A prophet no more? Jeffs called himself a 'sinner' in jailhouse conversation

ST. GEORGE — Warren Jeffs has reportedly renounced his title as "prophet" of the Fundamentalist LDS Church in a jailhouse conversation with one of his brothers.

"He said he is the greatest of all sinners and, in so many words, worked his way to be the leader and prophet when he knew he wasn't called of God to be a prophet," a law enforcement source familiar with the conversation told the Deseret Morning News.

Jeffs, 51, made the comments during a January conversation with his brother, Nephi Jeffs, who has visited him in the Purgatory Jail in Hurricane. The conversation was recorded by jail officials, who monitor most of the FLDS leader's phone calls and visits.

A tape is reportedly in the hands of the Washington County attorney, who is prosecuting Jeffs on charges of rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her older cousin.

A hearing is scheduled for today in 5th District Court on a series of motions filed by Jeffs' defense team, including a request to move the trial out of St. George.

The tape is considered evidence in the growing criminal cases against Jeffs and is not expected to be made public unless it is played in court. The source, who did not want to be identified, said law enforcement agencies in Utah and Arizona involved in the Jeffs cases had been briefed on it.

"I cannot confirm or deny that," Gary Engels, an investigator with the Mohave County Attorney's Office, said Monday.

Both the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the Washington County attorney refused to comment on any jailhouse conversations Jeffs has had or the existence of any tapes. The Utah Attorney General's Office also would not comment.

"I don't have any comment," Jeffs' defense attorney, Walter Bugden Jr., said Monday.

Jeffs reportedly asked his brother to distribute news of the conversation to people in the FLDS enclaves of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. However, the source said Jeffs later sent word to his brother saying he had changed his mind.

"The people of Hildale and Colorado City have a right to know," the source said, explaining why the carefully guarded information was being disclosed. "Three cops are being decertified because of their loyalty to him. People are still trying to repent from a distance. Don't they have a right to know?"

After his father's death in 2002, Jeffs became leader of the FLDS Church. Then, dozens of people were ousted from the polygamous sect. Men who were kicked out had their wives and children reassigned to other men.

When Jeffs was charged, federal prosecutors allege he was on the run as a fugitive. He was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list when he was arrested during a traffic stop outside Las Vegas in August 2006.

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