This is a simply incredible story about a woman who left the FLDS with only $20 after being threatened with her life. She now helps others wanting to leave the sect.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/feb/22/i-was-17-and-he-was-50/
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
New nonprofit launched to help people from polygamous communities
http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_11640252?source=rss
Excerpt
Tewell is the driving force behind a new nonprofit organization called Holding Out HELP, designed to offer services such as housing, legal assistance and counseling.
The inspiration for the new nonprofit came after Tewell's own experience helping a family.
Tewell volunteered to open her home as a "safe house" through another organization. Twelve months later, she got a call: A woman and her four school-age children, along with her own mother, wanted out of a Salt Lake Valley-based polygamous community. Both women were plural wives.
"My husband and I looked at each other and said, 'Oh boy, are we ready to take the plunge?'" Tewell said.
Tewell admits she had preconceived notions about the people she was about to welcome into her home.
"I didn't expect them to be educated, I expected them to be in full garb with braids, the image we all have of polygamists," she said. "When they arrived, they were some of the sweetest ladies you've ever met. There was nothing weird. They were just like our family."
At that doorstep introduction, Tewell hugged one woman, told her she was safe and "she just burst out bawling."
www.holdingouthelp.org
Excerpt
Tewell is the driving force behind a new nonprofit organization called Holding Out HELP, designed to offer services such as housing, legal assistance and counseling.
The inspiration for the new nonprofit came after Tewell's own experience helping a family.
Tewell volunteered to open her home as a "safe house" through another organization. Twelve months later, she got a call: A woman and her four school-age children, along with her own mother, wanted out of a Salt Lake Valley-based polygamous community. Both women were plural wives.
"My husband and I looked at each other and said, 'Oh boy, are we ready to take the plunge?'" Tewell said.
Tewell admits she had preconceived notions about the people she was about to welcome into her home.
"I didn't expect them to be educated, I expected them to be in full garb with braids, the image we all have of polygamists," she said. "When they arrived, they were some of the sweetest ladies you've ever met. There was nothing weird. They were just like our family."
At that doorstep introduction, Tewell hugged one woman, told her she was safe and "she just burst out bawling."
www.holdingouthelp.org
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Jeffs' daughter dropped from custody dispute
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6244168.html
Excerpt
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Texas child welfare authorities have dropped the custody case involving a 17-year-old daughter of jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, saying court oversight is no longer needed.
Child Protective Services on Monday dropped their custody case on the girl, who was allegedly married to Raymond Merrill Jessop in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints the day after she turned 15. Jessop, 37, has been indicted on charges of bigamy and sexual assault of a child.
update: after further probing, this article is about Teresa Jeffs.
Excerpt
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Texas child welfare authorities have dropped the custody case involving a 17-year-old daughter of jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, saying court oversight is no longer needed.
Child Protective Services on Monday dropped their custody case on the girl, who was allegedly married to Raymond Merrill Jessop in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints the day after she turned 15. Jessop, 37, has been indicted on charges of bigamy and sexual assault of a child.
update: after further probing, this article is about Teresa Jeffs.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Sect leader's Fifth pleadings to be reviewed
http://gosanangelo.com/news/2009/jan/23/breaking-news-sect-leaders-fifth-pleadings-to-be/
Excerpt
Even after eight hours in a Schleicher County courtroom, the deposition of YFZ Ranch leader Merril Jessop may not be over.
Attorneys for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints elder and his alleged teenage daughter-in-law will argue in court Monday over whether Jessop should be able to plead Fifth Amendment protection to a series of questions regarding the polygamous sect's financial structure.
"There are quite a few (answers) that are in controversy," said Natalie Malonis, the Denton attorney representing a 17-year-old daughter of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. "He answered some of it. I hope that on Monday when we have our hearing, (the judge) will compel answers."
51st District Judge Barbara Walther set the hearing, Malonis said, after compelling testimony in a 30-minute telephone proceeding on some efforts by Jessop to plead the Fifth, which protects witnesses from being forced to give answers under oath that could incriminate them.
The sect's own documents describe the girl as having been married to Jessop's 36-year-old son. Jessop, 72, has been indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury on charges of orchestrating an illegal marriage ceremony involving a different underage girl.
Malonis said she has not contested all of Jessop's Fifth Amendment pleadings, but that she asked Walther to compel testimony on questions of the sect's finances.
"He may be the only person who can answer that information," she said.
Excerpt
Even after eight hours in a Schleicher County courtroom, the deposition of YFZ Ranch leader Merril Jessop may not be over.
Attorneys for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints elder and his alleged teenage daughter-in-law will argue in court Monday over whether Jessop should be able to plead Fifth Amendment protection to a series of questions regarding the polygamous sect's financial structure.
"There are quite a few (answers) that are in controversy," said Natalie Malonis, the Denton attorney representing a 17-year-old daughter of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. "He answered some of it. I hope that on Monday when we have our hearing, (the judge) will compel answers."
