
It's the polygamy mask.

You show to the outside world

the happy face.

And if you don't,

you're isolated,
you're shunned,

you are locked up.

You name it, you get it.

Keep sweet mask.

Look at the eyes, though.

Because the eyes will always
tell you the truth.

Reporter 4:
It is a community
that has been frozen in time.

They are fundamentalist
Mormons,

excommunicated from
the larger Mormon church

because they continue
to practice polygamy.

( music playing )

Ron:
After LeRoy Johnson died,

there was a dispute as to
who actually the key holder,

meaning the prophet.

It was supposed to be
that God came to the people

and told them.

Well, that never happened.

Flora:
Rulon Jeffs was
LeRoy Johnson's accountant.

He saw an opportunity
to grasp the mantle.

He grabbed it with both hands
and ran with it.

Anne:
When Rulon Jeffs
came into power,

he became
much more controlling

and so the people
accepted that

because that was their role,

they thought that was
the role of a prophet.

Mike:
The prophet
controls every aspect

of life in Short Creek.

He controls the land.

He controls what you do.

He controls,

certainly,
who you wed with.

Ruby Jessop:
When Rulon Jeffs
was the prophet,

my step-father called me
into his office

and told me, it was time
for me to be married.

I was just a child.

We drove
to Caliente, Nevada.

They had a hotel there.

They took us into this room

and they said, "We're only
gonna do one at a time,"

so the other two of us had to
go sit out in the waiting room.

I was just scared.

( sighs )
My sister went next.

And I was the last one
to go in and be married.

I was married at 14
to my step-brother.

But you didn't wanna
disappoint the prophet.

( music playing )

Sam:
Warren's behavior,

in my opinion,

is learned behavior.

The mechanics
of what he was able to do

were mimicked
from his father.

Tommy Steed:
I remember my brother
and my sister and my mom

would go visit Rulon

once a year.

He would sit
behind his desk

with "Keep Sweet" engraved
on the bottom of his shoe soles

so that we could see.

Warren in every one
of these meetings,

was always sitting
right to the side of Rulon

with his little notepad.

Warren took
very meticulous notes.

At the time, it was a
protective, favorite son

looking out
for the interests of his dad.

Looking back now,

I see it
for what it really was.

Noel:
The prophet's the most
important person on the planet.

And you might be
the next person

who's gonna be that
most special person.

That's a pretty
hard thing not to

buy into,
it feels very important.

Ron:
Warren was taking more control.

He was trying
to keep it hidden

as much as
he possibly could,

but, yes, he was taking more
and more control.

( tape deck clicks )

Warren:
Obey the prophet when he speaks

and you'll be blessed.

Disobey him,

it is death.

Ron:
Rulon had had three strokes,

two of those strokes

made him less able

to control his speech,
his ability to

run the church.

Richard:
They had to walk him in

with assistance.

If you were sitting
close enough

to the front row
of the congregational seating,

you could actually tell
that the man

was essentially
an empty shell.

Brock:
As his father became more ill,

Warren was in
a position where

Warren's control increased.

There was actually kind of a
vacuum that was

there for Warren
to step into

and exert
his authority through.

Sam:
Warren would put a microphone

on a lanyard
around his father's neck

and then ask his father
to speak in church.

Rulon would just stand there
for five, ten minutes

and not say a word.

That was Warren
setting himself up.

Ruby:
He would say

maybe one sentence.

"Listen to Warren
speak my words.

Warren is my mouthpiece."

( music playing )

Dowayne:
It was a big day.

It was a really big day.

It changed the landscape
of that community.

It changed the whole landscape
of the whole...

effort there.

Mike:
And you saw this
extraordinary turnout

for the funeral

of Rulon Jeffs.

5,000 plus people assembling.

on the overcast day.

Don Barlow:
Time will tell
if there is going to be

another leader
like President Jeffs.

Winston:
It was interesting to see.

Most all of the speakers
were trying to proclaim

who the new leader was.

A funeral is not
the time and place

to do anything like that.

( music playing )

Sam:
After his father died,

Warren would
stand up in meetings.

For five minutes, he'd act like
he was standing there
listening,

and then he'd say

what his father
had been telling him

from the other side.

Ron:
He started telling people that

his father is talking to him

and telling him to take
so and so for wife.

Roy:
One day, we got up

and there was like seven
of my grandpa's wives

standing right
down the hall,

outside of my dad's door.

Then he walked
them upstairs

and introduced them
to the whole--

he says,
"These are my wives."

Sam:
He married 20 wives

from his father.

It was Warren saying,
"I'm the boss,

I can do whatever I want,

and nobody better dare
say a word about it."

Dowayne:
It was not
a traditional situation

for Warren to have
those women marry him.

So the alarm bells
were going off.

( tape deck clicks )

Isaac Jeffs:
I know Father's spirit

and I know it is
in Uncle Warren.

I do not question it.

Roy:
He had one of his brothers,

Isaac Jeffs
bare their testimony

about how
they had witnessed

Grandfather name my dad
as the next prophet.

Isaac:
Warren is going to be
the next leader of this people.

And he said that
over and over again.

Roy:
That's kind of
when it became known

to the rest of the people

that he was
the next prophet.

