New Netflix documentary on the FLDS sect

The Netflix documentary 'Trust Me: The False Prophet' sheds light on the fundamentalist Mormon sect FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in Short Creek, Utah, where a new prophet has taken power following Warren Jeffs' imprisonment. Cult expert Christine Marie has followed the fractured community and revealed how a new leader continues the tradition of control and abuse of power.

Warren Jeffs was convicted in 2011 of two counts of sexual abuse against underage girls - a 15-year-old and a 12-year-old - whom he had forced into marriage. He was sentenced to life plus 20 years for these crimes. From prison, he continued to lead the sect through letters and phone calls, but the documentary shows how a new prophet has gradually taken over actual power in the isolated community.

A broken community in the desert

Short Creek sits on the border between Utah and Arizona and has for decades served as the headquarters of the FLDS movement. The community is built on the principle of "celestial marriage" - marriage with multiple wives - and strict religious control. Following Jeffs' imprisonment, the community has split between those who still follow his directives from prison and those who have accepted the new prophet.

The documentary provides a rare insight into how religious sects maintain control over their members through psychological manipulation, social isolation, and threats of spiritual damnation. Christine Marie interviews both former members and people still living in Short Creek, painting a picture of a community in upheaval.

Polygamy and systematic abuse

The FLDS movement broke with the official Mormon church in the 1890s when the church abandoned the practice of polygamy. Since then, the group has practiced arranged marriages, where young girls - some as young as 12-14 years old - are married off to older men with the prophet's blessing. The documentary documents how this system has enabled sexual abuse and exploitation across generations.

The new prophet, whose identity the documentary reveals, has allegedly continued Warren Jeffs' practice of arranging marriages and controlling members' lives down to the smallest detail. Experts estimate that between 6,000 and 10,000 people still live under the control of the FLDS movement.

The way out of the sect

Christine Marie also focuses on former members who have broken away from the sect and are attempting to rebuild their lives. Many struggle with trauma from their time in the community and lack basic skills to navigate modern society, having grown up in an extremely isolated environment without access to regular education or media.

The documentary raises questions about how religious communities can operate in America's western states without major government intervention, despite extensive documentation of organized crime, child abuse, and human rights violations. Several legal experts in the documentary point out the difficulties in prosecuting leaders of tight-knit religious groups, where victims rarely testify.

'Trust Me: The False Prophet' is available on Netflix from April 2026 and is produced as part of the platform's continued focus on true crime documentaries about religious groups and cults.