Carolyn Jessop
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Jessop is a former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
member who wrote Escape, an autobiographical account of her upbringing in the polygamist sect
and later flight from that community. She is the cousin, by marriage, of Flora Jessop
, another former FLDS member and advocate for abused children. Carolyn Jessop now lives in the Salt Lake City area with her children.
As of Friday 26 July 2010, Carolyn is engaged to Brian Moroney. This was announced via her personal Facebook page.
In 2007 she co-authored her book Escape with Laura Palmer and chronicled her life in the FLDS organization, her adulthood and disillusionment, and her eventual flight. It was published by the Broadway division of Random House
. She followed its publication with a book tour. In 2008 actress Katherine Heigl
announced she had contracted to produce and star in a feature film based on the memoir.
Jessop was born Carolyn Blackmore and raised by her parents in Hildale, Utah
, with her older sister and younger siblings. She is a sixth-generation descendant of a polygamous family, all of whom were faithful members of the FLDS church. Her father became a polygamist when he married his wife's niece when Carolyn was a child. Jessop describes her relationship to her parents as emotionally distant, with her father dominating her mother, and her mother taking out her anger on the children with such regularity that the children soon devised a strategy to get their beatings "out of the way" in the mornings.
The autobiography continues to describe a year-long stint in Salt Lake City, Utah
, which gave her a taste of the world outside her religious community. She spent most of her childhood in Colorado City, Arizona
.
As Jessop relates, a rift in her religious community at about the time she completed middle school led to the leaders pulling children out of the local high school. She graduated from high school at the age of 17. Jessop intended to attend college and then to medical school to study pediatric medicine; instead, she was forced into an arranged marriage to Merril Jessop
at age 18. Merril Jessop was 32 years her senior and already had three wives and more than 30 children, several of them older than his new wife. Once married, Carolyn Jessop did get to attend college, but her husband decided that she would study elementary education, not medicine. Just months into the marriage, the FLDS's new leader, Rulon Jeffs
, gave Merril two new wives.
Carolyn Jessop stated in her book that she endured regular unwanted sexual relations with Jessop in exchange for better emotional treatment. Jessop had eight children with her husband, the last four after she was warned against further pregnancies by her doctors. The final pregnancy was life-threatening and required an emergency hysterectomy
, during which time Jessop maintains that her husband and his family regarded her condition with disinterest. Jessop contends that the resulting freedom from pregnancy helped her escape from her abusive marriage and volatile home situation.
and its aftermath as well as Jessop's struggle to come to terms with her oldest daughter's return to the cult. Jessop also reveals the various sources of strength and resources on which she has drawn as she overcame the obstacles to achieving success after a lifetime of trauma living inside a cult. Triumph concludes with Jessop's victorious court battle to win back child support for the years since her escape as well as lifetime support for her severely disabled son, Harrison.
on April 3, 2008, following a phone call with allegations of physical
and sexual abuse
of a 16-year-old girl. Children from the community had been placed in state custody because authorities believed they "had been abused or were at immediate risk of future abuse," a state spokesman said. As of April 8, as many as 533 women and children had been removed from the ranch by authorities.
Jessop arrived on-site Sunday, April 6, in hopes of reuniting two of her daughters with their half-siblings. She stated her opinion that the action in Texas was unlike the 1953 Short Creek raid
in Arizona. On April 8 she was interviewed by the NBC
Today Show regarding the event, and described life at a FLDS community. Jessop had also been in Texas the prior month at a speaking engagement, where she said, "[i]n Eldorado, the crimes went to a whole new level. They thought they could get away with more" but "Texas is not going to be a state that's as tolerant of these crimes as Arizona and Utah have been."
, in 2003 Carolyn became the first woman who left an FLDS community to be awarded full custody of all of her children. In 2009, Carolyn Jessop won a child support judgment against Merril Jessop in the approximate amount of $148,000.00 for support Merril Jessop failed to provide his children between 2003 and 2009 after they fled the FLDS community. As of February 2010, Merril Jessop had still not paid any of the child support he owed, and according to Carolyn Jessop's attorney, Natalie Malonis, Merril Jessop's failure to support his children could result in jail time.
In several criminal trials in Texas resulting from the April 2008 seizure of evidence at the YFZ Ranch, Carolyn was called as a witness for the State. In the case of Texas v. Raymond Merril Jessop, Carolyn, Raymond's stepmother, testified about her knowledge of Raymond Jessop as well as her knowledge of church teachings. Raymond Jessop was ultimately convicted of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Carolyn also testified for the State of Texas in criminal trials against Leroy Jessop and Allan Keate. Leroy Jessop, another of Carolyn's stepchildren, was convicted of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Allan Keate was convicted of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 33 years in prison.