Mike:
This guy is a conniving rat

who seized power.

Nobody was powerful
enough to stand up to him.

Warren Jeffs
was the prophet.

The coup was complete.

it's not really quoted
in any religious book.

It goes along the lines that,

"When a righteous king rules,

the people rejoice.

When a wicked king rules,

they mourn."

( music playing )

Elissa:
At this point
within the FLDS,

the stakes were
incredibly high.

A lot of times
in Warren's preaching,

he would bring the fact that
the world was coming to an end

and that we were
preparing for that end.

Mike: To run a cult,
you have to keep your
cult followers always in fear

of the outside world
and the impending doom.

"The end is coming,
and get your house in line

and show how faithful
you are to me

and do everything
I tell you."

And that's what
buys obedience.

Rachel:
I feel like, at first,

Father didn't really
feel like he was worthy.

But when everybody
turned to him,

I think he suddenly
wanted it.

And then I think he just started
wanting it more and more.

Winston: Warren was enjoying
the attention that
he was getting.

You could tell.

You know, he soon put on
his father's shoes

that had "Keep Sweet"
on the bottom of 'em.

Noel:
I think what we see

is a great deal
of narcissism.

Narcissism is a trait
in which

a person develops a grandiose
false sense of self.

One doesn't have to acknowledge
one's weaknesses,

one always is
above all of that.

Mike:
Warren was always

behind big walls

and gated mansions,

protected by bodyguards.

He was always secretive.

Briell:
He's very manipulative, like,

in every way.

He wants to show
he's humble,

but yet he has
this gigantic house.

He wanted people to think

the Lord just
gave him everything.

Roy:
We lived off the church,
we didn't work.

We lived off of tithing...

and contributions
to the church.

( music playing )

Sam:
At first it was give
their 10%,

but then Warren commanded
another $500

on top of that.

And that 500 jumped
to about a 1,000.

Then that 1,000
jumped to 2,000.

Then it gets to the point
where Warren wants it all

and he'll distribute
your just wants and needs

Richard:
I don't think
he gave two ( bleep ).

What did the man
really want?

He was lustful for greed,

the greed of money
and the greed of power

and more and more
and more.

Mike:
At one point, they bankrupted
the school district,

pulled all their kids
out of school,

but continued to loot
the school district,

bought themselves
an airplane.

Sam:
Talking to people

and getting people's feelings
that were around at that time,

he becomes
more cloak and dagger-ish,

he becomes, like,
more paranoid.

( music playing )

Sean Keveney:
There are cameras
all over town.

People are constantly
under surveillance

and there's
a direct link between

church security

and the Marshal's office.

Mike:
The cops up the there,

the sworn police officers,

their allegiance has always been
to protecting Warren.

We believe
in plural marriage.

Are you a polygamist?

I'm not gonna answer that,
it's none of your business.

Winston:
I think Warren enjoyed

that cat and mouse game.

He enjoyed knowing what people
were doing without them knowing.

He enjoyed
recording people.

He enjoyed
spying on folks.

He showed me once
the security command post

that had
every room monitored,

including the guest house.

that I was staying in.

And I never went back.
( chuckles )

Briell:
There was cameras.

There definitely was.

I didn't know that
at the time,

but there was
definitely cameras.

It was all about himself,

what he could experience,

what he could control.

Noel:
Warren Jeffs could do
whatever he wants.

He was viewed as a prophet
with a prophetic gift,

he was inspired by God,

so what he said
had the authority of God.

Sam:
He even has wives taking notes

of things that he says
and does

when he's sleeping.

And comes up with these crazy,
grandiose revelations.

Brock:
The problem with that
is that Warren

can have a revelation
saying that,

based on a bad dream,
that somebody was evil.

And even though
it's not true,

that person is exiled
from the community

and cut off from all their
family and friends.

Dowayne:
He picked out men
that had large families

men that had stature
in the community.

He particularly picked them out
and destroyed them.

He didn't waste any time
to take care of me.

Warren called me up
and he asked me

if I could bring
all my wives

and meet with him
at his father's home.

That afternoon I says, "Sure."

He says,
"How soon can you be here?"

He put me on
one side of the hall,

my ladies on the other side

and then he handed me

my revelation that he,
supposedly, had had

from God and he said

I had plotted
with other brethren

to take Rulon's life.

That I was proud
and aspiring

and he says, "Do you have
any questions there?"

And I looked at him
and I says,

"So, if I say
right here and now

that I'm guilty
of all these things,

that... that's all
I need to do?"

He just laughed at me
and said, "No."

And then he sent me home
and told me gather up my stuff

and leave.

Sam:
That's Warren's style;

kick somebody out,
discredit them,

anything they say
is a lie,

and accuse them
of whatever you want.

Ron:
All my wives,

they were told
to not communicate

with the children
about me.

They were not to talk about me
in any way, shape, or form.

I shed a lot of tears,

I had lost a lot of people
that I was very close to

and that I loved.

I started all over again.

Lindsay:
Instead of seeing him
as a villain,

I think Warren saw himself
as an underestimated,

underappreciated man.

And I think
in so many ways,

he proved everybody wrong.

Mike:
Ruth, how old were you
when you got married?

