How Many Kids Did Warren Jeffs Have? Digging Into the Life Sentenced Polygamist Leader’s Huge Family
Introduction to Warren Jeffs and His Notorious Polygamist Lifestyle
Warren Steed Jeffs, the infamous religious leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), is currently serving a life sentence for child sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault of children.
As the autocratic President and so-called “Prophet” of the FLDS sect up until his arrest, Jeffs used his extraordinary power to facilitate and cover up physical and sexual abuse, as well as carry out the systematic exploitation of women and girls in his tight-knit polygamist communities scattered mostly across the Western United States.
A key component of Jeffs’ totalitarian control involved the command for male members of the sect to practice polygamy by “plural marriage” in line with his radical teachings. This resulted in Jeffs taking on nearly 70 wives and having at least 65 biological children of his own by the most conservative estimates.
Let’s take a deeper look at how prolific Warren Jeffs’ parenting track record proved to be over his criminal reign.
How Many Wives Did Warren Jeffs Take?
Drawing from records seized from the FLDS compound in Eldorado, Texas along with court documents and personal accounts, experts believe Warren Jeffs married somewhere between 70 to 90 women over several decades.
Due to the secretive practices of his isolationist cult, obtaining exact figures remains difficult. Jeff’s youngest bride was rumored to be just 12 years old at the time he illegally married her.
Jeffs’ nickname for his expanding group of wives was reportedly “Heavenly Comfort Women” in warped reference to the wartime sex slaves seized by imperial Japanese troops during World War II.
How Many Biological Children Did Warren Jeffs Father?
Alongside his sprawling collection of child brides and wives, Jeffs further wielded control by fathering an enormous brood of children within his insular FLDS community.
Again, while complete records remain protected inside the walls of the cult’s segregated compounds, estimates based on leaked documents and insider accounts point to Warren Jeffs having up to 70 biological children with his multitude of wives.
This substantial progeny spanned at least 31 different mothers according to sources familiar with the sect’s secretive workings. The high volume of kids provided Jeffs with greater capacity to indoctrinate minors under his utter influence as the cult’s demagogue ruler.
What Happened to Warren Jeffs’ Children Following His Arrest and Imprisonment?
When Warren Jeffs was finally arrested in late summer of 2006 after years evading charges, his giant web of plural marriages and children were suddenly left largely fatherless.
Upon his sentencing in 2011 to a lifetime jail term for his appalling sex crimes, the seething question remained about what would become of the women and offspring left behind inside his cult’s firm grip.
While a void of leadership caused strife and splintering within the greater FLDS organization, most of Jeffs’ family connections and patriarchal legacy devastatingly endure to this day.
Insiders describe Warren Jeffs’ children ranging widely in age, from adult-aged down to infants, residing across FLDS hideouts in Texas, Utah, Arizona, South Dakota and remote corners of western Canada. Their mothers – some only teenagers themselves, remain bound to the fragments of Warren’s tainted theology.
Tragically for many of these children born in political captivity, what Warren Jeffs constructed still confines too many destinies.
Do Warren Jeffs’ Adult Children Remain Loyal to His Teachings?
While specifics on his dozens of children stay obscured for privacy and safety, some of Warren Jeffs’ adult sons have shockingly risen to visibility as defenders of their convicted father’s warped vision for religious domination.
His sons Roy Jeffs and David Jeffs in particular have gone public to delegitimize accusations that Warren molested teenage girls. Despite overwhelming evidence against their tyrannical dad, these sons maintain Warren’s innocence.
This steadfast loyalty exposes the success of Warren Jeffs’ attempt to engineer family dynamics ensuring the legacy of his criminal cult enterprise persists despite his downfall.
Frequently Asked Questions About Warren Jeffs’ Family History
Here are some answers to additional queries surrounding Warren Jeffs’ sprawling family tree:
What is the latest news on children still inside FLDS?
In recent years, stories by escapees depict continued mistreatment of minors born in the remnants of the church, with fanatical new leaders eager to succeed Warren’s mission. But growing exits spark hope.
How were Warren Jeffs’ children raised and educated?
Jeffs designed an intensive system of homeschooling curriculum to indoctrinate children inside FLDS. His kids learned obedience above all else according to mandates Warren issued from prison after his sentencing.
What percentage of FLDS kids were born from incest under Jeffs?
While unclear, critics condemn the visible pattern under Jeffs of close relatives intermarrying and bearing offspring which may cause birth defects. Genetic disorders are reportedly prevalent within the polygamist sect.
Did government intervenes to free moms and children?
Yes, particularly in Texas after the 2008 raid on the YFZ Ranch, Child Protection Services relocated and supported some escapees. But progress remains slow with few resources to counter such a vast, surreptitious network self-policed by religious extremism.
Where is Warren Jeffs imprisoned currently?
Jeffs serves his term in protective custody at the Powledge Unit in Palestine, Texas operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He awaits additional Arizona charges for more child sexual assault crimes whenever he completes his Texas sentence.
So Warren Jeffs’ personal family tally encompassed by estimates at minimum 65 children by at least 70 wives before facing earthly justice for horrific abuse against the vulnerable followers under his phony prophet guise. The mission to dismantle his criminal empire and free all remaining in its grip presses on.