A Change.org petition is asking Texas' prison system to prohibit Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints President Warren Jeffs from having unsupervised visits.
The petition had 329 supporters as of Saturday afternoon. It was started by Hildale resident Tim Rohbock.
"As long as this psychopathic heartless, unsympathetic man is allowed to communicate to his lieutenants, innocent men, women and children are continuing to be raped, separated, starved and abused in every way possible," the petition says.
Jeffs has been in the prison in Palestine since his 2011 conviction on crimes related to marrying and sexually abusing two girls. Jeffs, 59, is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years.
In January, prison employees testified at a federal civil trial in Phoenix about how Jeffs communicates with his followers. One inspector for the prison system indicated Jeffs' visitations are typically unmonitored, though inspectors have recorded at least a few of Jeffs' visits with two of his full brothers, Nephi and Isaac Jeffs. Former FLDS members say those two are couriers for Jeffs. Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice played one recording of Jeffs giving instructions to his brothers that were to be relayed to officials for the towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.
The prison has disciplined Jeffs at least once for violating telephone rules when a call he made was broadcast to an FLDS congregation. The prison does not allow telephone conferencing.
Rohbock, 43, said he followed Jeffs until January 2013. Rohbock said he was unable to follow Jeffs' ban on the Internet, among other things.
"I tried to do all that stuff, but I'm too inquisitive of a mind," Rohbock said.
ncarlisle@sltrib.com
Twitter: @natecarlisle
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