- 16.
- 16 years old.

How old were you when you became
pregnant with your first child?

- 16.
- 16.

( music playing )

And this was
an arranged marriage

by the religious leaders
of that town?

Yes.

There are really
a handful of stories

that changed
the course of history

in this saga.

And the day that Ruth Stubbs
fled Colorado City

was one of 'em.

Turns out the man
she was forced to marry

was a cop,
a sworn police officer

in Colorado City
named Rodney Holm.

My name is Mike Watkiss.

- I'm a reporter
here in Phoenix.
- I know who you are, sir.

My understanding
that you have teenage brides

and perhaps impregnated
this young woman

when it would be
a statutory rape.

We don't have anything to say
except to the court.

Mike:
Suddenly with Ruth

and Rod Holm,

we had a story
that the outside world

couldn't ignore.

Leave the girls
that are underage alone.

Don't marry underage girls.

Mike:
Teenage girl,
statutory rape victim,

a police officer

and Warren's fingerprints
were all over this.

Warren is the one
that performed the marriage.

Mike:
Warren Jeffs performed
your marriage

- to Rodney Holm?
- Yes.

Mike:
You're 16 years of age

and he marries you
to a 32-year-old man

that he knows
already has two wives?

- Ruth: Yes.
- Mike: Utah

took Rod Holm to court,

found him guilty
of these crimes

that had been
going on forever.

Soon as Rod Holm
got sentenced,

I think Warren
rightfully predicted,

"If they can come after
a polygamous cop

because of a marriage
I arranged,

it's only a matter of time
before they start
coming after me.

Ruth:
I think he's an evil man.

I don't any man of God

would destroy people's lives,

and take families away

and marry them
to other men...

like he's doing.

So he knew
he was in for it.

( music playing )

Sam:
At that point in time,

there were
no charges against Warren.

But he's just kind of
letting the people know

that he needs to be
in the background,

he needs to be hiding,
he needs to be on the run.

He's going to
the outside world

on the premise that
God is having him

go witness the evils
of the world.

We thought it was
for a really righteous reason

because he made it
sound like it was.

But, at the same time,
he wanted to have some fun

that he never had had.

Sam:
He went to Disneyland,

went to the beaches
in Florida.

He's going to Mardi Gras

and going to strip clubs.

Lindsay:
Becoming a prophet for Warren

probably offers him, you know,
absolution to things.

You don't have to be responsible
for your own sins if it's God.

If it's God
telling you to do it,

then you don't have to be
accountable for that.

Noel:
Narcissists break rules
a great deal,

but they do it because
they feel that they're important

and special and nobody else
is nearly important,

so I think Warren Jeffs,

a sense of
"Anything goes

because I am
the authority,

I'm special,

that's a big part
of what we see.

Mike:
The state of Arizona

was the first to file charges
against him.

So Warren sent
his lieutenants out

to start buying up
these compounds

all over
the United States

because, suddenly, it was too
hot in Utah and Arizona.

( music playing )

Sam:
Warren begins going around
the country,

establishing these

places of refuge.

Sean:
The church had three

primary places of refuge.

There was a compound
in Pringle, South Dakota,

Mancos, Colorado.

There was also
a ranch in Texas.

The church then also used

an extensive network
of rented safe homes

and trailers to move

church leaders
and underage girls

around the country.

Dowayne:
People in Short Creek,

we did not know
that Texas existed,

we didn't know
Colorado existed,

we did not know
that his settlement up in

South Dakota existed,

it was such
a shroud of secrecy.

Sam:
Warren had everybody
in Short Creek

run up their credit cards

and borrow money
in bank accounts

and give everything
they have to him,

which was used
to help build

these other
places of refuge.

Dowayne:
There was a tremendous amount
of money being funneled to him.

Vehicles, cash, lands.

I had a home
that was completely finished

and got a call

from Warren Jeffs
to give it up

and move to another place.

I moved to circumstances
that were far less

than what I had.

We just determined,

we're not gonna
tie our heart strings

to these physical things.

What the hell did he care
if they lost their homes,

their lands,
their birthrights?

But it's okay

because Warren
said to do it

and he's the prophet.

Dowayne:
It began to be

the sand moving
underneath our feet.

Warren put the people
on unsettled dirt.

Roy:
During that time,

I was, you know, kind of
in hiding off and on.

My dad

kept saying,
"You know, they're after us,

they're trying to find you

so they can hurt me,"
is what he would tell us.

And so we didn't
so much as open the blinds

for like a month.

Primarily,
I was by myself

in a camp trailer,
just nobody around,

just desolate.

That was kind of
my first experience of just

brutal isolation.

I moved down to Texas

and we hardly ever
got to see Father

because he was always runnin'
from the law.

Sometimes he was there
for a week,

sometimes a month,
sometimes one day,

and then he was gone
and we didn't know where he was.

But, even when he was runnin'
from the law,

he still governed
the whole system.

He told us to get seven
years-worth of grain.

He had the temple built
during that time.

Father said Heavenly Father
told him that

the people would be driven
out of Short Creek

and he wanted a place
for the people

to be able to go to
that were pure in heart.

Sam:
FLDS have long said that

they're living a higher order
and they don't have need

for temples.

