Woman who became polygamist cult leader Warren Jeff's 65TH wife when she was just 18 - and he was 30 YEARS her senior - reveals how pedophile groomed her to become his lover and PUNISHED her when she rejected his sexual advances

A woman has candidly revealed what life was like inside a polygamist Mormon cult after she became the 65th wife of its polygamist pedophile leader Warren Jeffs.

Briell Decker appeared on a recent episode of the Cults To Consciousness podcast to discuss her experience within the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints Church (FLDS) - a break away group which branched off when mainstream Mormonism ceased practicing polygamy.

Having been born into the religion in Sandy, Utah, she was groomed from an early age to one day become a plural wife of Jeffs.

She was just 18 when she married the self-proclaimed prophet, who was more than 30 years her senior, and was punished for resisting his affections.

Jeffs has since been convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault for having sex with two girls aged 12 and 14.

Briell began by telling host Shelise Ann Sola how Jeffs had 'usurped authority to become the leader' just before her 18th birthday after his father Rulon passed away.

He claimed that he had been chosen by god and, despite dozens of his former students testifying in his favor, Briell said she 'saw red flags on the very first day.'

But she had little choice over their relationship.

'All the marriages in the church were decided by the leader - they were all arranged marriages and if you did choose, it was seen as really bad,' she explained.

Marrying the prophet was considered by many to be 'an honor' - a sentiment not shared by Briell's family.

The former FLDS explained: 'I was making dinner the day that [the wedding] happened, my father walked in the room and my mother recognized the look on his face and actually screamed "no."

'My parents were scared and they couldn't really express a lot.'

Briell explained: 'My wedding was definitely a secret wedding. My mother was not invited to it.

'Jeffs was running from the law so he didn't want anybody really to know about it except for he did invite my father. My father was crying when he took me there.'

She explained that it was not until she arrived at the ceremony that she was told she would be marrying Jeffs himself, adding: 'I was terrified of him. I was so scared of him.'

But Briell went through with it nonetheless despite having little understanding about relationships, sex education, anatomy or reproduction.

She said Jeffs, who had been the principal at her school, had been 'the one that prepped me for this day,' adding: 'He's the one that groomed me.'

The pair shared a kiss at the end before their nuptials came to an end and they were left alone for the first time as a married couple.

'He sent my father and his brother out of the room. He sat on a chair and he was like "come sit on my lap" and I hesitated because I was scared.

'I was kind of in shock after he confirmed that I was supposed to marry him. I went into a foggier feeling so I hesitated.

'I immediately saw the anger on his face. He was so angry.'

She explained that she eventually walked over and sat on his lap, adding: 'He did touch me all over and I was so numbed out.'

'I didn't really love him. I was actually not even attracted to him. I kind of believed in god when I married him but I didn't really love him.'

Having become Jeffs 65th wife, she admitted: 'It just became worse over time because he had a bunch of doctrines that said you're supposed to love your sister wives, you're supposed to sacrifice for them and in my situation I didn't love him so I never cared.

'He had tons of wives so I never would get a turn at all in any situation and it would infuriate him because over time he realized that I wasn't attracted to him.'

Briell explained that former leader Rulon had a 'rotation cycle where every wife got a turn after so many days' but his son did not employ such a system.

'When I went into his family he's like, "God will tell me if you're ever worthy [for me to spend time with]."

'A lot of the wives, it did hurt them pretty bad I believe because they were always trying to do everything he said... but if he didn't like him then they weren't going to get a turn.

'It didn't matter if God said or not, it didn't really have anything to do with that.'

She continued: 'In my mind, I didn't like him so I didn't really care and I was pretty bold about saying I wasn't really hurt by polygamy itself.'

But Briell said that she was ultimately punished for her disinterest in Jeffs, who she claimed was 'controlling' and is estimated to have more than 80 wives.

The cult leader usually rotated household chores - such as cooking and sewing - among his wives every month but she was 'put on every single one of those for an hour every day.'

'He put me in survival mode form day one... I was literally running from one job to the the other and by the time I got home at night I would crash sleep and then in the mornings I wouldn't wake up on time because I was so tired.'

Nonetheless, Briell said she could never lie to Jeffs because as he was the leader 'the repercussion would be pretty great.'

Briell explained that she eventually 'turned on' her husband and was forced to go into hiding after attempting to leave.

She became subject to 'targeted harassment' from other members of the cult - claiming one had even been instructed to kill her - before eventually breaking free aged 26.

Briell concluded: 'When I realized I had freedom in my life for the first time after I escaped, it was such a big deal to me and it still is.

'I want that for everyone. I really want everyone to break these chains psychologically and even physically at times to where hopefully they will get a taste of freedom.'

In 2011, Warren Jeffs was sent away for life after he was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault for having sex with two girls aged 12 and 14.

He is currently serving a life sentence plus 20 years for the charges, however, it has previously been reported that he has continued to preach to FLDS' remaining members from his prison cell.

As of 2018, the Guardian reported that there were still around 10,000 active members of the church.