Brent Jeffs, now 22, on Wednesday repeated the allegations he made in his July 2004 lawsuit: that in the late 1980s, Warren Jeffs, his uncle, sodomized him in the Salt Lake Valley compound then owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Brent Jeffs said he was 5 or 6 at the time, and that Warren Jeffs' brothers, also named in the lawsuit, watched and participated in the abuse.
He said he decided to come forward now because of actions by Utah and Arizona to protect church assets held in its United Effort Plan, which holds all FLDS property in trust. In particular, authorities in both states want to make sure that residents of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., are not in peril of losing their homes if the UEP defaults on its obligations to them.
More to the point, Brent Jeffs said Warren Jeffs and his brothers are "out of control, and have been for years, tearing families apart, tearing people apart."
Warren Jeffs, who moved from the Salt Lake Valley to the twin cities in 1998, now is president of the FLDS church, which holds plural marriage to be a sacred obligation and considers him its prophet.
Since late 2002, he has banished dozens of men from the faith and assigned their families to other men. He also has established a new outpost in Eldorado, Texas, where followers have built a compound and a temple. Warren Jeffs has not been seen publicly for about two years.
He has been sued by others as well. One suit contends he deliberately set out to drive young men away, possibly to keep them from marrying young women destined for plural marriage to older men. Just this week, a woman who was granted anonymity sued him for forcing her into marriage with an older man. Jeffs also is wanted on Arizona charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor and a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Warren Jeffs' former attorney, Rodney Parker, said Wednesday that he has not talked to Jeffs recently. However, he said, Jeffs "has not been responding to any of that. We withdrew from the representation in that case because we wanted him to respond and he wouldn't."
Brent Jeffs and his father, Ward Jeffs, say Warren Jeffs also abused two other brothers: Clayne, who committed suicide in 2001, and Brandon, now serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq. Ward Jeffs, who is Warren's half-brother, said Wednesday that he blames Warren for Clayne's death.
Ward Jeffs said Clayne, who was 10 years older than Brent, had been kicked out of the church-owned Alta Academy by Warren Jeffs. Ward Jeffs said his son's feelings of rejection and worthlessness contributed to years of drug abuse and other problems. Warren Jeffs was a teacher and later principle of the school.
After a previous suicide attempt, Clayne's therapists used hypnosis to try to uncover what might lie behind his self-abusive behavior, Ward Jeffs said. What came out were memories of having been abused by Warren in a bathroom at the church house.
"It was a whole new nightmare," Ward Jeffs said - one Clayne shared with Brent some months before his death.
Brent and Ward Jeffs both said they had not heard of any other cases of abuse, but they suspect fear is keeping victims silent.
"They are afraid of repercussions from Warren for standing up and speaking, both former and current members," Ward Jeffs said. "They are quietly afraid Warren might still have a connection with God and curse them."
Ward Jeffs left the church with his family about seven years ago. Brent Jeffs is married, works as a carpenter and lives in the Salt Lake Valley. He said he has a sister and brother living in Colorado City, but they refuse to have anything to do with him.
