Ruby Jessop, formerly a member of FLDS Mormon sect, called her sister when she was 14, as she was being forced to marry her second cousin. Her sister, Flora, was determined to rescue her, but before she could get to her, FLDS officials whisked Ruby away and hid her for 10 years. Last month her nightmare finally ended when she found a way to escape the compound, leaving behind her 6 children. Last week, deputies retrieved all the children from the compound and reunited them with their mother.
Ruby is one of thousands of child brides living in polygamist compounds who are forced to marry while still children themselves. FLDS, under the leadership of Warren Jeffs, who is currently in jail for abusing young girls, is particularly notorious for this kind of abuse, because these compounds tend to be in sparsely populated areas away from the law and church members are free to do what they please. It is very rare for young women such as Ruby to escape. Texas’ attorney general is currently trying to seize the Yearning for Zion ranch, but church members are remaining elusive from formal prosecution.
This is just a small victory in the war against the abuses of polygamist sects such as the FLDS, but now that Ruby is free I hope that she gets to live the life that most women in America are allowed to live, with freedom to do with her life as she chooses, and not what church leaders order her to do.
[Via People]
