Warren Jeffs Convicted

Before he was one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted, Warren Jeffs had me banging on his door with his police force looking on.

My oddest experience covering Las Vegas was also one of the few times I ventured out of Sin City. Yes, there is a place crazier than Vegas.

Just a few hours from Las Vegas sits Colorado City, Arizona, a town that when I visited it for the first time in 2004 was entirely controlled by the religious sect led by Jeffs who the residents believe speaks for God. I learned terms like "double cousin," a common familial relationship among the intermarried, isolated and polygamous followers of Jeffs.

Jeffs was convicted yesterday as the accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old girl. But that news may be slow to reach his followers as Colorado City has no store that sells newspapers or magazines. The prophet banned news of the evil outside world long ago along with televisions.

But the saddest part is that the crime Jeffs was convicted of yesterday only touches on the human tragedies I witnessed in Colorado City. And Jeffs' conviction will not alter his position as prophet and leader of the church.