Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Sentenced to Life in Prison

After being convicted of two counts of sexual assault on a child, polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has been sentenced to life for his crimes.

Following just 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury delivered the maximum possible sentence for each count.

The self-proclaimed prophet and leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will be eligible for parole after 35 years. 

During the trial, prosecutors used DNA evidence to show that Jeffs had fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl. They also played an audio recording found in the FLDS leader's possession which allegedly documents him forcing himself on a 12-year-old girl . During the assault the girls' mother is said to have held her down while other women watched. 

Prosecutors rejected the claim by Jeffs, who represented himself during the trial, that he was being persecuted for his religious beliefs. 

CBS News reported that the defendant finally broke his courtroom silence with an objection that was occupied by a nearly hour-long speech defending polygamy. During this time Jeffs twice threatened the judge and the court with warnings of punishment from God. 

The charges brought against the former sect leader stem from a 2008 police raid on the FLDS' Texas ranch, where investigators found underage girls who were clearly pregnant and "women dressed in frontier-style dresses and hairdos from the 19th century," CBS reported.

Warren Jeffs is rumored to have 78 wives total, 24 of which are under the age of 17. 

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