COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — Growing up, Briell Decker had 13 siblings, two mothers and a father who had more than 70 wives. Now, she's living life on her own.
Decker was raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous sect of the Mormon church located in the remote reaches of Mohave County. Men with plural wives is part of the culture. So is girls marrying before they're 18.
By that standard, Decker was an old maid. She was forced to marry the prophet of the FLDS shortly after turning 18, becoming Warren Jeffs' 65th wife.
“I was actually terrified at the whole situation," Decker said. "I think [Jeffs] picked up on it.”
In 2011, Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison for sex crimes against children. He had more than 70 wives and complete control of the Short Creek Valley where he and his followers lived. It's made up of two small towns Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah.
Decker first met Jeffs when she attended grade school the Alta Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah, a school meant only for those who were FLDS.
“[Jeffs] was my principal, all my childhood clear up till sixth grade," Decker said. "I was basically raised under Warren Jeffs.”
Growing up, Decker said the rules were simple: Do as the prophet commanded or face severe punishment.
"The grooming process was pretty intense for me," she said.
Decker played the part she was told. And she was bullied by her siblings for being a "goody goody," she said. Decker said she was also sexually abused by those in the community.
"I had at least 60 abusers," Decker said.
At 16 she and her family moved to Short Creek Valley like so many others did. Within two years, she was called on by Warren Jeffs to marry him after he rose to power in the church.
"[Jeffs] became a leader in September, I turned 18 in November and was married to him in January," she said.
The marriage was done by Jeff's brother in a secret ceremony that her own family was not invited to Decker said. After the ceremony, Decker said she was abused by Jeffs after he became angry with her for hesitating to sit on his lap.
Decker was then in instructed not to tell her siblings she was married to the Prophet. She was told to go back to her home and pack her belongings because she would no longer be living with them.
The 18-year-old then moved into one of Jeffs' Hildale compounds: A 28,000 mega home with 45 bedrooms made for her and her sister wives where the abuse continued. Everyone worshipped Jeffs. Decker had no one to turn to.
“I was kind of just trapped within the walls in my own community,” she said.
She also witnessed Jeffs break families apart, forcing men to leave the community and live somewhere far from them. Decker also heard that Jeffs started marrying child brides as young as 12 years old. It sparked something.
“I was just so angry,” Decker said.
Jeffs was arrested in 2005 and Decker made the decision to run away. She ran out of her bedroom window and ran barefoot as far as she could to get away. Anything to escape the abuse that she endured for so long.
"It's amazing that I even survived," Decker said.
Now 17 years later, Decker re-married to the man of her dreams, she said. Decker has since left the FLDS church and advocates for others who wish to do the same, working for a non-profit located in the very home she was abused.
In 2017, she was awarded the Jeffs compound and helped transform it into the Short Creek Dream Center that houses and provides services to those wanting to start a new life like she did.
“They have to learn to cope with that they start at a different level, so they definitely need the help but to admit it is another thing,” she said.
During the interview with Decker, children could be heard running and playing in the room right above. Decker said the 45 rooms have been filled to capacity for the last three years.
The home that once trapped her now helps others get out.