Deceived

Ogden, Utah: In 1991 a brave, young women stepped into the Weber County Attorney's Office and admitted she had been part of a religious cult that was sexually abusing children. Burdened by guilt and expecting jailtime, she willingly revealed everything she knew about the cult and its members. Her effort at redemption would ultimately lead to the rescue of 32 children who were being sexually assaulted every day. This was only the beginning of the story in what became the largest, most successfully prosecuted case of ritual sex abuse in the state of Utah, perhaps the nation. Weeks later, following hundreds of hours of investigation, 70 police officers and social workers stormed the close-knit community with search and arrest warrants. Volumes of evidence was seized but the group's leader avoided capture. Many of the children were taken into protective custody. Not only were legends about stockpiled weapons, pharmaceuticals and food storage confirmed but evidence of sexual instruction and abuse was discovered. Several days later the leader of the group would be captured and confess to the assaults. Within a few months, eleven more cult members would be indicted. In all, these predators committed more than 750 felony crimes of child sexual assault. As I walked to my car on that final day in court, I thought to myself, "I hope the children we are rescuing today are not the predators we are putting in jail tomorrow."Over the years, I followed many of the cult members as they moved from one polygamist group to another. One by one, the correctional system released each predator as their time was served. The self-proclaimed prophet would die in prison. Now, 30 years later I'm sharing the story of the people who led the cult and how they convinced others to follow them. Most importantly, I'm telling the remarkable story of some of the victims who rose above the horror and the extraordinary moment they came back together 29 years later.