The leader of a polygamist sect, who made headlines in 2008 when police raided his compound in Texas and took away more than 450 children, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for sexually assaulting two young girls.
Warren Jeffs, the spiritual leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, showed no reaction as the jury’s sentence was delivered after less than an hour of deliberations.
His reclusive sect was thrust into the spotlight when Texas police raided a sprawling compound near the small town of Eldorado and seized 468 young boys and girls amid allegations of systemic sexual and physical abuse.
But they were soon ordered by a court to return them to their parents when a court ruled child welfare officials had overstepped their authority. — AFP