Elissa Wall





Teressa Wall Blackmore is now fighting for custody of her children because of FLDS retaliation for her testimony on behalf of her sister, Elissa Wall, during the Rape as an Accomplice trial of Warren Jeffs. Go here for more information on this terrible situation and how you can help Teressa maintain custody of her children!



Elissa Wall

In December 2005, a very brave young lady named Elissa Wall filed a lawsuit against Warren Jeffs because he had forced her into an underage marriage when she was only 14 years old. In 2001, Warren told Elissa that she had to marry her 19-year-old FIRST COUSIN, although she begged Warren not to make her do it. Since marriage to a first cousin at age 14 is illegal in Utah, theirs was not a legally recognized marriage. However, to Elissa it felt like a legal marriage. In this lawsuit, Warren was accused of using his influence as a church leader to coerce this little girl to enter this illegal religious union and have sex with her first cousin, over her objections. Warren had told her that she risked her salvation if she refused to have sexual relations with her husband. It was this civil lawsuit that later became the basis for Warren's charge of being an accomplice to rape. Below are some articles on Elissa's courage to stand up for her rights to not be forced into an underage marriage to her first cousin.


New lawsuit filed against polygamist leader Warren Jeffs
The Associated Press News 6 - Corpus Christi, Texas Originally published December 13, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY -- A woman who claims she was forced as a young teenager to marry a much older man to fulfill her duties as a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is now suing church leader Warren Jeffs, accusing him of arranging the union. The civil lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Cedar City's 5th District Court, Court Executive Rick Davis said. The case will be heard by Judge Michael Westfall but has not been scheduled for a hearing. The lawsuit names Jeffs and the FLDS church corporation as defendants, asks for a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages for the woman, who in court papers is identified only as "M.J." "The nonconsensual spiritual marriage, the required sexual relations and M.J.'s resulting pregnancies have been physically and emotionally devastating to M.J," court documents state. The lawsuit contends that Jeffs performed the marriage ceremony without her consent and then commanded her and her new husband to "multiply and replenish the Earth." It also contends Jeffs conspired to commit battery and sexual abuse on a child because M.J. was too young to be legally married in Utah. Read more


Victim in Jeffs case is also suing him
Settlement talks under way in other lawsuits against FLDS leader
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The woman at the center of the criminal prosecution against Warren Jeffs is the same woman who has filed a multi-million dollar personal injury lawsuit against him. Lawyers for "M.J." confirmed Tuesday that she is "Jane Doe No. 4" in Washington County's case against Jeffs. It was revealed in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court, when her lawyers announced she has placed her civil lawsuit on hold until the criminal prosecution of Jeffs is over. "The M.J. case and any settlement is complicated by the criminal prosecution," lawyer Roger Hoole said Tuesday. Greg Hoole, who is also representing "M.J.," said they did not want to undermine the criminal prosecution of Jeffs with a civil lawsuit. "It's not about the lawsuit for her," he told the Deseret Morning News on Tuesday. "It's about helping people and making sure that Warren's behind bars." Prosecutors in St. George refused to comment on it. "I won't confirm or deny," said deputy Washington County Attorney Brian Filter. Read more


'M.J.' seeks a default ruling against Jeffs
Does nonresponse by FLDS chief point to guilt?
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Friday, January 12, 2007
A personal-injury lawsuit accusing Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs of forcing a teenage girl into a marriage with her cousin may be over before it even gets started. Lawyers for the woman, known as "M.J." in court documents, are asking a judge to grant them a default judgment. "We had hoped that Mr. Jeffs would find the courage and decency to respond to M.J.'s allegations. He has chosen not to respond," attorney Roger Hoole told the Deseret Morning News on Wednesday. "That speaks for itself." The court papers filed last week in Cedar City's 5th District Court ask for a hearing to determine how much Jeffs and the FLDS Church should pay. "M.J." is also "Jane Doe IV," the star witness in the criminal case against Jeffs. She claims that at age 14 she was forced into a marriage with her 19-year-old cousin. The woman's captivating testimony about her quick wedding and her many pleas to Jeffs to release her from the marriage led to the FLDS leader being ordered to stand trial in April on two counts of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. Read more


