Jeffs, the leader of a radical polygamist sect of Mormonism known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS), who was earlier accused of sexually assaulting children has been found guilty of forcing two teenage girls into "spiritual marriage," and fathering a child with one of them when she was 15.
The sexual assault charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Jeffs, who acted as his own lawyer after firing his legal team at the start of the trial, stood stone-faced as his verdict was read.
"I thought it was very ironic that Mr. Jeffs got to face what he has made many thousands of other people face," said Willie Jessop, a former FLDS member who, at one time, was Jeffs' bodyguard. "I think there is a lot of healing that has got to be done. And I think there are a whole lot more victims than this -- than the two that came out in this trial. And I think that justice was served."
Prosecutors presented DNA evidence showing Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl who lived at a Texas compound raided by police in 2008 where Jeffs ran the FLDS sect. Prosecutors also played audio recordings of a sexual encounter between Jeffs and a 12-year-old girl.
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