June 25, 1:32 PM, Wichita Falls Law Enforcement Examiner, Edward Lane

A Texas jury sentenced FLDS polygamist Abram Harker Jeffs to seventeen years in the penitentiary for sexually assaulting a 15 year old girl behind the walls of the YFZ compound. Jeffs and the other polygamists were indicted by local Texas grand juries.

Three years ago the nation's attention and news media were riveted on the Yearning for Zion fortress when Texas Rangers and CPS workers raided headquarters of the FLDS sect after reports of alleged sexual abuse of children.

Child Protective Services offices in Wichita Falls and across the state acted to stop the alleged sexual abuse of underage girls.

Texas Rangers, many from Wichita Falls, also participated in the raid which has now resulted in the conviction and sentencing to prison of five polygamists.

The Texas Attorney General's office became involved after the raid and was not involved in the search warrant.

The longest sentence thus far against one of the polygamists was 75 years in the penitentiary was against Merrill Leroy Jessop on March 22.

Abram Harker Jeffs was convicted Tuesday for sexually assaulting the 15-year old girl who he claimed was his "celestial wife".

The role of women in the FLDS society is explained by Carolyn Jessop, who escaped from her forced marriage to Merrill Jessop.

She later wrote a book about her spine-tingling departure from the sect entitled "Escape".

She was forced at age 18 into an involuntary marriage with Merrill Jessop who was age 50 at the time.

They had eight children together before she found the opportunity to escape at age 39 with her children.

Carolyn wrote in her book she was well aware of the risks she was taking. If caught her children would be taken away from her and she would be shunned. Further she ran the danger of being declared mentally unfit by an FLDS doctor and locked up in a facility for other rebellious FLDS women.

The attention of the nation and prosecutors now turns to Warren Jeffs, who was president of FLDS from 2002 until 2007 when he was arrested. The grapevine indicateds Warren Jeffs is probably still the leader of the movement from his Utah prison cell where he is serving a 10-year sentence.

Until recently Warren Jeffs had been enjoying free room and board in Arizona where he faced a series of polygamist-related charges. When those charges were dismissed by authorities in Arizona he was returned to Utah.

The extradition hearing in Utah in which Texas attempts to bring Warren Jeffs back to the Lone Star State for justice will be the next showdown in this dramatic series of trials.

Four hundred chldren were removed fromt he compound at the time of the raid and Wichita Falls attorney Richard Sutherland represented one of them.

His attorney has already vowed to oppose extradition to from Utah to Texas where he will face more serious charges than he did in Utah.

Leroy Barlow Jeffs and Michael Emack are two other FLDS polygmists who recently pled guilty and were sentenced to Texas prisons for illegal activities in the YFZ compound.

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