Fugitive leader controlled followers

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — There is nothing physically imposing about Warren Jeffs. He's tall and reedy with a quavering voice and, acquaintances say, an especially limp handshake.

Family members describe him as secretive, strict and "very militant about his religion."

Jeffs, 50, grew up in a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compound in Salt Lake City, where he served first as a teacher and then principal of the sect's Alta Academy.

During his time at the academy, Warren Jeffs is accused of raping his then-5-year-old nephew Brent repeatedly. In a lawsuit filed by Brent Jeffs in 2004, the church leader is said to have a history of molesting children dating to when he was 14. The lawsuit said the church received complaints for years that he was abusing children yet did nothing to stop him — instead, it made him school principal.

Former students recall him talking graphically about sex to 5- and 6-year-old boys and stressing absolute obedience — especially on the part of girls and women.

Warren Jeffs became leader when his father, FLDS Prophet Rulon Jeffs, died in 2002. The younger Jeffs declared that God had sent him a revelation making him prophet. No one disputed the claim.

As prophet, Warren Jeffs immediately made his presence felt. Competitive sports were banned because they bred pride. Select "missionaries" were sent door to door to see if people were engaged in forbidden acts such as listening to music or watching television. He closed the church, saying residents had "treated lightly the things of God." It never reopened.

Calls for money "to build up the kingdom" increased. Along with a 10 percent tithe of their income, Jeffs asked each family for an additional $1,000 per month, witnesses said. Wheelbarrows were parked at public meetings for residents to toss in cash.

Jeffs routinely evicted people from their church-owned homes or gave the family of one man to another. He seldom provided explanations but insisted the targeted sect members write endless repentance letters confessing their sins — letters many believe he used for blackmail or to gather intelligence about rivals.

He expelled boys as young as 13 for wearing short-sleeved shirts, watching movies or talking to girls.

In public speeches, Jeffs prophesized that a final showdown between the faithful and the outside world was coming. Sermons were full of racist invective. He said blacks were cursed by God and that interracial marriage barred entry into heaven.

Jeffs often travels in convoys of SUVs with armed bodyguards. An enormous wall was erected around his Hildale, Utah, compound with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment.