A 26 year-old Colorado City woman who was compelled into marriage at the age of 14 by FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, and held against her will for more than 10 years has been granted temporary custody of her six children and left the community according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Ruby Jessop was granted temporary custody of her six children and was able to leave Colorado City earlier this month. Authorities say her departure was made possible because Mohave County Sheriff’s Deputies have a greater presence in Colorado City to provide law enforcement protection. The $420,000 for added patrols by deputies was made available by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to Mohave County in 2012.
Ruby Jessop was forced into marriage by FLDS leader Warren Jeffs who compelled her to marry her second-cousin Haven Barlow in 2001. Her exact whereabouts were unknown for years until very recently when she was able to escape the town.
In 2001, Ruby’s sister Flora Jessop approached the Attorney General’s Office complaining that her sister Ruby, who was then 14, was being held against her will in homes in Colorado City and Hilldale Utah. Arizona and Utah officials launched a major effort at that time to find Ruby, but she could not be found. It was only weeks ago that she finally escaped Colorado City.
Flora Jessop left the FLDS Church in 1986 and has been working to tell Ruby’s story to the public. She is also helping others who want to escape from Colorado City.
There are more people like Ruby in Colorado City, and these funds will run out in approximately six months. The Arizona Attorney General is urging Arizonans to contact their legislators and ask them to support a bill that would authorize Mohave County Sheriffs Deputies to do the policing in Colorado City rather than the local marshals who are under the control of the dominant church.
Victoria Stazio has been representing Ruby and the Attorney General says she has “done tremendous legal work to get Ruby temporary custody of her children.”