It was on New Year's Eve 2014 that the daughter of polygamist cult leader Warren Jeffs was finally released.
“I remember walking out and thinking, 'Oh, I should have come out earlier,'” Rachel Blackmore recalled on Fox News Digital. “There's so much life there.”
The mother of seven is featured in A&E's new documentary series, Secrets of Polygamy, which examines extreme polygamist groups across the country.
New meetings with Jeff's ex-wife, former members, and investigators will be featured.
Polygamy cult leader Warren Jeffs' son says in new document: 'We were brainwashed'
Rachel Blackmore speaks out on A&E's The Secret of Polygamy. (A&E)
Jeffs, 68, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 after being convicted of two counts of child sexual abuse. In 2017, Blackmore wrote his memoir, Breaking Free.
“It was really important to me to give a voice to young girls who have been sexually abused,” Blackmore said.
Polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The mainstream church abandoned this practice in his 1890 year and now strictly prohibits it.
Headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado City, Arizona. FLDS is headquartered on the border of Arizona and Utah. (Getty Images)
The FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) was established to separate from the Mormon Church and allow its members to continue practicing plural marriage. The headquarters were located on the border of Utah and Arizona. Jeffs' father, Rulon T. Jeffs, took power in 1986 and ruled until his death in 2002 at age 92. He left behind an estimated 75 widows and 65 children.
Former child bride who helped bring down cult leader Warren Jeffs speaks in new documentary
After Rulon's death, Warren Jeffs took over as the group's prophet. In FLDS, it is believed that prophets can speak directly to God and dictate which male members can enter heaven. The Prophet can also perform marriages and assign his wives to husbands. By pleasing the prophet, faithful members are given more wives, who “belong” to her spouse forever, NPR reported. Members believe that each man needs at least three wives.
“When you're a kid, you always think something bad is going to happen and you don't realize it,” Blackmore said. “I think that's what it was for many of us. … I felt protected from the world. I was taught that the outside world was evil.”
Tomb of FLDS prophet Rulon Jeffs. He fathered over 60 children. (Getty Images)
Jeffs has an estimated 78 wives and 53 biological children.
“We had to wear long dresses with sleeves up to our wrists, and our hair had to be braided a certain way,” Blackmore said. “And there was a constant teaching of polygamy, and the leader was one man, and we never questioned him. … That if we want to get to heaven, we have to live in polygamy. We were taught: We had to have sister wives. “Marry the man you were told to marry, not the one you wanted to choose.'' All those limitations were accepted because it was all I knew.”
In the series, Blackmore claimed that Jeffs sexually abused her when she was eight years old. She pointed out that women and girls cannot express their anger or jealousy without enduring punishment. Instead, they needed to be “nice.”
On March 3, 2004, several young women play soccer in the courtyard of one of the many schools owned and operated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado City, Arizona. (George Fry)
“I was always taught that boys shouldn't touch girls and that they should cover themselves,” she said. “So when Warren started sexually abusing me, I was just shocked. I just felt so guilty. I just felt ashamed of myself. … The whole world should be ashamed. I felt like I could do it. I went from being a fun girl to being a happy girl.”
Ms Blackmore said the abuse continued until she was 16 years old.
“I confronted Warren one day and told him I didn't want him to do that to me,” she explained. “I didn't know words like 'molest,' 'abuse,' and 'rape.' He started marrying young girls.”
Survivor Jan Broberg, who was 'abducted in front of my eyes', recalls his two abductions: 'The monster behind the smile'
Rachel Blackmore claimed her father Warren Jeffs (pictured) began sexually abusing her when she was eight years old. (Douglas C. Pisak/AFP)
At the age of 18, Blackmore was forced into an arranged marriage. Her husband already had two wives. They met for the first time the day before the wedding.
“Warren performed the wedding. He decided who married who,” Blackmore said. “He chose my husband for me and remained in control of our marriage. He always had a say in what my husband and I did.”
For years, Blackmore wondered what life was like in the outside world. She feared her five children would endure the same abuse she had. And when one of her sisters confessed that she had been sexually abused by Jeffs, Ms. Blackmore had had enough.
Rachel Blackmore said she was stunned by her sister's revelations. (Visions of America/Joe Soum/Universal Images Group)
“That was a big moment for me,” Blackmore said. “I realized it wasn't my fault. Warren had a problem with sexual abuse and we agreed that we didn't trust him with our children. At that time I “I said, 'I'm breaking up.'” “That was the first time I said it out loud, and I knew then that it was the final decision for me. I didn’t, but I knew that was the end.”
Mr Blackmore gradually became “disobedient” and began taking the children for long walks and leaving the property. Every time she got into trouble for “spreading her wings,” she was also getting a taste of her freedom. But time was ticking. Blackmore learns that as punishment, she will be placed in a bishop's house with towering walls and a coded gate. Ms. Blackmore said she knew that if she ended up there, she and her children would never get out.
“It was scary, but it was also sneaky,” Blackmore said. “I took the children to her sister's house in the middle of the night. Her sister had already left.”
NETFLIX's 'Our Father': Film explores the trauma caused by an Indiana fertility doctor who gets his patient pregnant
Rachel Blackmore secretly fled the premises with her five children. (George Fry)
Blackmore and the children were able to secretly leave the premises.
“I didn't know how I was going to support five children on my own,” Blackmore admitted. “I'm not going to pretend like that. [being free] It was easy. That wasn't the case. It was really difficult. It's still a growing experience for me. I'm still learning how to make friends and live within a community.
“I remember experiencing Christmas and Easter for the first time,” she recalled. “We couldn't celebrate something like that. I wanted my kids to celebrate their birthdays too. I wanted to exchange presents. I wanted my kids to go to school and meet different people. I wanted them to meet me. I wanted them to experience what it was like.'' “I had never experienced anything like that.'' A lot happened.”
In this handout provided by the FBI, polygamist Warren Steed Jeffs is depicted on a poster of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted. (FBI)
In 2006, Jeffs, who was on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list, was arrested during a routine traffic stop near Las Vegas. He was charged on two out-of-state warrants issued in Utah and Arizona on charges of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and rape as an accomplice.
On April 6, 2008, women and children travel by bus from the YFZ Ranch, a property built by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, to San Angelo, Texas. (Khampha Bouaphanh/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service)
According to prosecutors, Jeffs sexually abused two girls, ages 12 and 14. The key evidence against Jeffs was an audio recording of Jeffs teaching his “spiritual bride” and several other girls how to please him. Sexually.
In 2007, Jeffs attempted to hang himself in a Utah prison. He was force-fed in an Arizona prison in 2009 and then sentenced to life in prison in 2011. That same year, he was placed in a medically induced coma after fasting inside a bar.
Some FLDS followers still believe that Jeffs is their prophet and that he was wrongly convicted. But over the years, the group lost hundreds of members to defections or expulsions.
Idaho woman recalls running from serial killer Joseph Duncan, writes: 'How much longer do I have to live?'
Warren Jeffs is pictured in a booking photo at Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane, Utah, after being extradited from Nevada on September 5, 2006. (Washington County Sheriff)
Blackmore remarried. And she hopes her story will give her hope to other young women who left like she did.
“We need to do more than ever to protect our children,” she said. “It's important to me that I give my children a chance to live a good life. … And as long as there are people who do what Warren says, he will always remain a threat. … But after trauma, power is not enough.” I hope you can live a better life.”
“The Secret of Polygamy” will premiere on A&E on January 8th at 10pm. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
