Elissa Wall, having endured numerous harrowing experiences during her upbringing, has chosen to share her extraordinary childhood story of being raised in a sect led by the infamous Warren Jeffs.
Jeffs is currently serving a life sentence following his 2011 conviction for child sexual assault.
Born in 1986 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Elissa Wall grew up in a household deeply rooted in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a splinter group from the mainstream LDS that embraced polyamorous relationships in contrast to the LDS stance against polygamy.
Raised among 14 siblings from her mother and 10 half-siblings from her father, Wall’s childhood was marked by strict adherence to traditional norms, including dressing in long pioneer-style dresses and maintaining simple hairstyles.
Attending the Alta Academy, which was controlled by Warren Jeffs, Wall found herself under his complete authority during a significant part of her life.
At the age of 14 in 2001, Wall was coerced into marrying her 19-year-old cousin, Allen Steed, with her parents’ support. Despite her objections and resentment towards Steed, she was pressured into the union by those around her, culminating in a ceremony officiated by Jeffs in Nevada.
In her poignant memoir, “Stolen Innocence,” Wall recounts the tumultuous marriage with her cousin, enduring repeated instances of sexual assault and grappling with multiple miscarriages due to the lack of proper sex education within the church.
After the dissolution of her marriage at the age of 17, Wall sought solace by living in her truck before embarking on a relationship with a former FLDS member, Lamont Barlow, who encouraged her to break free from the sect.
Their affair became public when Wall became pregnant unexpectedly, leading to Jeffs annulling her marriage to Steed. Wall subsequently married Lamont and had two children with him, but her journey to freedom was far from over.
In 2006, Wall decided to press charges against Jeffs, who was a fugitive and on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. She vividly described the scene when authorities apprehended Jeffs, revealing a cache of cash, electronics, and disguises in his possession.
In 2007, Jeffs was convicted of sexually assaulting underage girls and was sentenced to life in prison plus additional years and a hefty fine.
Wall, through her book and ongoing advocacy, shares her tumultuous past to empower and support victims of abuse and oppression.
Her website reflects her journey of personal growth and community rebuilding, emphasizing resilience and the importance of confronting past traumas to move forward positively.