FLDS trust objects to a default
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Sunday, February 4, 2007
While Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is remaining silent on a personal-injury lawsuit filed against him, lawyers for the polygamist church's financial arm are registering their objections. In court papers filed in Cedar City's 5th District Court, lawyers for the United Effort Plan Trust registered an objection to a request for a default judgment against Jeffs, the FLDS Church and the UEP. A woman known in the lawsuit as "M.J." claims that at age 14, she was forced by Jeffs to marry her 19-year-old cousin. "M.J." is also known in criminal court papers as "Jane Doe IV," and is expected to testify against Jeffs when he faces a charge of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. Jeffs, 51, is scheduled for an April trial in St. George. Lawyers for "M.J." have asked for a default judgment in the civil case, saying Jeffs and the FLDS Church have not responded to their lawsuit. In court papers obtained by the Deseret Morning News, lawyers for the $110 million UEP Trust said they fear that "M.J." wants to hold them "jointly and severally liable for the conduct of the defaulting defendants." Read more


Potential-witness list released for Jeffs' trial
Wednesday is start date if jury is formed by then
By Nancy Perkins and Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published September 8, 2007
ST. GEORGE � Attorneys for jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs released a long list of potential witnesses on Friday that includes family members and friends of the woman known in court filings as "Jane Doe IV." Jeffs is charged with two first-degree felony counts of rape as an accomplice for his 2001 role in joining Doe, then 14, and her 19-year-old cousin together in a spiritual marriage. The bride testified during a preliminary hearing that she didn't want to marry her cousin and objected to having a "husband and wife" relationship with him. Fifth District Judge James L. Shumate instructed about 230 people who arrived at the Dixie Center in St. George about the jury selection process before asking them to be sworn in and fill out a questionnaire. The original jury pool of 300 had already been whittled down after more than 30 people were earlier excused by the judge for various reasons and another 30 or so didn't show up to answer the 75 questions posed to the group. The judge dismissed another seven people on Friday following an initial introduction and screening of the film, "Selected to Serve." Among the potential jurors were elderly men and women, one of whom was sobbing while filling out the form before she was released by the judge. Each person was assigned a time to report to court next week when individual interviews will be conducted by the attorneys and judge. If a panel of eight jurors and two alternates can be seated, the trial is expected to begin on Wednesday and last until Sept. 21. Read more


Polygamy leader told rape victim to repent
By Alexandria Sage Reuters Originally published Friday, September 14, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah (Reuters) - A young woman told a Utah court on Friday she wanted to die after being forced into sex at age 14 in a marriage arranged by one of the biggest U.S. polygamous sects. But the self-styled prophet of the breakaway Mormon clan told her she was disobedient and needed to repent and submit to her new husband, the woman testified. The woman, now 21, testified she had never been kissed or had a boyfriend before the 2001 wedding to her 19-year-old cousin and locked herself in the bathroom after the ceremony. The wedding was presided over by Warren Jeffs, 51, the leader and self-described "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, a breakaway Mormon sect that practices polygamy. Jeffs is on trial on two counts of being an accomplice to rape, a charge he denies. Jeffs is not charged with polygamy but the trial has focused attention on the practice and his secretive sect, whose approximately 7,500 members live in an isolated enclave on the Utah-Arizona border. The woman, who cannot be identified, said she begged her husband not to touch her as he undressed her one night soon after their wedding. "I can't do this, please don't,'" she said she told her husband. "I was sobbing. My whole entire body was shaking I was so scared. He didn't stop. He just laid me onto the bed and had sex." Read more


Teen Bride Cross-Examined in Second Week of Polygamist Warren Jeffs Trial
By Jennifer Dobner The Associated Press FOX News Originally published Monday, September 17, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah � A young woman who said she was forced to enter an arranged marriage at age 14 testified Monday that she never complained to her mother or sisters that she was being raped. "I never told anyone," the woman, now 21, said during cross-examination at the trial of polygamous-sect leader Warren Jeffs. Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice. Prosecutors say he used his influence to push the girl into a ceremonial marriage with a 19-year-old cousin in 2001 and force her to have sex. Last week the woman testified that she sobbed through the wedding and had to be coaxed by Jeffs and her mother when asked to say "I do." She hid in a bathroom after the ceremony at a Nevada motel. Defense attorney Tara Isaacson challenged her earlier testimony and her statements to police in 2006. The woman said Jeffs never specifically spoke to her about having sex because the FLDS faithful didn't use that word. She acknowledged her mother had a "great deal of influence" on her to go ahead with the marriage ceremony. The woman has been the only witness through nearly three days of trial. She recalled last week how she avoided sex for weeks but could no longer deny her husband when he said it was "time for you to be a wife and do your duty." Read more


Husband says girl initiated sex, Jeffs trial hears
By Daphne Bramham Vancouver Sun Originally published Thursday, September 20, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah - It all comes down to credibility in the trial of Warren Jeffs, the prophet of the largest polygamous group in North America. He is charged with two counts of being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old girl by her 19-year-old cousin. Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, officiated at their arranged marriage and later gave them marriage counselling. Her cousin, Allen Steed, who has never been charged with rape, testified Wednesday. Steed wept on the stand as he talked about how he loved his wife, who CanWest News Service is identifying as Jane Doe to protect her privacy. He denied ever having raped her and that the first time that they had intercourse - which Doe said was the first time she was raped - Doe initiated sex. "I came home. I was putting in long hours at my job and I was really, really tired," the sturdily-built, soft-spoken Steed said. "I went to sleep in my work clothes and as the night progressed, she woke me up and asked me if I cared about her and I said I loved her. She rolled up close to me and asked me to scratch her back and one thing led to another." He said he found himself "guided to her" and they had sex. Under cross-examination, Steed corrected when the first sexual contact happened. Initially he said it was nearly two months after the wedding. But shown a photo of a trip they made to Canada three weeks after the wedding, Steed said the sexual contact was before that time. He testified that he had been counselled by Doe's stepfather to "take it slowly" with the 14-year-old. One of the few conversations he and his "wife" - they were not legally married - had about sex was in relation to having children. Steed said Doe told him she wanted to wait to have children. Read more


Warren Jeffs' accuser no longer anonymous
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published September 21, 2007
ST. GEORGE � Her name is Elissa Wall. The woman at the center of the case against Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs made her name known today, when her attorneys released a photograph of her at age 14 � the age she was when she claims she was forced into a marriage with her 19-year-old cousin. "It's important to keep in mind that she's a 14-year-old girl when this occurred," said her attorney, Greg Hoole. "This picture helps people keep that in mind." Wall, now 21, was relieved to see the trial go to the jury late this afternoon, Hoole said. "She's doing well," he said. The jury is now deliberating whether Jeffs is guilty or innocent of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. Jeffs is accused of performing a marriage between Wall and her 19-year-old cousin, Allen Steed, at a Caliente, Nev., motel room in 2001. As the prosecution's star witness, Wall presented a heartbreaking case against Jeffs. She testified she did not want to be married to her cousin, and begged Jeffs to be spared from the union. No one, she claims, came to her defense. She said her mother and others betrayed her by insisting she go through with the marriage. Read more


