Former FLDS Member Speaks Out: 'I Thanked My Dad for Molesting Me' (VIDEO)
A woman who fled the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is speaking out about her experience inside the church, the abuse she suffered, and the gratitude she now has for her experiences.
Flora Jessop, 43, currently stars in the TLC reality series "Escaping the Prophet," which depicts the lives of those who have chosen to leave the FLDS and establish lives outside the protective church. Jessop is one of several people who works with the youth, and adults, who leave the church and has now shared her own story of abuse and what led her to leave the FLDS.
"A few years ago I walked up to my dad and thanked him for molesting me. I didn't thank him because I enjoyed it. I thanked him because I look back on everything I've been through and I decided that I was going to wrap it around me and embrace every memory, every act, all of it, and build myself out of those ashes," Jessop said during a segment on Huff-Post Live.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Jessop still has contact with her nieces and nephews but said that her father does not acknowledge her presence and leaves the room whenever she visits. Her visits have a special meaning because she is trying to protect her relatives from being abused in the same way she was. She explained that the only way to protect those children "is to be around him and to inform people who and what he is."
"Escaping the Prophet" is a popular series that has brought new, national attention to the FLDS and those who attempt to leave it. Brandon Jeffs, leader Warren Jeffs' nephew, has appeared on the show to tell his own story of survival and how he is now helping other youth who want to leave the organization. Brandon left the FLDS when he was just 15 years old.
"I went through the sexual abuse by my father, all of that, but I didn't come out of this hating men. I came out of it hating women and it took me 16 years to trust my first female after leaving the cult," Jessop added. "I wanted this show to come out because I wanted to reach victims everywhere."
Jessop currently works with law enforcement and the Attorney General of Arizona, along with an underground network of informants, to help anyone wanting to leave the FLDS. Her story can be seen on TLC in "Escaping the Prophet."
Watch a preview of "Escaping the Prophet" HERE:
