Failure to Protect:Merrianne Jessop
Merrianne Jessop was born July 3 1994 to Merril Jessop and his third (and favored) "wife" Barbara Jessop. At the time, her father had six wives and numerous children. Their family would continue to grow with wives and children as time went on.
In 2003, when Merrianne was nine years old, her father moved her and most of his family to Texas on a large property owned by the church called Yearning For Zion Ranch.
The purpose was so the new leader of the church,Warren Jeffs could train Merrianne on how to be a "heavenly comfort wife".
On July 27th 2006,she was escorted into the temple by her parents along with two of her brothers. She hadn't yet reached menerache(gotten her first period). There,she was sealed for 'time and all enterity' to Warren Jeffs,a man in his fifties and someone with 70+ "wives",several of whom closely related to Merrianne.(3 nieces and I believe 11 sisters,along with an aunt.) Her two brothers(Leroy and Raymond) also received child brides-one fifteen year old each.
Then Merrianne was given over to some of Warren's favourite (who also happened to be her sisters) wives for more instructions on being a good 'heavenly comfort wife'. She was directed into the temple again a few weeks later and laid on a special bed. There,her "husband" consummated the marriage while being watched by a few of his other wives. We know this because Warren taped it. A few weeks after that, her "husband" was arrested with that audio-recording in his car. In it, he addresses one of the other wives watching, by her name Noamie. Noamie is Warren's favourite "wife" and she also happens to be Merrianne's sister.
In April 2008, CPS in Texas raided the ranch,aided on by a fake tip. However,they found evidence of underage marriages and pregnancy. Merrianne was taken into CPS custody and placed in a foster home. Her parents told her to be difficult. During precordings,Merrianne's mother asked if another child could be exchanged for Merrianne.(the judge denied the request) They also found evidence that Merrianne herself might have became a mother at such a young age.
There was some justice- Warren went to prison for raping her and another underage sister "wife" of hers. Her father got off quite easy- he was charged with "conducting a marriage ceremony prohibited by law"(Reports say he performed the ceremony. It is felony in Texas.)and is now out of jail.
Her mother wasn't charged at all. Neither was any of her sisters who helped groom and rape her. She was eventually given into the custody of Noami Johnson Carlisle,a faithful member of the FLDS. They might as well handed her back to her parents and "husband". She joined the rest of Warren’s family at R23 (Pringle,South Dakota) after she turned eighteen and no longer required a guardian.
So everyone in Merrianne's life who was supposed to protect her failed miserably. Her parents,her siblings,the justice system.
Also,there have been reports(by one of her other mothers,Carolyn) of sexual abuse within Merrianne's family also. I hope she avoided it,but the odds aren't in her favor.