I started seeing that
foundation going and...

that kind of signaled

he was preparing
for the end of the world.

And what that meant

to somebody as deviant
and twisted as Warren,

could be anything,
and that's what bothered me.

I didn't know if Warren was
planning another Jonestown,

if he was gonna be
passing out Kool-Aid,

if he was gonna have

all these men gather there

and go out
in a blaze of glory.

He was essentially saying,

This is where
we're making our stand."

Mike:
( At that point,)

Warren was definitely
a man on the run, a fugitive.

And the community
was bending over backwards

to do everything
they could to sustain him,

to communicate with him
on the road,

to allow him to know that

they completely
loved him.

I'm Gary Tuchman with CNN.

I just wanted
to check with you,

do you have any idea
where Warren Jeffs is?

Any idea at all?

Do you know where
Warren Jeffs is?

What do you think of him?

Sam:
I'm actively looking for Warren
at the time.

And sometimes I feel like
I'm getting close,

and other times
I just, you know,
I don't know where he's at

or what's going on.

'Course, I don't know

the depth
of his depravity.

Roy:
Every...

few months, I guess,

he would come home
with another 16-year-old.

He would page over
the intercom,

he would say,

"Everybody come down
to the dining room,

meet a new family member."

So we'd all come down

and, you know, say hi.

I think the youngest
he went was 11,

going on 12.

Rachel:
I read a little entry he wrote

in his journal about...

his young,
underage wives.

He said, "The Lord wants me
to take these wives

at a young age
to teach and train them

and guide them
through boy troubles."

And then he wrote,

"I will just be
their boy trouble."

Alyshia Blackmore:
He was very kind to me.

I mean, he took special
interest in me, I felt like.

I was only
five years old and...

I liked him,
I liked him a lot.

My two older sisters
were married to him.

He told me that I was a very
special spirit

and that the devil
was seeking to take my life.

And I didn't
understand that.

I believed in God
and in...

very much
a spiritual side of life.

And I wanted to be saved.

But being so young,
I could hardly wrap my mind

around it all.

Right after
we got married,

then we were automatically
in hiding.

We didn't go outside a lot.

We were mostly just supposed
to stay in the house
and not be seen.

In my mind,

I was trying to prove worthy
of this greater blessing.

All the children,

and they, you know,
immediately

started
calling me Mother,

and that was
very different to me.

( chuckles )
Most the children were older me.

But I got used to it.

I definitely
wanted to be a mom.

At the same time,

I really wanted to be a kid

while I was a kid.

( laughter )

I mean,
I just really did,

I never let go of that.

( laughter )

On the outside,
I was a very happy person.

This is
the hairspray commercial.

But, to not have
any contact

with former
family and friends,

that kind of felt like I just
fell off the edge of the world

and, so I basically
just buried my feelings

and... lived.

Mike:
Warren became the Caligula

of the court of polygamy.

Bad practices
got more perverted.

And younger girls got forced
into these marriages,

And boys

were cast aside.

( music playing )

Dan:
Like any other society,
there will be

one half
boy babies born

and one half
girl babies born.

It means that

a whole lot of males
are never gonna get married.

How are they going to continue
this practice of plurality

of wives forever
if they don't thin the herd?

I mean,
the math doesn't work.

Mike:
You've gotta get rid of

a lot of the young men.

And Warren established
a very effective

social architecture to deal
with getting rid of the boys.

Roger:
You can imagine
how much pressure

is on a parent...

to take their son

and drive them
50 miles away,

and drop them off and say

"You are never to
contact us again."

And they did that,

over and over
and over again.

Newscaster:
Rich was expelled
from the community

when he was 20 years old.

Richard:
I had no driver's license,

no real life skills,

they're not old enough
to be lawfully employed.

Add to that the fear
that everyone

out there
that wasn't from home,

that wasn't part
of your church

was going to do something

intentionally to harm you.

Who do you
go to for help?

Tommy:
My mom,

she had...

a history of being
a little bit rebellious.

So I was never really,
truly openly accepted

by Warren Jeffs.

One of my uncles,

he had arranged a meeting
with me and Warren

at the print shop.

That's when Warren told me

I wasn't welcome to church.

and... that was it, out.

After I stood up to leave,

he just casually
let me know that

I wouldn't be
allowed into Heaven.

That was probably
the darkest day of my life

considering
I believed him,

I was convinced
I was going to Hell.

I got in my little,
crappy pickup truck

and I...

got out of that town
as fast as I could.

I didn't know where to go.

I had nothing.

The world outside
is against me and...

the only thing
that I knew

I was cut off from.

It was only another couple
months after I was kicked out

that I started seeing
this wave after wave

of other boys,

just showing up.

Dan:
It went from what was called
a wave in the late '90s

to what became a flood
there for awhile.

I knew that something
had to be done.

Roger:
Dan Fischer was born and raised

in the FLDS community,

had three wives,
and ended up leaving.

He and his wife

had done tremendous things

to help people who had been
kicked out of the FLDS.

Dan:
We went public
on the steps of the Capitol.

with some 70 of these boys.

Reporter 5:
Some of the so-called
"lost boys,"

all banished by Jeffs,

told their stories.