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one of the largest Mormon fundamentalist denominations and one of the largest organizations in the United States whose members practice polygamy. The FLDS Church emerged in the early twentieth century when its founding members left...
member who wrote Escape, an autobiographical account of her upbringing in the polygamist sect
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
and later flight from that community. She is the cousin, by marriage, of Flora Jessop
Flora Jessop
Flora Jessop is an American social activist, author, and advocate for abused children.-Biography:Jessop grew up in Colorado City, Arizona. She was raised in a polygamous family, with two mothers and twenty-seven siblings, all members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
, another former FLDS member and advocate for abused children. Carolyn Jessop now lives in the Salt Lake City area with her children.
As of Friday 26 July 2010, Carolyn is engaged to Brian Moroney. This was announced via her personal Facebook page.
Escape
On April 21, 2003, when Jessop was 35, she left her husband's family and the FLDS church, fleeing to a safehouse in Salt Lake City. Subsequently, she sued for custody of her children, and in 2003 became "the first woman ever granted full custody of her children in a contested suit involving the FLDS."In 2007 she co-authored her book Escape with Laura Palmer and chronicled her life in the FLDS organization, her adulthood and disillusionment, and her eventual flight. It was published by the Broadway division of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. She followed its publication with a book tour. In 2008 actress Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
announced she had contracted to produce and star in a feature film based on the memoir.
Jessop was born Carolyn Blackmore and raised by her parents in Hildale, Utah
Hildale, Utah
Hildale is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,726 at the 2010 census.Hildale is a twin city to the more well-known Colorado City, Arizona, both of which straddle the border between Utah and Arizona. Hildale is the headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of...
, with her older sister and younger siblings. She is a sixth-generation descendant of a polygamous family, all of whom were faithful members of the FLDS church. Her father became a polygamist when he married his wife's niece when Carolyn was a child. Jessop describes her relationship to her parents as emotionally distant, with her father dominating her mother, and her mother taking out her anger on the children with such regularity that the children soon devised a strategy to get their beatings "out of the way" in the mornings.
The autobiography continues to describe a year-long stint in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, which gave her a taste of the world outside her religious community. She spent most of her childhood in Colorado City, Arizona
Colorado City, Arizona
Colorado City is a town in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, and is located in a region known as the Arizona Strip. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town was 4,607...
.
As Jessop relates, a rift in her religious community at about the time she completed middle school led to the leaders pulling children out of the local high school. She graduated from high school at the age of 17. Jessop intended to attend college and then to medical school to study pediatric medicine; instead, she was forced into an arranged marriage to Merril Jessop
Merril Jessop
Merril Jessop was believed to be the de facto leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints after its former leader, Warren Jeffs, resigned when he was convicted as an accomplice to rape in 2007, until his removal by Jeffs in February 2011...
at age 18. Merril Jessop was 32 years her senior and already had three wives and more than 30 children, several of them older than his new wife. Once married, Carolyn Jessop did get to attend college, but her husband decided that she would study elementary education, not medicine. Just months into the marriage, the FLDS's new leader, Rulon Jeffs
Rulon Jeffs
Rulon Timpson Jeffs was the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a Mormon fundamentalist organization based in Colorado City, Arizona....
, gave Merril two new wives.
Carolyn Jessop stated in her book that she endured regular unwanted sexual relations with Jessop in exchange for better emotional treatment. Jessop had eight children with her husband, the last four after she was warned against further pregnancies by her doctors. The final pregnancy was life-threatening and required an emergency hysterectomy
Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually performed by a gynecologist. Hysterectomy may be total or partial...
, during which time Jessop maintains that her husband and his family regarded her condition with disinterest. Jessop contends that the resulting freedom from pregnancy helped her escape from her abusive marriage and volatile home situation.