Jeffs follower charged with rape of child bride
From Amanda Townsend and Gary Tuchman CNN Originally published Wednesday, September 26, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah (CNN) -- A young man whose arranged marriage to a young cousin led to the conviction of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was charged Wednesday with her rape. Prosecutors filed the rape charge against Allen Steed, 26, a day after a jury found Jeffs guilty of two rape-accomplice counts in connection with Steed's ill-fated 2001 marriage to Elissa Wall. Jurors found that Jeffs used his authority as leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, to push the girl into a marriage she did not want. Steed was 19 and his bride, who also was his first cousin, was 14 when Jeffs "sealed" them in spiritual marriage at a motel in Caliente, Nevada, where many FLDS weddings were performed. Three other couples also were married that day in separate ceremonies, according to testimony. Steed is accused of having sex with the girl against her will several weeks into the marriage. Steed testified for the defense at Jeffs' trial. He said his new wife was affectionate to him in private, but cold in public. He denied that he or Jeffs had forced sex on her. Wall agreed to be identified publicly as the trial ended in hopes of encouraging other women who feel trapped by polygamy to come forward. She testified that she told Steed she was not ready and that her first sexual encounter made her feel dirty, used and trapped. Her pleas to church leaders to end the marriage were ignored, and Jeffs told her to submit "mind, body and soul" to her new husband, Wall told the jury. Read more


Civil Claim From Jeffs Would Help Girls Escape Polygamy
Elissa Wall and Her Husband, Lamont Barlow, Talk Exclusively to GMA About Life in Sect
Good Morning America ABC News Originally broadcast October 1, 2007
Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs faces life in prison thanks to the chilling testimony from Elissa Wall, who said she was forced to marry her 19-year-old cousin when she was 14. Wall is now 21 and remarried to Lamont Barlow, who also left Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, the renegade Mormon group that practices polygamy. While testifying against Jeffs was extremely brave, Wall had already taken the most courageous step of her life by leaving the sect. For her and Barlow, leaving the group meant leaving behind family members and everything they had known before. Wall said today in an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America" that she is still in a sort of emotional exile from her family. "We love so many people from there, and it's really hard for them to understand what we're doing," she said. Read more


Steed is booked into jail, will be in court today
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published October 4, 2007
Allen Steed, who testified on behalf of Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs about Steed's failed marriage to a 14-year-old girl, has been booked into the Purgatory Jail on an arrest warrant. Steed, 26, was booked late Wednesday night by Hildale Town Marshal Helaman Barlow. According to a probable cause statement filed with the jail booking information, Steed contacted Barlow and turned himself in at Hildale town offices. "I get the sense it was a planned thing because he had the money all ready when he turned himself in," Washington County Sheriff's Lt. Jake Adams told the Deseret Morning News this morning. "He was booked in and paid bail and was released within 30 minutes." Steed paid $5,000 bond to be released. "He was booked in exactly the same fashion as anybody else would be," Adams said. "There was no special conditions to his release. He promised to appear in court." Steed has been charged with rape in connection with his marriage to Elissa Wall, the star witness in the case against Jeffs. She testified that at age 14, she was forced to marry Steed in a ceremony presided over by Jeffs. Steed was 19 at the time, and is her first cousin. Read more


Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Gets Maximum Sentence
Edward Lawrence, Reporter KLAS TV Channel 8 - Las Vegas Originally broadcast November 20, 2007
Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs got the maximum sentence under Utah law Tuesday. The 51-yesr-old Jeffs was convicted of two counts of rape as an accomplice in September. The charges stem from his role in arranging the marriage between a then 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin in 2001. Warren Jeffs will spend at least 10 years in prison. Utah law works a little differently. The judge imposed two five-year to life sentences running consecutively, which is the most the judge could sentence him to serve. At some point after 10 years the Utah Board of Pardons will set a parole hearing. But that does not mean Jeffs will get out. The judge in this case was very clear. Utah District Court Judge James Shumate said, "I know from fact that whatever I do today will not make it better. You live under a life sentence. Your courage in carrying on is laudable. You don't have to do it alone." Judge Shumate asked the victim, Elissa Wall, if she wanted any restitution. Elissa said no. Her restitution would be the maximum sentence under Utah law. That is what the judge did. In addition, Judge Shumate imposed a maximum fine under the law of $37,050. The judge came to the decision weighing heavily the victim's statements in court. Elissa Wall said, "I do not seek restitution, nor would I accept it from him. My restitution is knowing that I spoke the truth and you and the justice system have done your job." Read more


