Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting one of his child brides, one of 24 underage wives that Jeffs reportedly had.
According to an audio recording, Jeffs was heard telling groups of underage girls that they would be “rejected by God” if they did not concede to his sexual demands.
Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, represented himself and refused to plea for leniency and requested that he have no witnesses during his sentencing. In a speech to the court, Jeffs announced that the trial was dishonoring his religious rights. The jury, after a half hour of deliberation, returned with an extremely unsympathetic punishment. Jeffs, 55, will not be eligible for parole until he is at least 100 years old.