Triumph: Life After the Cult, a Survivor's Lessons
On May 4, 2010, Jessop released Triumph: Life After the Cult, a Survivor's Lesson, the autobiographical sequel to Escape. Triumph details Jessop's unique insights and inside information regarding the Texas FLDS RaidYFZ Ranch
The YFZ Ranch, also known as the Yearning for Zion Ranch, is a community which housed as many as 700 people just outside of Eldorado in Schleicher County, Texas, United States. It is owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints . It is about southwest of San Angelo and ...
and its aftermath as well as Jessop's struggle to come to terms with her oldest daughter's return to the cult. Jessop also reveals the various sources of strength and resources on which she has drawn as she overcame the obstacles to achieving success after a lifetime of trauma living inside a cult. Triumph concludes with Jessop's victorious court battle to win back child support for the years since her escape as well as lifetime support for her severely disabled son, Harrison.
April 2008 YFZ Ranch raid
Texas law enforcement officers began a raid of the YFZ RanchYFZ Ranch
The YFZ Ranch, also known as the Yearning for Zion Ranch, is a community which housed as many as 700 people just outside of Eldorado in Schleicher County, Texas, United States. It is owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints . It is about southwest of San Angelo and ...
on April 3, 2008, following a phone call with allegations of physical
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
and sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
of a 16-year-old girl. Children from the community had been placed in state custody because authorities believed they "had been abused or were at immediate risk of future abuse," a state spokesman said. As of April 8, as many as 533 women and children had been removed from the ranch by authorities.
Jessop arrived on-site Sunday, April 6, in hopes of reuniting two of her daughters with their half-siblings. She stated her opinion that the action in Texas was unlike the 1953 Short Creek raid
Short Creek raid
The Short Creek raid is the name given to Arizona state police and Arizona National Guard action against Mormon fundamentalists that took place on the morning of July 26, 1953, at Short Creek, Arizona. The Short Creek raid was the largest mass arrest of polygamists in American history...
in Arizona. On April 8 she was interviewed by the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Today Show regarding the event, and described life at a FLDS community. Jessop had also been in Texas the prior month at a speaking engagement, where she said, "[i]n Eldorado, the crimes went to a whole new level. They thought they could get away with more" but "Texas is not going to be a state that's as tolerant of these crimes as Arizona and Utah have been."
Legal proceedings
Carolyn Jessop has been involved in several legal proceedings arising from her departure from and knowledge of the FLDS community. With assistance from Utah Attorney General Mark ShurtleffMark Shurtleff
Mark Shurtleff is the current attorney general of the state of Utah, United States, a position he has held since January 2001...
, in 2003 Carolyn became the first woman who left an FLDS community to be awarded full custody of all of her children. In 2009, Carolyn Jessop won a child support judgment against Merril Jessop in the approximate amount of $148,000.00 for support Merril Jessop failed to provide his children between 2003 and 2009 after they fled the FLDS community. As of February 2010, Merril Jessop had still not paid any of the child support he owed, and according to Carolyn Jessop's attorney, Natalie Malonis, Merril Jessop's failure to support his children could result in jail time.
In several criminal trials in Texas resulting from the April 2008 seizure of evidence at the YFZ Ranch, Carolyn was called as a witness for the State. In the case of Texas v. Raymond Merril Jessop, Carolyn, Raymond's stepmother, testified about her knowledge of Raymond Jessop as well as her knowledge of church teachings. Raymond Jessop was ultimately convicted of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Carolyn also testified for the State of Texas in criminal trials against Leroy Jessop and Allan Keate. Leroy Jessop, another of Carolyn's stepchildren, was convicted of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Allan Keate was convicted of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 33 years in prison.
Works of Betty Jessop
Carolyn's second child, Betty Jane Jessop, turned eighteen in 2007 and returned to the FLDS, stating that there was nothing for her outside of it and that she disliked the outside world. As was acknowledged in her mother's book, Betty said that she kicked and screamed when she was first taken out of the FLDS, and that the years that followed were traumatic. She disputed the claims in Carolyn's book, saying "it just makes me want to laugh." In 2009 it was announced that she would be writing her own book with the help of her older half-sister, Maggie Jessop. Betty states that her father instructed them to tell only the truth, to allow readers to come across their own conclusions, and not to "slam Carolyn."See also
- Dorothy Allred SolomonDorothy Allred SolomonDorothy Allred was born to Mormon fundamentalist leader Rulon C. Allred and his fourth plural wife. She was the 28th of her father's 48 children. In 1977, her father was murdered by agents of rival polygamist leader Ervil LeBaron....
- Merril JessopMerril JessopMerril Jessop was believed to be the de facto leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints after its former leader, Warren Jeffs, resigned when he was convicted as an accomplice to rape in 2007, until his removal by Jeffs in February 2011...
- Escape (Carolyn Jessop and Laura Palmer book)