Dan:
Hundreds of boys,

aged 13 and above,

have fled or been expelled

from this society.

And at the demand
of its fanatical leader,

Warren Jeffs.

Tommy:
Dan made it his mission

to help these boys
who were exiled with nothing.

Dan:
Nobody else

had both a knowledge
of what was going on,

the financial resources,

and the understanding
to do it.

And you either accept that
or you don't.

It's... pretty damn simple.

Even though
very uncomfortable,

it's pretty damn simple.

We wanted to
take Warren out of power.

Even after
he was on the run,

he was still
destroying families,

removing people
from their homes.

Roger:
Warren Jeffs
had absolute control

over the homes
of the people.

And so

the Lost Boys
decided to

go after the land.

Dan:
And so,

we came to realize that

there could and should be
a court case

brought against
the ownership

of the properties.

And that was Warren Jeffs.

So the court case
was filed.

Warren Jeffs came out

with the mandate that,

"We will answer
them nothing."

And basically saying,
"We're above the laws
of the land,

we answer to a higher power."

He mandated that
there'd be no response

from his attorneys,
that they not show up in court.

Tommy:
Warren had thought

the veil
of religious freedom,

protection was enough.

That there would be
no judgment against him.

I mean, this is the first time
this has happened.

No one had
blatantly came out

and tried to
sue them like that.

We showed up with to court
with our counsel.

And what happens
when you go to court
and only one side's there?

The side
that showed up won.

Mike:
He still had thousands
of followers

and millions of dollars

to run on.

But his world

was starting to shrink,

his powers were starting
to be curtailed.

It was really the beginning
of the end for Warren Jeffs.

Elissa:
I was born into
a polygamous family,

24 children
and three mothers.

I knew marriage
was a part of my future.

I dreamed of it,

I prayed for it,

I did
all the perfect things

that a perfect
prissy girl would do

to prepare themselves

for marriage.

But I was young,

I was 14.

Brock:
And up to that point,

it had been very difficult
to actually find a witness

who was willing to talk.

I met Elissa Wall one night
at a restaurant.

As we had dinner,
she told me her story.

Usually when a girl
is to be married,

they're excited,
they're happy,

and they're just
so lucky and blessed

to have the prophet
love them enough

to find a place for them
to be married.

Then I learned that I was
to marry my first cousin,

Allen Steed.

And I had a very
deep hatred for him.

I remember going
to Caliente in Nevada.

There was a hotel
that was owned by

by a member
of the FLDS there.

I broke down for a moment
to my mother and I just said,

"I can't do this.

I cannot do this, Mom."

And she, as a good FLDS mom,

"Yes, you can.

And you will."

( music playing )

We were taught
from a very young age

deep religious beliefs

about what it meant
to be a woman.

A woman's job

was to ultimately
become married to a man,

hopefully with many wives,

and to have children.

A woman cannot go to Heaven

on her own,

she has to be
sealed to a man.

And meant to listen

to whatever
the husband said.

He was the connection
to my salvation.

There's that moment of me
walking down the stairs

in this beautifully crafted
wedding dress

that any other girl,
it seemed in the community,

would be so happy
to be wearing.

For me, it really felt like
I was dressed to face death.

I really wanted to die.

At the end of the ceremony,
Warren took both of our hands

and looked me in the eye
and he said,

"Now go forth and multiply
and replenish the Earth."

I don't remember much
of the drive back,

I just kept
seeing Warren's eyes

in my head
over and over and over,

wondering...
what was next.

About three years
into my marriage to Allen...

it was hell.

It was abusive,

both physically, mentally
and sexually.

And Warren knew what's
happening in this relationship

that he had put together.

I often just
begged for release.

And within the FLDS, that is,
in essence, a divorce.

( phone ringing )

One day,
Warren called in

and he told me
that I was evil

and a wicked person.

In our teaching,
we had been told

quite a bit about
blood atonement.

Someone who had
committed the worst crimes

could atone
for those crimes

by giving their own life.

We would lay on altar

and have our throat slit

and we would be giving God

the gift that he gave us,

which is the gift of life

in atonement for our sins.

I remember Warren said

that that was
my only saving grace.

This would lead

to giving me the courage

to just make the leap,
to run.

We had a very compelling case
because we had

a courageous young woman

who was articulate,
sincere

and there was
corroborating evidence for.

So everything we looked for
in terms of building a case

we had
for the very first time.

The criminal charges allege

that Mr. Jeffs encouraged,

commanded,

aided, abetted another

to have sexual intercourse

with a victim
between the ages 14 and 18

without her consent.

At the time,
Warren was on the lam,

so Elissa Wall tipped
the balance for the FBI

and they put Warren Jeffs
on the FBI Most Wanted List.

Larry King:
Good evening.

Over the weekend,
Osama bin Laden,

and eight other men
were joined

on the FBI's Most Wanted List
by Warren Jeffs.

Reporter 6:
The FBI considers him
armed and dangerous

and he's allegedly known for
crimes against children.

We had the FBI come
to our house a couple times.

When they showed up,

it created
such a hatred for them

because we felt like
they were always

trying to get us
and hurt us.

Anderson Cooper:
Warren Jeffs hasn't been seen

in more than a year.

