'I was 14 when I was forced to marry my 19-year-old cousin and live in a polyamorous cult'
Elissa Wall was just 14 when she was forced to marry her 19-year-old cousin in a ceremony conducted by the notorious Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
After enduring numerous horrific ordeals during her childhood years, Elissa Wall finally chose to speak out about her extraordinary upbringing within a cult controlled by the infamous Warren Jeffs.
Jeffs is currently serving a life sentence following his conviction for child sexual assault in 2011.
Elissa Wall was born in 1986 in Salt Lake City, Utah, a U.S. state recognised for its substantial Mormon community. Both her parents were devoted followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a Mormon faction that broke away from the LDS after its prohibition of polygamy, as they themselves practised polygamous marriage.
Her parents had numerous children together, making Wall one of 14 siblings born to her mother. Additionally, she had 10 half-siblings from her father's side.
Within their highly conservative household, young girls were required to dress in lengthy "pioneer-style" frocks that covered them from wrist to ankle, whilst their hair was styled in plain matching buns and plaits, reports the Mirror.
During her childhood, Wall was educated at the Alta Academy, which was owned and operated by the church under Warren Jeffs' leadership, and there came a time in Elissa's life when this individual dominated every aspect of her existence. In 2001, at the tender age of 14, she was coerced into marrying her 19 year old cousin, Allen Steed, by the former cult leader.
This union was endorsed by her parents, and despite expressing her disdain for Steed and the arrangement, she found herself surrounded by encouragement. The pair were wed in a ceremony conducted by Jeffs in Nevada.
Her heart-wrenching autobiography, Stolen Innocence, reveals the traumatic marriage she endured with her cousin, marked by frequent sexual assaults and multiple miscarriages. The church's failure to provide adequate sex education left her uninformed about her husband's advances, leading to confusion.
When her marriage to her cousin crumbled at just 17, Wall spent countless nights sleeping in her truck before embarking on an affair with a former FLDS member. Lamont Barlow, 25, encouraged her departure from the church after their meeting.
Their affair came to light when Wall unexpectedly fell pregnant, leading Jeffs to annul her marriage to Steed. She and Lamont soon tied the knot and went on to have two children together – but this was not the end of her journey towards freedom.
Her story with Jeffs and his church wasn't quite over yet when, in 2006, Wall decided to press charges against the cult leader, as he was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List after fleeing. Wall recalled the moment the police uncovered his whereabouts and the situation in which they found him.
She explained he was "in a red Cadillac found to contain $54,000 in cash, 15 mobile phones, three iPods, laptop computers, a police scanner, a stack of credit cards and two female wigs, one blonde and one brunette".
It was in 2007 that Jeffs, now 69, was found guilty of raping a 15 year old child bride, as well as raping a 12 year old child bride, for which he was sentenced to life in prison, plus 20 years, and an additional fine of $10,000.
Wall documented the turmoil of her childhood in her book and continues to tell her story to this day in order to, in her own words, be an "advocate for the abused and disempowered".
Her website says: "Being a part of rebuilding my community has also rebuilt me in so many ways. It allowed me to face my darkest demons and grow beyond the events of life, rekindled friendships of my past, and forged new ones with the many amazing people here doing really incredible work.