BBC NEWS | Uncertain future for US polygamy sect

The arrest of US religious leader Warren Jeffs over alleged sex offences has brought his reclusive polygamous sect back into the public eye.

 

 

The 50-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), was caught near Las Vegas after spending at least two years on the run.

 

 

He went into hiding after being charged in Arizona with sexual misconduct for allegedly arranging marriages between minors and older men. He is also wanted in Utah on charges of being an accomplice to rape.

 

 

Although placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List three months ago, Mr Jeffs was eventually found as the result of a routine check by traffic police in Nevada.

 

 

His arrest means the breakaway Mormon sect, which has an estimated 10,000 members, must face the prospect of having its way of life examined in court.

 

 

The FLDS split from the Mormon Church more than a century ago after the latter renounced polygamy.

 

 

The isolated sect now dominates the towns of Colorado City, in Arizona, and Hildale, in Utah, less than a mile away. A compound in Eldorado, Texas, is also home to a growing community.