SAN ANGELO, Texas — A Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault Thursday, in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls “spiritual marriages.”
The head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stood stone-faced as the verdict was read. Jeffs, who acted as his own attorney, stood mostly mute for his closing argument, staring at the floor for all but a few seconds of the half-hour he was allotted.
At one point he mumbled, “I am peace,” and said no more. The only noise in the courtroom was the creaking of wooden benches brimming with spectators.
Jeffs, 55, had claimed his religious rights were being trampled and that God would seek revenge if the trial continued. He now faces up to life in prison. The sentencing phase of the trial started right after the verdict, and Texas’ attorney general said it could take three days.
Prosecutors used DNA evidence to show Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl and played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. They also played audio recordings in which Jeffs was heard instructing young women on how to please him sexually.
The FLDS, which has at least 10,000 members nationwide, is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism and believes that polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and that Jeffs is God’s spokesman on Earth.
Police had raided the group’s remote west Texas ranch in April 2008, finding women dressed in frontier-style dresses and hairdos from the 19th century as well as seeing underage girls who were clearly pregnant. The call to an abuse hotline that spurred the raid turned out to be a hoax, and more than 400 children who had been placed in protective custody were eventually returned to their families.
But authorities brought charges against several men from the group, with Jeffs by far the highest-profile defendant.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the case had nothing to do with Jeffs’ church or his beliefs.
“You have heard the defendant make repeated arguments about religious freedoms,” said lead prosecutor Eric Nichols. “Make no mistake, this case is not about any people, this case is not about any religion. It is about one individual, Warren Steed Jeffs, and his actions.”
Prosecutors relied heavily on information found during the raid on the compound and after a traffic stop in Nevada in 2006, when Jeffs was arrested. Much of the material was discovered in a vault at the end of a secret passageway in the temple and another vault in an annex building.
On one of the tapes played at the trial, Jeffs made a reference to “drawing close” or “being close,” which authorities testified is how church members refer to sex. Two female voices said “OK.”
“A good wife is trained for her husband and follows the spirit of peace,” Jeffs was heard saying.
Jeffs represented himself after firing seven attorneys in the six months leading to the trial.
