Escapees face uncertain future
 Advocate says gaining victims’ trust key to helping them break from cycle of abuse
 
By Brian Wedemeyer
Today's News-Herald - Havasu City
 
Fawn Broadbent and Fawn Holm at first didn’t know what to think when a truck and trailer loaded with donated clothes, toiletries and other items from Lake Havasu City arrived at their safe house in Phoenix a few weeks ago.

That is because the teenagers had no idea the items were for them. Flora Jessop, the woman who helped the girls escape polygamy in Colorado City last month, said they were not accustomed to such generosity.

"These kids are taught that everybody outside their community is evil," said Jessop during an interview with Today’s News-Herald. "It was just beyond their comprehension."

Jessop encouraged the girls to sift through the bags and boxes and pick out whatever they wanted.

"They looked at me and asked, ‘Why?’" Jessop said. "I said, ‘Because people care.’"

Both girls were 16 years old when they escaped from their polygamous stronghold Jan. 11. Jessop claims both have been victims of ongoing sexual abuse and were destined for forced marriages.

"It was amazing to watch those girls turn into teenagers for the first time, going through clothes and fighting over who got what shirt," Jessop said.

It could have represented a happy ending to a sad story that Jessop says is shared by many other girls in Colorado City.

Instead, their future is now very much undecided.

Broadbent and Holm ran away from the safe house last month out of fear that Child Protective Services would return them to Colorado City. CPS officials denied they were taking such action.

Jessop herself fled a forced marriage about 18 years ago and is now an aggressive activist against polygamy. She says she can’t help but think she let the girls down.

"They trusted me to get them to safety and I trusted the state to do the right thing," she said.

Jessop also expressed concern about how this will affect the confidence of other girls wanting to flee Colorado City. She said girls caught trying to run away are under what she described as a "threat of blood atonement."

"It is the parents’ responsibility to kill their children instead of allowing them to damn their souls," she said.

Jessop said she has been in contact with a handful of other girls who want to run, and is aware of several others she has not contacted yet.

"It looks like once again we’re going to have to take these children underground," she said. "We’ll put them in a safe house no one knows about."

Jessop said she doesn’t know the exact whereabouts of Broadbent and Holm, but remains confident in their safety. She said a CPS official showed up at her Phoenix home a few days ago and threatened to have her arrested if she did not disclose their location.

"The woman asked me if I was ready to go to jail for those girls," Jessop said. "I told her I’m ready to lay down my life for those girls."

Meanwhile, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is in a state of turmoil. One day before the two girls fled, church prophet Warren Jeffs expelled 21 men, including former Colorado City mayor Dan Barlow.

Jessop said that situation alone wouldn’t do much to change the girls’ fortunes.

"I don’t see anything changing," she said. "The only thing that is going to create a difference in that community is educating the children. You cannot get to the root of this problem through adults."

Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, who has been actively involved in the polygamy issue in recent years, said the donated items filled up the conference room, lobby and another room at his office. He said some local residents bought new clothes and even volunteered their homes as potential safe houses in the future.

"I think it really shows the caring attitude of the people we have here," Johnson said. "They believe that something should be done to help these women and children."

You may contact the reporter at bwedemeyer@havasunews.com.
 
HavasuNews.com
Originally published Wednesday, March 3, 2004
 
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