‘My dad ran cult and married 12-year-old girls – I didn’t know what sex was until I left’

The daughter of cult leader Warren Jeffs has lifted the lid on living with the deranged tyrant – admitting he’s gone to pieces in prison and believes she now lives on “Mars or Venus”.

Sarah Thompson, now 20, was born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) – recently documented in the Netflix series Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey – and was part of a family of 132 people who lived together in Texas until 2012.

Since leaving the polygamous group, Sarah has spoken about life in the cult – and how her experiences have changed since leaving.

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The cult was run by Warren Jeffs, known to the girls as “father”, who they as a prophet.

Jeffs would pull families apart, take mothers away for years at a time and indoctrinate them into the cult.

Jeffs ran the cult with an iron first for decades until 2006 when he was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. He was eventually jailed for life in 2011 after he was convicted of raping some of his child wives.

Every day, Sarah woke up at 5am to feed the cows and chickens, which was followed by a “Goodwords” reading from another elderly male “prophet”.

This was followed by school between 8am until 3pm, and then chores including “cleaning the dishes of 132 people”, which she said “lasted hours”.

Classes of the cult’s propaganda continued for the rest of the day, including one for adults – which is anyone over the age of 12 – between 8pm and 9pm.

Jeffs, who continued to run the group from prison, kept a tight grip on the girls and Sarah added: “He got more strict because he felt like he was losing power. I was just caught in the middle of it.

“The messages he would send from prison would get a lot more strict over time. Honestly it was just fun for him”.

Sarah’s mother was barely 19 when she married Jeffs.

And Sarah herself was told to prepare for marriage right before she turned 12.

She added: “He had several wives who were under the age of 18, like a lot of them.

“All the girls started to be preparing for marriage very young – all of our lives.”

At 15, Sarah’s mother finally told her that her father wasn’t a prophet, nor a god – and the pedestal he’d been put on was a lie.

Her mum said: “Your whole life you’ve been told stuff that isn’t true, your father is a criminal”.

Sarah was left questioning her reality and added: “Is this real, am I really this age, am I really his daughter, am I really mum’s child?”

She recognised her lack of understanding of what real life was like, adding: “I didn’t even know how sex worked, I just knew you got married and had children.

“I thought it was through kissing – I didn’t know what sex was until mum explained to me a few years later.”

Sarah also opened up on her experience with the Gentile world – society outside the cult – for the first time.

She said: “Being a part of the Gentile world, it was really strange.

“I was excited but I was terrified. I was not around people at all, I was very shy. I couldn’t talk normal. I didn’t even know what candy was.

“When I first walked into public school, it was so loud. Boys were so close to girls, it was terrifying.

“Any male teacher, I would just look at the ground, as you’re supposed to respect the man. I was a lot slower and really quiet as that’s how you were taught to talk.”

Life is much better for Sarah now but she admits she’s been left with scars from the past: “I have not gone to therapy yet. I need to. I know it would help me.

“I look back and think why did I have to be born to him. But my mum – who’s an angel – I was lucky enough to be born to her.”

Jeffs is now in a mental psych ward of the prison and has tried to take his own life while behind bars. Sarah claims he believes that Sarah, her mum and brother live on “Mars or Venus”.

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