Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has fallen ill and been
sedated, a US prison official has told the BBC.
Jeffs is in “critical but stable condition” after being admitted
to hospital on Monday.
Earlier, officials with knowledge of Jeffs’ condition told US
media he was in a medically-induced coma.
A prison spokesman said that while Jeffs had been limiting his
food and water, he also had “other medical conditions” that were
serious.
Jeffs, 55, was admitted to the hospital three weeks after
receiving a life sentence for sexually assaulting underage
followers.
He has fasted during other prison stints in Arizona and Utah,
with medical intervention needed. Texas prison spokesman Jason
Clark told the BBC.
Jeffs has been losing weight since his trial, and the prison has
been monitoring his condition, Mr Clark said.
Jeffs is the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints, a breakaway sect that believes polygamy is
the path to heaven.
During his trial, prosecutors presented DNA evidence to show
Jeffs had fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl, and an audio
recording of him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old.
An FBI agent said during the trial that fathers who handed over
their daughters to Jeffs were rewarded with young brides of their
own.
Prosecutors said the religious head had spent years travelling
around North America and avoiding arrest, ultimately landing on the
FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.
He was moved from a penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas to the
Powledge prison outside Palestine, Texas last week.
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Jailed US polygamist ‘critical’