With 'prophet' in prison, child bride can heal
The Associated Press CNN Originally published November 21, 2007
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) -- To Elissa Wall, seeing polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs sentenced to prison was worth more than the restitution to which she's entitled. It was Wall who testified in September that Jeffs' influence as a church leader trapped her at age 14 in an unwanted marriage in which she was forced into sex against her will. Dabbing at a tear, Wall told state Judge James L. Shumate on Tuesday that seeing Jeffs brought to justice would help her with the healing process more than $5,000 in restitution payments. "My restitution is knowing that I spoke the truth and that you and the justice system have done your job," she told Shumate. Shumate then sentenced Jeffs to two consecutive terms of five years to life in prison for his role in the 2001 spiritual marriage between Wall and her 19-year-old cousin. Now 21, Wall testified against the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in September. A jury convicted Jeffs, 51, of two first-degree felony counts of rape as an accomplice. Although she declined the restitution, which Utah law provides for, she has received more than $16,000 from a state fund and has sued the trust that oversees the FLDS church assets for more than $1 million in cash and property. Read more


9 Jeffs followers get subpoenas
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, November 21, 2007
ST. GEORGE � Elissa Wall strode out of the Washington County Attorney's Office, smiling to herself. As she was escorted by her attorneys into a waiting vehicle, the former child bride declined to comment to a Deseret Morning News reporter on Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs' sentencing. Meanwhile, her multimillion dollar civil lawsuit against Jeffs and the FLDS Church is taking a new twist. Just before he was sentenced on Tuesday, Washington County sheriff's deputies served subpoenas on some of Jeffs' most loyal followers who showed up to lend their support to the FLDS leader. "We did it as a matter of efficiency," said Roger Hoole, one of Wall's attorneys. The subpoenas are seeking depositions in Wall's personal injury lawsuit, which stems from her marriage at age 14 to her 19-year-old cousin. Wall was the prosecution's star witness in the rape as an accomplice case against Jeffs. It was her compelling testimony that led to his conviction. She sued the FLDS leader over the marriage, and defense attorneys pointed out during the criminal trial that Wall hired lawyers before she ever met with police to report a rape. Her lawyers have denied accusations that she is strictly out for money. Nine people were served with the subpoenas. They include former Hildale police officer Rodney Holm, who was convicted of bigamy and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Hoole declined to say why their depositions would be sought. Read more


Child-bride suit set for '09
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Wednesday, December 19, 2007
A multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by a former child bride against polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs may finally go to trial in 2009. A judge in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court signed a proposed scheduling order on Friday in Elissa Wall's personal injury lawsuit against Jeffs, the Fundamentalist LDS Church and its real estate holdings arm, the United Effort Plan Trust. The order lays out a timetable for the lawsuit, setting a potential trial date for March 2009. "The estimated length of trial is four days," said the order. Attorneys for the court-controlled UEP Trust have filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed against them. They are asking the judge to rule on their motion before the court process commences. The order includes a cap of 20 depositions, each taking no more than seven hours, but an unlimited number of document requests. Read more


Ex-child bride writing tell-all
'Stolen Innocence' is expected in April; will cover Jeffs saga
By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Originally published Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The former child bride who helped convict polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has written a book about her life. Elissa Wall's book, tentatively titled "Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Triumphing over Warren Jeffs," is scheduled to be published in April by William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. Pre-order sales for the 288-page book have already showed up on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble's Web site. "It's going to be a great book," Wall's attorney, Roger Hoole, told the Deseret Morning News Monday. "She's never told her story. She's only told little pieces of it." Hoole declined to disclose the terms of Wall's publishing contract and said the book was still in progress. Representatives for the publishing company did not return a call seeking comment. "She hopes it will help a lot of people," Hoole said. "It's her chance to fully tell her story." Read more





See the photos of Elissa Wall and Allen Steed after their "marriage" from the trials's Evidence - 1 Black Photo Binder released September 25, 2007



Read the "M.J." Settlement Agreement with the UEP Trust presented to Bruce Wisan on May 17, 2007 and publically released on September 21, 2007

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"Religion" is no excuse for committing child abuse

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