New leaders of FLDS polygamy cult known for ritualized child rape have reportedly purchased property and started building in Northern Minnesota. Known polygamist and convicted felon Seth Jeffs, brother of convicted pedophile Warren Jeffs who's serving life plus 20 for child sexual assault, obtained permit to build a 6,000-sq ft compound. Construction equipment has arrived.
SETH STEED JEFFS is "a known polygamist, a convicted felon and a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)."
One of Seth's brothers is Warren Jeffs, the convicted pedophile and former FLDS boss who is in prison.
Seth Jeffs is currently being sued over claims he participated in that same ritual sex abuse orchestrated by Warren Jeffs in the FLDS. Seth is reported to be in hiding from the child rape lawsuit, and has faced related legal troubles around a food stamp abuse scheme the authorities say funded the FLDS.
In 2011 Warren was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault, for which he is currently serving a prison sentence of life plus 20 years.
After Warren went to prison, media attention mostly faded. People still live in the communities along the Utah-Arizona border where men like Warren and Seth were once kings. The Utah town of Hildale has a female mayor now, who grew up in the FLDS. She's amazing, and her name is Donia Jessop. Those former FLDS temple buildings in the Utah and Arizona border towns of Hildale and Colorado City no longer host FLDS worship services, and most of the faithful moved on to colonies elsewhere. Colorado. Canada. Mexico.
The FLDS didn't stop. Seth Jeffs didn't stop.
Seth is believed to have first moved to South Dakota and founded a new FLDS community there.
The 140-acre compound near Pringle, South Dakota, has a watchtower and armed guards.
There have been no reported births or deaths there for 14 years.
Lawmakers are looking into what they can do to shut down Seth's activity in South Dakota.
Seth now appears to be active in Minnesota.
Minnesota's KARE-11 reported in January 2019 that Seth Jeffs has relocated to a remote area in Northern Minnesota, and is likely one of the men behind a shadow entity that's been purchasing properties and construction equipment in the area.
Minnesota TV news station KARE-11 has been on the story for months, and today KARE-11 published photos that show construction equipment has already arrived at that remote Minnesota property, the one where residents fear Seth Jeffs is building a new promised land for FLDS members, like the "Yearning For Zion" ranch closed by authorities in Texas.
The aerial photos of the construction equipment and compound-building were taken by drone. You can view them here, in KARE-11's report from May 22, 2019:
In January, KARE 11 reported that Seth Jeffs had relocated to Minnesota and a company listing him as the "Managing Member" had purchased the remote property on Pike Lake Road west of Grand Marais.
Seth Jeffs is a known polygamist, a convicted felon and a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).
He is the brother of convicted pedophile prophet Warren Jeffs, now serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually abusing two child brides.
Records obtained by KARE 11 show Seth Jeffs has obtained a permit to construct a nearly 6,000-square-foot building on the property.
The reports sparked fears that Jeffs might be planning a compound similar to one located in South Dakota's Black Hills, complete with a guard tower.
Residents of Grand Marais, MN recently held a community meeting at which Sam Brower, a private investigator who wrote the excellent book "Prophet's Prey" about his 7-year investigation of the FLDS, spoke about what's at stake.
A large crowd packed a community meeting in Grand Marais over the weekend to discuss fears that the polygamist group is preparing a new complex on the heavily wooded property.
"We wouldn't be able to tell if anything is going on there," one neighbor worried.
The meeting came in the wake of KARE 11's reports that Seth Jeffs had opened a handyman business based in the Twin Cities and was buying land between Lutsen and Grand Marais.
Also at that Minnesota town hall meeting was Tonia Tewell, founder of Holding Out HELP, a Utah-based nonprofit group that helps people from the FLDS and other polygamy sects who want to leave. Getting out isn't the only impossible challenge these people face. Holding Out HELP's work is excellent, and really deserves support. They're on Twitter as [@holdingouthelp], and Facebook.
This video features just a few of the people Holding Out HELP has served over the last decade. The progress, independence & success each of them have achieved is INSPIRING. We hope you enjoy! https://t.co/kSMEADCqrv
— Holding Out HELP (@HoldingOutHELP) March 12, 2018
More on their work:
Holding Out HELP provides those who come from a polygamous culture the resources needed to transition from isolation to independence.
Donate something today. Be part of the solution.
Sam Brower's book 'Prophet's Prey' was also made into a 2015 documentary film directed by Amy Berg. Might want to watch it.
Here's a famous photo of Warren Jeffs with one of his many, many victims. This image was introduced by the State of Texas in the trial that led to Warren's demise.
The girl in the image is an adult woman now. Her name is (or was) Merrianne Jessop. There's a really great feature story about her and YFZ in Texas that you can read here: 'With God On Their Side,' 2009 in the Texas Monthly.
Elissa Wall was another one of Warren's victims. Her book is amazing, as is her resilience and strength. Qualities she shares with so many of the women I have encountered from the FLDS.
May each of these girls and women be allowed to live their own lives, in true freedom.
