Friday 24 June 2022 01:36 AM Warren Jeffs looks unamused in new mug shot just weeks after Netflix dropped ... trends now
Polygamous cult leader Warren Jeffs looks unamused in his new mug shot as he continues to serve his life sentence for aggravated sexual assault
Polygamous cult leader Warren Jeffs looks unamused in his new mug shot as he continues to serve his life sentence for aggravated sexual assault.
The Texas Department Of Criminal Justice released a new mug shot of Jeffs, 66, on Thursday, just two weeks after the Netflix documentary dropped about his crimes. The documentary is currently spending its second week in the top 10 globally, pulling in almost 30million viewing hours.
Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 after being convicted of sexual assaulting two children, ages 12 and 15. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) leader has also been accused of sexually abusing his own children, as well as his niece and nephew, who have come forward with allegations.
The FLDS, a radical Mormon denomination, was founded in 1929 after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned polygamy in 1890 and excommunicated members who refused to give up the practice of plural marriage.
Jeffs grew up outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, in a polygamous household. His father, Rulon Jeffs, had around 75 wives and 65 children. Jeffs is estimated at having 85 wives.
The FLDS holds polygamy as a fundamental belief, and its men take multiple wives in what are termed 'celestial marriages,' each performed in a ceremony called a 'sealing.'
The church, which has an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 members, believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and a number of the marriages arranged in the community involved underage girls.
He appeared fresher and less tired in his older mug shot (left) and pictures (right)
Jeffs' wives pictured next to a photo of him on the wall
A photo from Netflix's new popular document showing Jeffs with his wives
Rulon became the spiritual leader of the religious sect in 1986 and was considered a prophet of God. Jeffs positioned himself as his successor before officially taking over as prophet following his father's death in 2002.
The new documentary exposes the horrific sexual and physical abuse that took place inside an extremist Mormon cult. Jeffs is reportedly still running the cult from behind bars.
FLDS was created in the early 20th century by a group of Mormons who got ostracized from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because they refused to give up polygamy - the act of marrying multiple women.
Polygamy was renounced from the Mormon religion in 1904, when the then-president of the church said it would no longer be allowed in a declaration known as the Second Manifesto.
However, some members of the community didn't want to stop the practice since they believed that 'the more wives and children you have, the higher in Heaven you'll be,' according to the documentary.
The documentary sheds some light on the heinous abuse that Jeffs' victims suffered, with one survivor recalling in the clip how she was forced to marry an adult man when she was just 14 years old.
Another ex-member revealed they were told the abuse they were subjected to was all being done 'for their salvation,' recalling: 'We did whatever it took, even if it was wrong.'
'Young girls were like a commodity owned by the church,' another person added.
Throughout the years that he ran FLDS - which has bases in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, collectively known as Short Creek, as well as one in Eldorado, Texas, which is called the Yearning for Zion Ranch - Jeffs brainwashed, imprisoned, and abused multiple women and children, earning him a spot on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List.
The Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey documentary dropped on Netflix on June 8 and is currently in the top 10 shows globally
In 2005, he was charged with sexual assault of a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct with a minor after he