The FBI has been
searching for him since June

on charges of
fleeing prosecution

in Arizona.

Elissa:
There was that fateful day.

I remember

we turned the TV on
and there,

all over every channel
was news coverage

that Warren had been caught.

I'd like to announce
the arrest

of FBI Top Ten Most Wanted
Fugitive, Warren Steed Jeffs.

It was just
a routine traffic stop

by a Nevada Highway Patrol.

Reporter 7:
He was arrested near Las Vegas
late Monday.

He'd been on the run
for two years.

Mike:
He was riding around

in a big, fancy Escalade

with all kinds of money,

and communication devices,
and wigs.

One of his cute, little wives
and his brother

were basically running around
the world seeing Disneyland.

Dowayne:
It was more shocking to me

that he was arrested
with Isaac and Naomi

in the gentile clothing.

And I think that anybody that
was watching that circumstance

saw the hypocrisy of it.

I did.

Briell:
I think he would've ran

as long as he could've
and as far as he could've.

But I do think he knew
he was going to be caught.

We didn't think that Father
would get arrested,

he always told us that
the Lord would protect him.

For us, it was the saddest
thing in the world.

It seemed like the whole
religion went into prison.

We did a lot of
fasting and...

you know, just praying for him,

and that
he'd be strengthened,

and the Lord would bless him
and help him through.

( camera shutters clicking )

Brock:
Warren was arrested in Nevada

so he was held in Las Vegas.

And two of my deputies
went down

to do the paperwork with regard
to transferring him.

It was a simple hearing,
nothing was involved,

and there were
mobs of cameras.

( camera shutter clicking )

And that was when
we first realized

this is gonna be
a different prosecution for us.

Judge:
Okay, what would you like to do?

You wanna waive your rights
in regards to extradition

and go back as quickly
as they can have--

that they can
come pick you up?

All right.

Brock:
I immediately called Elissa

and said,

"It's happening. It's on."

( music playing )

Sean:
While Warren Jeffs
was incarcerated

at Purgatory Correctional
Facility in Washington County,

and awaiting trial on charges
of rape as an accomplice,

he gave what has been
called a confession.

Flora:
I think he realized,

"Oh, ( bleep ).

It caught up with me."

Noel:
He had no limits within
that small community.

Now, as soon as he got
outside the community,

of course, no one
acknowledged his legitimacy

or his authority.

And I think that was
a rude awakening.

He lost
all of that control

that he had always had.

Roger:
That recording

was hidden, buried,

discredited.

People were told
it was made up,

that he was drugged.

In actuality, it was
the one time he told the truth.

Brock:
With the case pending,

the rules of ethics
and evidence

didn't allow us
to just go announce,

"Hey, world,
look what Warren has said."

( phone placed on receiver )

( music playing )

Reporter 8:
The legal case
against Warren Jeffs,

the leader of a polygamist
religion or cult,

is now underway
in the state of Utah.

Brock:
The trial was extraordinary

for Washington County.

The security was
out in force.

We had a great deal of concern
about protecting Elissa.

She was in
a Witness Protection Program,

we took great care
to safeguard her

and make her
feel comfortable

so that we could
get our case to trial.

I mean, the case
rose and fell on her,

and her ability
to connect with the jury

to convey the story
as to what happened to her.

( music playing )

Elissa:
The day of
the preliminary hearing,

it was the first time

that I would actually
face Warren Jeffs.

I sat on that stand and I looked
dead in Warren's eyes

and I forced myself
to hold eye contact.

I remember we sat there
and stared at each other

for a good few minutes
and, ultimately,

he shook his head
and just dropped his eyes.

I had claimed my power

and I had
claimed my freedom

because he did
not control me.

Judge:
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,
we are back in session.

State of Utah versus
Warren Steed Jeffs.

Mr. Jeffs is here
with his counsel.

Roger:
It's not easy

to convict somebody
of accomplice to rape.

Especially when
they're a religious leader

and the defense is

he was just giving
religious advice

to this couple.

Just marriage counseling,

trying to help them
work out their problems

as husband and wife.

I don't believe
that Warren Jeffs

has ever done
anything wrong.

Roger:
Well, it wasn't
a husband and wife,

she was not married,

it was an
illegal marriage.

Elissa:
I was... shocked

I was like, "No way I...

there is no way
I'm going to marry that man.

This entire time
that I was there,

I was... I was crying.

And I just,
I honestly just wanted to die

because I was so scared.
( sobs )

Because I had
two younger sisters

still in the FLDS...

I had the overwhelming
realization

that what happened to me

would probably,
most definitely happen to them.

( music playing )

During the trial,

I had this picture
of my two sisters.

And, every day,
I would look at that.

They gave me
the courage I needed

or allowed me to, at least,
tap into the courage
I possessed

and hopefully
protect my sisters.

Judge:
Has this jury reached a verdict?

- Foreman: Yes.
- Judge: Would you hand that
to the bailiff, please, sir?

Brock:
Waiting for that verdict
was not easy.

I mean,
the work was done,

and now, everything
we've done is out of our hands

and in the hands
of the jury.

Judge:
Mr. Jeffs,
would you please stand

as the verdict is read?

