Jailed polygamist Warren Jeffs is in a coma: report

The polygamous sect leader and convicted child rapist Warren Jeffs is in a medically induced coma, according to ABC News.

A source told ABC News that Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence in a Texas prison, had been fasting for three days, and had become so weak that doctors had to put him in the coma.

Prison officials told ABC News that Jeffs was moved to a solitary cell last Tuesday because of the large amount of media coverage surrounding his case. He is now being treated at the East Texas Medical Facility in Tyler, Texas.

Michelle Lyons, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said that Jeffs is in "critical but stable condition," but could not confirm that he is in a coma.

From ABC News:

Prison officials are prohibited from releasing the specific medical conditions for which Jeffs is currently receiving treatment due to the federal health privacy policies.

"He did indicate to staff that he was fasting, but he is currently being treated for other medical ailments and conditions," she said of Jeffs.

Jeffs, 55, the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was convicted earlier this month of sexually assaulting two girls, ages 12 and 15, whom he'd taken as brides in "spiritual marriages." Jeffs' group, a radical offshoot of Mormonism, considers him God's spokesman on Earth.

During his trial, prosecutors used DNA evidence to show Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old. They also presented an audio recording of what they said was him forcing a 12-year-old girl to have sex with him.

According to ABC News, Jeffs accused police of discriminating against his sect "because his followers looked and acted differently than mainstream society."

"A sexual assault of a 12-year-old and 15-year-old girl has nothing whatsoever to do with religious persecution," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said after Jeffs was found guilty. "If anybody of any religious background comes to Texas and sexually assaults young girls, they are going to be investigated and prosecuted regardless of what their religious background is."

Jeffs faces a second time in October on charges of first-degree bigamy. In that case, he faces up to 99 years or life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.