Los Angeles News

Polygamist Sect Escapee Speaks To Laura Diaz

(CBS) A member of a polygamist sect accused of rape says he won't be able to get a fair trial. It's because of a new book written by the woman he married, Elissa Wall.

In her first local interview, Wall tells me she was forced to marry him and have sex against her will at the age of 14.

"Well I'm pretty confident that he and also Warren will get a fair trial. O.J. had a fair trial so I'm sure that they will and I don't think the book will impact the fairness of the trial."

She's only 21, but Elissa Wall seems much older. Perhaps that's because she's already been through a lifetime of torment. She grew up a member of the fundamentalist church of Latter Day Saints (or FLDS). Some would call it a cult. In her new book, "Stolen Innocence," Elissa writes that she was taught being married into a polygamist family is the only way to salvation. Still, she was horrified at the age of 14 when the church's prophet, Warren Jeffs, gave her the order she was to marry her 19-year-old first cousin, Allen Steed. In an instant, she went from child to child bride.

"A part of being a girl in that culture, you're taught your entire life to keep men and boys at an arm's length. Keep the men away, keep, keep that defense, but as soon as you're married, to let them down."

"Standing in front of Allen, I could feel his eyes taking in my body with a look that I did not trust, but I was too frightened to put my clothes back on. I was crying as he brought me over to the bed. 'And now do you know what I am going to do to you?' he said in a weird way. 'No,' I responded with a whimper. He began to tell me what he was planning to do and it only made me more confused."

Elissa has provided us with an exclusive look at her yearbooks from Alta Academy. She attended first through sixth grades there. On the surface, it looks like any other yearbook, but in fact these children were being brainwashed from a very young age. Here's a photo of Warren Jeffs, the principal. Of course at the time, Elissa had no idea she would someday help put Jeffs behind bars.

"Warren controlled what was going on."

Elissa was taught to revere Warren Jeffs. In this photo, which she shares with CBS 2, Elissa, her brother and Jeffs are all seen smiling on a school outing. The students called him Uncle Warren, but behind the veneer of reverence was a constant underlying tension. It wasn't until years later when Elissa finally gained the courage to escape the sect, Jeffs was charged with being an accomplice to rape.

"My whole entire life, he has always affected me. He has always had authority over me and he has always been someone who we respected highly, but also feared greatly, until after I was able to leave and face him in court."

At his trial, Elissa bravely testified that Jeffs knew he was forcing her to marry her cousin against her will. Based on Elissa's testimony, Jeffs is now spending five years to life in prison and faces more charges. Her appointed husband and cousin, Allen Steed, awaits trial on rape charges. Breaking out of the sect was a life-changing event.

"Tell us a little bit about what you were like. I mean, did you know who Britney Spears was? Did you know what an iPod was?"

"When I, when, I'll never forget, it's almost humorous now, you know, coming to the real world and getting used to the culture, Britney Spears and different things, was culture shock. It really was a culture shock to try and get a grapple on fashion and hair and makeup, rent, what it's like to pay rent. And going to the grocery store. All these things that we take for granted every single day were hurdles for us to jump over."

And now the victim has become a healer. Last month, after the raid on another FLDS compound in Texas, Elissa was called there by sheriffs to help bridge the gap between two very different worlds. When she got there, she saw her long-lost sisters through a window.

"It was really hard for me to see them. I would see them through the windows. I would see my own sisters and I just wanted to reach out and just hug them and say, you know, 'It's going to be okay.' To know to really know and taste true pain makes happiness and true fulfillment all the sweeter."

Wall's appointed husband, her first cousin, says he is innocent of all the charges. Wall plans to use a portion of her earnings from the book for a foundation she's starting to help others who were abused as members of the sect.

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