Roger:
We needed so desperately

to have Warren Jeffs
held accountable

to try and stop the damage
he was doing to these people.

It could've gone either way,
it was really tough.

You'd think that this would
be an easy thing... you know?

But it wasn't.

Bailiff:
The defendant is guilty

beyond a reasonable doubt.

Reporter 9:
51-year-old Warren Jeffs

showed no emotion as
the verdict was read.

Elissa:
He didn't really
let it faze him.

There was definitely
a kind of a hushed silence.

I just started to cry
because I knew that

my mother and thousands
and thousands of other people

that loved Warren more
than loved themselves,

that this was going to be
a shot to their heart.

And it was a painful,
conflicting moment of realizing

that the right thing
had happened...

but that the people
were the ones to pay.

( music playing )

Brock:
When you look back

at her courage

to overcome years
of indoctrination

and say,
"This just isn't right,"

and to come and say,
"I'm gonna say that

the man who is the mouthpiece
of God was wrong."

Her example
will shine a light

of hope for others.

That was
really scary for her.

Really scary.

Talk about a hero.

When I was young,

my mother taught me

that evil flourishes
when good men do nothing.

This has not
been easy for us.

The easy thing
would've been to do nothing.

Brock:
I have a picture
of her standing there

alone in front of a microphone
with all the cameras around.

She demonstrated enormous
courage and fortitude.

She was definitely
the right person

at the right time
for the right job.

Without Elissa,

it's very probable that Warren
wouldn't be in prison.

Reporter 10:
Aboard this helicopter,

the man thousands believe
is a prophet of God,

Warren Jeffs,
being transported to jail

as a convicted felon.

( music playing )

I was hopeful at the time
that that would be

a turning point
for his people.

It didn't really
turn out that way.

Reporter 11:
Warren Jeffs,
the leader of the largest

polygamist sect
in North America

received
two consecutive sentences

of five years to life.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't
end when Warren goes to prison.

Elissa:
At this point within the FLDS,

the stakes
were incredibly high.

They've lived their entire life
in a state of

horrific fear.

And now,
the outside world

had the community
under the microscope.

( helicopter blades spinning )

( music playing )

( sobbing )

They brought in their lines

of officers.

"If you resist,

we will arrest you."

I'm Rich Matthews
in El Dorado, Texas

where authorities are
serving a search warrant

on the compound
of Warren Jeffs.

We knew about
the compound in Texas.

Very secretive.

And we knew there was
a lot going on down there.

When they finally
gained entrance,

they began to witness

young girls
that were pregnant.

Elissa:
Texas walked in prepared
for what they were faced with.

They were under the impression
there was a small amount
of children

and they were just there
to kind of investigate.

They really wanted to

do the right thing.

And it was just kind of
the snowball effect

that ultimately lead
to all of the children

being removed.

They ended up removing

463 children

from the YFZ Ranch.

Roger:
The problem was

the optics publically
were terrible.

( music playing )

Elissa:
If you parade
sobbing mothers

on television, our
natural instinct for viewers

are to say,
"Oh, that's horrible,"

without even thinking
for a second

that there's a reason
that they were taken away.

I want the world to know

that I forgive everybody.

Woman:
We want our children,
they took 'em.

They didn't give us
a chance to say goodbye.

Sam:
They'd created this PR image

of the 1953 raid.

And that's what
they tried to recreate.

And in some sense,

they accomplished that.

Mike:
The FLDS hierarchy

knows the optics.

They're good at
seizing the moment

and presenting
their victimization.

Elissa:
The timing of the Texas raid
couldn't have been better

for Warren.

Sadly, it played right
into his narrative.

Evil was trying harder
than ever to take out

the Lord's people.

There are some
disturbing new details

about what investigators
have found

during their now concluded
search of that compound.

In this photo, crime scene
technicians are seen

examining a bed

found in the temple.

A bed investigators say

maybe have been used
to consummate marriages

between adult men
and underage girls.

Reporter 12:
Texas prosecutors
are said to have

church marriage records,

photos,
even DNA evidence

that Warren Jeffs had sex

with girls as young as 12.

( music playing )

Mike:
Mr. Jeffs,

did you rape
those two girls?

Warren Jeffs decided he wanted
to represent himself.

I can tell you
with complete

conviction that
that was a bad idea.

He got up,
talking about religious history

and the persecution of his
people over the last 150 years.

Your eyes glazed over.

Reporter 13:
In his closing argument,

Warren Jeffs stood silent,

staring at the jurors
for 30 minutes,

speaking only once saying,
"I am at peace."

Elaine Anderson:
He's a pervert.

And the crazy thing is

is he perverted
his own religion.

Reporter 14:
Warren Jeffs has been sentenced
to life in prison.

Jeffs was convicted
in Texas

of having sex with girls
as young as 12.

He won't be
eligible for parole until

he's at least
100 years old.

Isaac:
It was really hard
to hear the sentence.

In my mind,

I was like,
"It'll never--

it's never gonna
be that long,

they have no way
to hold him."

'Cause Father would
tell us stories about,

in the Bible
or stuff where

God delivered people from
the hands of their enemies.

He said that
that could happen for him

if we were good enough
for it to happen.