51st District Judge Barbara Walther set the hearing, Malonis said, after compelling testimony in a 30-minute telephone proceeding on some efforts by Jessop to plead the Fifth, which protects witnesses from being forced to give answers under oath that could incriminate them.
The sect's own documents describe the girl as having been married to Jessop's 36-year-old son. Jessop, 72, has been indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury on charges of orchestrating an illegal marriage ceremony involving a different underage girl.
Malonis said she has not contested all of Jessop's Fifth Amendment pleadings, but that she asked Walther to compel testimony on questions of the sect's finances.
"He may be the only person who can answer that information," she said.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Depositions scheduled for FLDS officials
http://gosanangelo.com/news/2009/jan/22/breaking-news-depositions-scheduled-for-flds/
Excerpt
Lawyer Natalie Malonis, the lightning-rod attorney for imprisoned sect leader Warren Jeffs' now-17-year-old daughter, has subpoenaed:
* Merril Jessop, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints elder believed to have run the ranch since Jeffs was imprisoned
* Willie Jessop, a sect member who has served as its spokesman since a state raid in April
The depositions - scheduled for Friday and Monday - were confirmed by the Tom Green County District Clerk's Office. Copies of the subpoenas and subsequent motions to quash them, rejected Wednesday by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, were not immediately available.
Court documents allege the girl was 15 when Jeffs allowed her to be married to one of Merril Jessop's sons, who was 34 at the time. Jessop and the son, Raymond Jessop, have been indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury on charges related to the underage marriage the state alleges was prevalent at the sect's YFZ Ranch.
Willie Jessop, of no close relation to Merril Jessop's family, has been accused by Malonis throughout the case of attempting to intimidate the girl into being uncooperative with Malonis and authorities. Those allegations led to a restraining order being issued against the girl's mother, Annette Jeffs, that ordered her to keep her daughter away from Jessop.
Excerpt
Lawyer Natalie Malonis, the lightning-rod attorney for imprisoned sect leader Warren Jeffs' now-17-year-old daughter, has subpoenaed:
* Merril Jessop, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints elder believed to have run the ranch since Jeffs was imprisoned
* Willie Jessop, a sect member who has served as its spokesman since a state raid in April
The depositions - scheduled for Friday and Monday - were confirmed by the Tom Green County District Clerk's Office. Copies of the subpoenas and subsequent motions to quash them, rejected Wednesday by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther, were not immediately available.
Court documents allege the girl was 15 when Jeffs allowed her to be married to one of Merril Jessop's sons, who was 34 at the time. Jessop and the son, Raymond Jessop, have been indicted by a Schleicher County grand jury on charges related to the underage marriage the state alleges was prevalent at the sect's YFZ Ranch.
Willie Jessop, of no close relation to Merril Jessop's family, has been accused by Malonis throughout the case of attempting to intimidate the girl into being uncooperative with Malonis and authorities. Those allegations led to a restraining order being issued against the girl's mother, Annette Jeffs, that ordered her to keep her daughter away from Jessop.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
State still seeks custody of sect's 14-year-old bride
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6197746.html
Excerpts
A fight for the custody of the 14-year-old bride of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs could be heating up, according to a document filed in West Texas over the holidays.
The girl is the only child still in foster care who was among the 439 children taken by CPS last spring from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado.
And the teen could remain in foster care permanently, her parents' rights severed, which could free her up for adoption, if her mother does not assure the agency that she can provide a safe home, one where the girl is not married to another man.
A Texas Child Protective Services progress report on the case, filed Dec. 22, reveals the agency's frustrated attempts to persuade the teen's mother, Barbara Jessop, to cooperate with them by assuring them her daughter would not be involved in other marriages.
The agency indicated it now wants permanent custody of the girl.
State seeks reunited family
"Ms. Jessop has not been able to identify how she will be able to protect (her daughter) from future abuse," the progress report, filed in San Angelo, reads.
-----------------------------------
In previous filings, CPS officials have presented records, including excerpts from Jeffs' journals, that indicate the girl was married to Jeffs when she was 12 years old. Jeffs is the jailed leader of the FLDS, a breakaway Mormon sect that practices polygamy.
Those records indicated that the marriage ceremony was performed by the teen's father, Frederick Merril Jessop, considered Jeffs' second-in-command, and witnessed by the girl's mother, the third of Jessop's six wives.
A status hearing, allowing all parties to meet on the teen's case, is scheduled for Thursday in San Angelo.
Excerpts
A fight for the custody of the 14-year-old bride of jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs could be heating up, according to a document filed in West Texas over the holidays.
The girl is the only child still in foster care who was among the 439 children taken by CPS last spring from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado.
And the teen could remain in foster care permanently, her parents' rights severed, which could free her up for adoption, if her mother does not assure the agency that she can provide a safe home, one where the girl is not married to another man.
A Texas Child Protective Services progress report on the case, filed Dec. 22, reveals the agency's frustrated attempts to persuade the teen's mother, Barbara Jessop, to cooperate with them by assuring them her daughter would not be involved in other marriages.
