Posted on 05/08/2006 7:44:17 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The FBI has placed polygamist church leader Warren Jeffs on the agency's 10 most-wanted list, hoping the additional exposure and reward money leads to an arrest in the long-running investigation.
Jeffs is wanted in Arizona on criminal charges of sexual conduct with a minor. He also was charged in Utah with rape as an accomplice. He is accused of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. "We are doing everything we can to track him down," said Tim Fuhrman, special agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City field office. "We just made the determination that this is the next step that we can take as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to potentially result in the apprehension of Mr. Jeffs."
The FBI's announcement in a rare Saturday evening news conference coincided with Jeffs' case appearing on the television program "America's Most Wanted." Although Jeffs, who is 6-foot-4 and 150-155 lbs, isn't considered armed, he believed to travel with armed bodyguards.
Jeffs, 50, is the leader of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, based in the state line communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Jeffs has not been seen by anyone outside of the FLDS community for nearly two years...."
(Excerpt) Read more at abc4.com ...
The Salt Lake Tribune
Tips trickle in after TV show on Jeffs
Manhunt: The airing of 'America's Most Wanted' led to a 'limited number' of calls to the FBI
Article Last Updated: 05/08/2006 01:04:09 AM MDT
By Jason Bergreen
The national spotlight shined on Warren Jeffs on Saturday night.
And the result?
"America's Most Wanted" won't say how many tips it has received after an episode featuring the fugitive polygamous sect leader was aired Saturday on the popular crime show, but the FBI reported a "limited number" of calls to its Salt Lake City office.
Jeffs, wanted in Utah and Arizona on sex-abuse charges, was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitives list Saturday, less than an hour before the show aired. CNN quickly reported the listing on its Web site - even a news site in India picked up the story.
Avery Mann, a spokesman for "America's Most Wanted," said in an e-mail the show's re-enactment of the Jeffs case was one of the longest it had ever aired, coming in at more than 15 minutes.
"Regrettably, AMW does not release information on numbers of tips or locations," he said.
The 50-year-old leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been wanted since June, when a Mohave, Ariz., grand jury indicted him on charges of sexual contact with a minor and conspiracy in the forced marriage of a teenage girl to a married 28-year-old man. Last month, prosecutors in Washington County, Utah, filed two counts of first-degree rape against Jeffs, saying he was an accomplice in the sexual assault of an underage girl.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) is based in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., but also has enclaves in Eldorado, Texas; Mancos, Colo.; and Pringle, S.D. It adheres to the early teachings of Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS Church, including plural marriage. FLDS faithful consider Jeffs the sect's prophet and leader.
FBI Supervisory Special Agent Patrick Kiernan said calls were received over the weekend at the Salt Lake City office concerning Jeffs, but he didn't have details about the tips. Those phoned in from Utah, Idaho and Montana would have been investigated by the Salt Lake City office; if there were tips from outside the region, they may have been forwarded to other FBI jurisdictions, Kiernan said.
Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith on Sunday again called on Jeffs to surrender. He said the FLDS leader's "safety is of the utmost concern" and promised Jeffs that "he does not have to worry about any physical violence. We're not going to allow it to happen."
The FBI and "America's Most Wanted" hadn't contacted Smith as of Sunday, but he said communication between local, state and federal agencies has been good.
At Saturday's FBI news conference, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard requested a federal task force be formed to hunt Jeffs. Smith said Sunday that a task force is not necessary.
"I think, at this time, we've got some good intelligence," Smith said. "I think we're going to find him. . . . I would personally rather see us sit tight and see what happens."
Kiernan said he couldn't comment on the possibility of forming a task force. "That's something we could discuss. . . . I'm just not sure about a task force," he said.
A federal task force would be something new in the search for Jeffs, said Utah attorney general spokesman Paul Murphy, who favored the idea. There are areas that the IRS, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office could work together to investigate ongoing criminal allegations in Hildale and Colorado City, he said.
The reinvigorated hunt for Jeffs is the latest in a series of events that have put the spotlight on the FLDS. In January 2004, the leader expelled 21 men from the community, exposing what some outsiders said was instability in the church. Jeffs had cast out members in the months before and more expulsions followed after the January episode. One former follower refused to leave his home and won the right in court to remain.
The past two years brought more upheaval, including a series of legal actions.
In July 2004, Brent Jeffs filed suit accusing three of his uncles, including Warren Jeffs, of sexually assaulting him when he was a child. His suit also named the FLDS church as a defendant. A month later, a half dozen "lost boys" who say they were cast out of their homes in the Hildale-Colorado City community to reduce competition for wives sued the church and its officials, including Jeffs.
Then in August 2004, former FLDS member Shem Fischer added the church and Jeffs as defendants to a 2002 lawsuit claiming he was illegally fired from his job as a salesman at a Hildale cabinetry business because he no longer adhered to the faith.
And in December, a woman identified only as M.J. in court papers sued over her alleged forced plural marriage. Once again, Jeffs and the FLDS Church were named.
All four suits are pending.
Last year, the United Effort Plan, a trust that controls most of the property in Hildale and Colorado City, was put under the control of a court-appointed special fiduciary and its trustees were stripped of power. The action came after Jeffs and the church failed to respond to lawsuits, sparking fears that they would lose by default and put residents of the FLDS community in jeopardy of losing their homes to pay off a monetary award to the plaintiffs.
Other actions directed at the FLDS in 2005 include the state of Arizona taking control of the Colorado City school district and eight male members of the polygamous community other than Jeffs being charged with sex offenses for their alleged marriages to underage girls.
Tips trickle in after TV show on Jeffs
This whole sect and the story behind Colorado City and Hilldale was even in a movie years ago with Helen Hunt when she was a young girl -- Child Bride of Cross Creek (This area was called Cross Creek at one time)...
