Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs’ mental health questioned

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Imprisoned polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has allegedly suffered a mental breakdown and isn’t fit to give a deposition in a sex abuse case against him.

The claim was made in a court filing last month by lawyers representing a community trust that once belonged to a polygamous sect run by Jeffs on the Utah-Arizona border. The trust and Jeffs are being sued by a woman who says she was sexually abused by Jeffs when she was a child.

The woman’s attorneys say there’s no evidence to support the claim that Jeffs isn’t mentally competent.

Jeffs is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting underage girls he considered brides. Prison officials declined to comment on Jeffs’ mental health.

The story was first reported by KSTU-TV in Salt Lake City.