The agency indicated it now wants permanent custody of the girl.
State seeks reunited family
"Ms. Jessop has not been able to identify how she will be able to protect (her daughter) from future abuse," the progress report, filed in San Angelo, reads.
-----------------------------------
In previous filings, CPS officials have presented records, including excerpts from Jeffs' journals, that indicate the girl was married to Jeffs when she was 12 years old. Jeffs is the jailed leader of the FLDS, a breakaway Mormon sect that practices polygamy.
Those records indicated that the marriage ceremony was performed by the teen's father, Frederick Merril Jessop, considered Jeffs' second-in-command, and witnessed by the girl's mother, the third of Jessop's six wives.
A status hearing, allowing all parties to meet on the teen's case, is scheduled for Thursday in San Angelo.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
CPS final report includes abuse & neglect
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/12/24/1224eldorado.html
Excerpts
A Texas Child Protective Services investigation has found that of the 439 children removed from the Yearning for Zion ranch in West Texas earlier this year, 275 were abused or neglected.
The final report released Tuesday said that 12 girls were victims of sexual abuse because they entered "spiritual marriages" between the ages of 12 and 15. Seven of them have had children, the report said. It also said that 263 other children suffered neglect.
But the report does not include specific information on how investigators determined whether each child was abused or neglected, citing confidentiality requirements in state law.
The case "is about sexual abuse of girls and children who were taught that underage marriages are a way of life," said the report by the Department of Family and Protective Services, which oversees CPS. "It is about parents who condoned illegal underage marriages and adults who failed to protect young girls — it has never been about religion."
As a result of the investigation, the report said, 170 parents have taken classes "on appropriate discipline and the psychosexual development of children" and 50 girls took classes on how to identify and report sexual abuse.
CPS is working with the families of 15 children, including two who remain in state custody, department spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. The rest of the children are entirely in their parents' care. He said CPS has exhausted the options state law provides.
------------------------------------------------
State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, whose district includes Eldorado, where the ranch is located, said the report "validates many of the things (CPS) was criticized for doing," including going into the ranch in the first place.
He said he'll file a bill during the legislative session that begins Jan. 13 that would allow CPS to remove perpetrators rather than alleged victims in cases that involve large communities such as the ranch.
McCown said that state law already offers an option for removing perpetrators but that it may not be wise to do so.
"If you've got a 13-year-old girl forced to marry a 50-year-old man, and her mother made her wedding dress, then leaving her in the care of her mother and removing her father doesn't necessarily solve the problem," McCown said.
In the separate criminal investigation, 12 male residents of the ranch have been indicted on charges including sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault, tampering with evidence, bigamy and failure to report abuse. Among the indicted is sect leader Warren Jeffs.
Texas in 2005 raised the age of legal marriage from 14 to 16, in part to discourage Jeffs' group from settling in Texas, said Hilderbran, who worked to pass the legislation.
Excerpts
A Texas Child Protective Services investigation has found that of the 439 children removed from the Yearning for Zion ranch in West Texas earlier this year, 275 were abused or neglected.
The final report released Tuesday said that 12 girls were victims of sexual abuse because they entered "spiritual marriages" between the ages of 12 and 15. Seven of them have had children, the report said. It also said that 263 other children suffered neglect.
But the report does not include specific information on how investigators determined whether each child was abused or neglected, citing confidentiality requirements in state law.
The case "is about sexual abuse of girls and children who were taught that underage marriages are a way of life," said the report by the Department of Family and Protective Services, which oversees CPS. "It is about parents who condoned illegal underage marriages and adults who failed to protect young girls — it has never been about religion."
As a result of the investigation, the report said, 170 parents have taken classes "on appropriate discipline and the psychosexual development of children" and 50 girls took classes on how to identify and report sexual abuse.
CPS is working with the families of 15 children, including two who remain in state custody, department spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. The rest of the children are entirely in their parents' care. He said CPS has exhausted the options state law provides.
------------------------------------------------
State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, whose district includes Eldorado, where the ranch is located, said the report "validates many of the things (CPS) was criticized for doing," including going into the ranch in the first place.
He said he'll file a bill during the legislative session that begins Jan. 13 that would allow CPS to remove perpetrators rather than alleged victims in cases that involve large communities such as the ranch.
McCown said that state law already offers an option for removing perpetrators but that it may not be wise to do so.
"If you've got a 13-year-old girl forced to marry a 50-year-old man, and her mother made her wedding dress, then leaving her in the care of her mother and removing her father doesn't necessarily solve the problem," McCown said.
In the separate criminal investigation, 12 male residents of the ranch have been indicted on charges including sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault, tampering with evidence, bigamy and failure to report abuse. Among the indicted is sect leader Warren Jeffs.
Texas in 2005 raised the age of legal marriage from 14 to 16, in part to discourage Jeffs' group from settling in Texas, said Hilderbran, who worked to pass the legislation.
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