Warren:
♪ Sweet spirit of prayer ♪

♪ Sweet spirit
of prayer... ♪

Dan:
Sad to say,
after some amount of time

his mother
and some others go in

and convince him that
he is the prophet.

And now he's back
in being the prophet again.

Mike:
His followers,
they don't believe it.

They don't believe
any of this stuff.

"I don't believe
the confessions,

I don't believe
that he's doing this."

Noel:
The follower wants to
have somebody

to tell them
who they are

and that they're special.

The followers often
sacrifice a great deal,

but, in return,
they get this confidence

that they are different
than all the evil people

out in the world today,

that they're
God's special people.

Sam:
In some ways, I think that

Warren is maybe even
more effective

from behind bars

than he was
outside of prison.

In prison,
he's a martyr.

And the people believe that

he is there atoning
for their sins,

for their misgivings,

and that they need
to try harder.

Alyshia:
Basically, we blamed ourselves.

We knew it was because
we didn't exert the faith

and we weren't worthy
to have him among us

and that's why the Lord
took him away.

That's... very much
the mindset that we had.

Sam:
That is really the source
of Warren's power,

is that loyalty
and blind obedience.

( music playing )

Gabriel Dutson: I grew up
in Colorado City, Arizona,

Short Creek.

My dad,

he actually came out

and said that, um...

that he still believed
in Warren Jeffs.

And I just didn't
believe that.

So he just said,
"Pack your things and go."

I have three little sisters
that I can't say hi to,

not even "Hi."

And they don't even
remember who I am

because you don't
let me come around.

( sniffles )
And now they're seven years old.

That I can't be a part of
the family I grew up with.

Tommy:
Warren's in jail

and he's still
controlling that town.

It's kind of despicable

what he's still allowed
to get away with

from behind bars.

The last time I took
Warren Jeff's deposition

was in Palestine, Texas.

This is continued deposition
of Warren Jeffs

taken on February 13, 2014.

We're on the record
at 2:08 p.m.

We wanted to
give him a chance

to maybe explain
to the FLDS people

and the public in general

what he was thinking.

And give him a chance

to come clean.

Well,
he didn't come clean.

All of a sudden, he's taking
the Fifth Amendment.

I don't know
how much guilt's there,

how much shame is there.

Sean:
The fact that Warren Jeffs
is incarcerated in Texas

has done nothing
to diminish his control

over the everyday lives
of FLDS members

How do you feel
that he's in jail,

maybe for
the rest of his life?

I feel really bad.

I love him,
I know that he loves me.

Sean:
He continues to serve
as the prophet

and, at least
as of January 2016,

we had evidence
that he continued

to direct the day-to-day
operations of the church.

Including things
like excommunicating
individual members

and directing what women

should be placed
with what caretakers.

The prison
in Texas suspected

that Warren Jeffs'
brothers were

were using hidden
recording devices

to capture their weekly
meetings with him.

Devices disguised
as watches and pens.

Warren Jeffs was sending out
coded letters.

A handful of trusted wives
were the ones

who were able to
unencrypt those letters

and get the messages back

to Short Creek.

Isaac:
Father Calvin said, "Yes,

the work's not stopped,

and we're going
to keep going.

Heavenly Father's guiding us
how he wants,

so you need to
stay focused."

Even though he was in jail,

he would tell us "I'm happier
than I've ever been before."

Flora:
There's no hardship on him.

What's changed?

He's just
not driving around,

kicking the dust
off his boots.

Right now, he still gets
visits from his wives.

He's still feeding his doctrine
to the people of the FLDS.

Tommy:
You can't just
go into that town

with an ice cream truck
and get on a megaphone

and say, "What you believe
is bull( bleep ), here's why."

You can't just list off
the reasons.

All you can really do is

show your support.

And when they're ready to

make that step
to come out,

all you can do
is be there for 'em.

Dan:
It takes generations
to overcome,

but you believe
to your core.

Just as it takes generations
to instill

new cores for
future generations.

Dr. Fischer actually pays
for my books in college.

They gave us
the possibility

for a good future.

And I've chosen
to live a different life.

More and more people
are starting to wake up.

That's the term they use,
they're waking up.

Elissa:
They started with 200 children,

and this year they began
with almost 600 kids.

Families are putting
their children

in school, they're going
against their culturing,

and their brainwashing,

and they're choosing to
make a life for themselves.

I moved back and so did
many, many other people.

And we moved back
with a reason.

I believe that we can

recover this town.

Rachel:
I still love him
'cause he's my father.

I am so sad that he's made
the choices he's made

I don't justify him, ever,

but it makes me sad
that he has made those choices.

and that he has to suffer.

Roy:
I want to forgive him,

but realizing
what he's done,

it would require something
pretty drastic for me
to forgive him,

but it's not happened yet.

Not happened yet.

( music playing )

Isaac:
There is no way
to see it fairly

from the outside world.

I hope that people
will understand

what those religious people
are going through

and why they make
their choices.

They made their mistakes.

And they're still--
they have good in 'em,

they did good things
in their life.

Warren:
Hear, little children,

that I will lead you.

Let's tie ourselves
to the prophet,

purifying ourselves
where we can

always keep sweet...

no matter what.