It would take volumns to tell the story of this place and these people and these women and children and the abuse they've endured because of Jeffs and his father before him...
They never finished the outside of their houses because if they were not 'finished' they didn't have to pay property taxes on them..
But I subscribe to the saying, "Love your country but don't trust your government"..
When it comes to Polygamy and the Mormons, there is an awful lot of allegation and innuendo, and accusation..
But there is very seldom any actual arrest and prosecution..
Some say this is due to "reluctance" to prosecute..
I say Horse Hockey..
It's because most accusations are unfounded, and evidence of all these alleged atrocities could not be found..
There isn't a prosecuting attorney in this country that would pass up a major conviction against rapists, child molesters and virtual slave merchants..
It would absolutely MAKE their careers, they could take their pick of political assignments, win elections, guarantee their success in any endeavor..
If it hasn't been done, it's because it wasn't there..
Otherwise, someone is going to have to explain why they failed to do their jobs all these years.. and they will be marked with that the rest of their lives, and will never be allowed to forget it..
They can forget about any kind of public career though..
But I just can't get it out of my head that I don't trust the feds..
I'm not certain about posting pix from HBO, so here's a link:
http://www.hbo.com/biglove/img/episodeguide/season1/ep_09_02.jpg
"Executive summary: Head of FLDS polygamist clan
Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Inherited the mantle from his father, Rulon Jeffs, after the old man's death in 2002. What happened next was revealed in an anonymous letter:
Remember Uncle Rulon died on Sunday, dissolving the First Presidency. Warren was still only an elder. The following day, at Monday morning meeting, Uncle Warren, besides giving us details on the passing of Uncle Rulon, made this statement. "I won't say much, but I will say this, Hands off my father's wives." Speaking to the newly bereaved widows, he said, "You women will live as if father is still alive and in the next room." I remember thinking to myself, "Who in the world, at a time like this, would be lusting after Uncle Rulon's wives?" The thought sickened me.
This was said on Monday. By that Friday, Warren moved in on those women so fast, and with such finesse, that only two of his "mothers" had enough fortitude to stand up against him. Those stunned women, who had sincerely believed that their husband and prophet would live 350 years and give them children, went through the shock of losing their husband to death, seeing him buried, Warren proclaiming himself prophet quickly thereafter and then immediately receiving revelation to marry those women "found worthy of him" in secret ceremonies.
Before committing that kind of sin before the eyes of God, one of his mothers, seeing the futility of fighting him off, bravely fled the compound and left the community at a run. Another of Warren's young "mothers" flatly refused to go along with the marriage. She was sent back to live with her father and told she would live the rest of her life out without ever being married. "
I'm sure that Jeffs and his cohorts are total "butt-heads", so to speak, and abused their authority status as religious leaders..
I'm also sure there are any number of "offended" people and "victims" out there that have embellished their accounts in order to justify larger settlements in court..
And, if they have a choice between a monetary settlement, and standing up for their personal honor, they'll take the money every time..
bookmark
Thanks for posting the background on him, Anti-Bubba182. He should give up and face the charges.
You are certain of a lot of things, but in this case you don't have a clue what you are talking about -- It is worse than being reported, not better.
As to the movie it was a fairly accurate representation of the last time anyone went up against Colorado City/Hilldale and it cost the Governor of Arizona his job... but, even it didn't begin to delve into how bad it really is for those people..
Don't forget how he turned all the young men out of the community; virtually dumping them on the streets of St. George, Salt Lake, Phoenix with no home, nothing, all because he didn't want young men in the community... kicking men out and forcing them to leave the wives and children behind.... he is building a community in Texas, S. Dakota and Canada and it's believed Mexico as well.
Has anybody read Krakour's book Under the Pale Banner of Heaven? Deals with these folks. Really interesting. They are sick people and should be in jail. The make 13 and 14 year old girls marry much older men against their will and will take them away from their "husbands" and give them to someone else as punishment for any type of deviation from the leader's demands. A really sick cult.
Those houses probably belong to the leaders of the church. Most of the families live in little shacks and trailers and are on welfare there.
"Don't forget how he turned all the young men out of the community; virtually dumping them on the streets "
Very true. They do get rid of young men because they obviously need a lot more women than men in the community to support the lifestyle. These are very sick people. The cult is little more than a cult of child rape disguised as a religion.
It does make sense in a twisted way to get rid of the young men to minimize competition.
Yes, they belong to "the church." Of course they forgot to pay property taxes while Mohave Country sent millions there for welfare and schools. When Warren took over the State was cracking down on them not teaching anything by doctrine so he took the kids all out of school and said they would be 'home schooled" though this wasn't home schooling as we all know it.
They keep control in this community by making everyone afraid of the outside world, lying to them about what is out there waiting for them so when they turned all these boys out they were mostly terrified.
I'd ask the same of you..
What makes You the qualified expert on everything..???
In every thing I've read, no one has been prevented from leaving the group if they had the backbone to do so..
In fact, in the case of the "lost boys", they were kicked out, forced from the community..
Doesn't sound to me like something I ( or any intelligent criminal mastermind ) would do..
Performing criminal acts within a closed circle and then consciously making enemies of those with personal knowledge of those acts sounds like incredible stupidity to me..
If the accusations of child molestation and forced marriage and rape are indeed true, then there should be volumes of signed depositions from the victims and witnesses..
If there are said depositions and complaints, then what has law enforcement been doing for the last 2 years???
And, I'll say it again..
If he's guilty of even ONE of the charges against him, he should have been in jail a long time ago..
But I don't think this is really about Jeffs, or polygamy..
It's about Religion, Politics, and Money..
That's what the feds really care about..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
