Woman who escaped Warren Jeffs' Mormon sect reunited with her children

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Sabrina Broadbent Tetzner escaped the Colorado City, Arizona fundamentalist Mormon sect headed by Warren Jeffs eight years ago
Last week, the 32-year-old mother gained full custody of her four children, ages 8 to 13
When she tried to pick up the kids from their aunt's house, she was physically barred by hundreds of cult members
Sheriff's deputies had to take out a search warrant to reunite the mother with her two daughters and two sons

Published: 09:07 EST, 7 April 2015 | Updated: 14:46 EST, 7 April 2015

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A 32-year-old woman was harassed and intimidated last week when she tried to pick up her four children from the fundamentalist Mormon sect she bravely left to escape an abusive husband.

Sabrina Broadbent Tetzner, 32, fled the sect headed by convicted rapist Warren Jeffs eight years ago and finally gained full custody of her children (ages 8 to 13) last week.

But when she tried to pick up her children from the Colorado City, Utah community where they have been living, she was physically stopped by hundreds of cult members hell bent on keeping the kids.

'Lots of members from the community started showing up. They surrounded her vehicle, the home, fences and the yard. They were kicking the van. They even tried to put a cow and chickens into her vehicle,' ex-cult member Flora Jessop, who helped Tetzner through her legal battle, told KSL.

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Intimidation: An ex-fundamentalist Mormon tried to get her four children back from the sect and was met by 600 cult members physically barring the reunion

Surrounded: Sabrina Broadbent Tetzner, 32, is seen inside her van as she waits to be reunited with her children on Friday

Escaped: Tetzner (left) left the FLDS sect headed by Warren Jeffs eight years ago and was granted full custody of her children ages 8-13 last Thursday

Visitation: Since leaving the sect, Tetzner remarried and had another son, who is now a toddler. Pictured about with her youngest son and her four children from her previous marriage on a visit in December

Victory: Ms Tetzner pictured outside the Mohave County court after winning custody of her children

Cell phone footage shows swarms of polygamists surrounding Tetzner's van, the women dressed in conservative floor-length dresses in varying pastel colors.

A Mohave County judge ordered the sect to turn over the children at 5pm Thursday, but Tetzner says that when she got to the compound at the arranged time her kids were nowhere to be seen.

It was only at midnight that they returned, and were quickly shepherded into their aunt Samantha Holm's house where several dozen fundamentalists kept them from seeing her mother.

911: Tetzner eventually had to call police, who took out a search warrant to pry the children from their aunt's home. Pictured above in photos posted to Facebook

Tetzner spent the night in her van, fearing the vehicle would be torn apart if she left it unattended.

When even about 600 cult members surrounded her vehicle in the morning, and kept her from reaching the home where her children were staying, Tetzner called police to intervene on her children's behalf.

Sheriff's deputies had to take out a search warrant to pry the children from the house and into their mother's waiting arms.

New life: Tetzner pictured above with her new husband and their toddler son in a photo posted to Facebook last year

Reunion: Tetzner and the four children she won in a custody battle last week pictured above on a visit in February 2014

The style: In December, Tetzner showed off both of her daughters long hair and how she braided it into the plait sported by most fundamentalist girls and women

Allegedly, the children were not so happy to leave, since cult members had scared them into believing their mother was taking them to hell.

Deputies escorted Tetzner and her children all the way back to their home in northern Utah, and reportedly FLDS members tailed them the whole way there.

Feared leader: Tetzner left the cult a year after leader Warren Jeffs (pictured) was arrested for organizing marriages between men and underage women in the religion. He is currently serving a life sentence but continues to head the church from behind bars

Some allegedly beat the family there, since they found the home completely trashed with with animal feces smeared on the walls and several pieces of furniture broken when they arrived home.

Fearing further attacks from the FLDS community, the family is living in a safe house for the time being.

'We want to thank all of you for your love and support these last few days. We have the children they are safe and we're heading home,' Tetzner wrote on her Facebook page Friday evening.

Photos on Tetzner's Facebook show she has been able to visit with her children in the past, spending time at home and taking them out to a creek for fishing.

In one set of photos, Tetzner shows off her daughters' long hair and how she braids it into the traditional plait worn by most fundamentalist women.

Since leaving the sect, she has remarried a man named Chase Tetzner and the two appear to have a toddler son together.

A photo posted to her Facebook in August 2012, shows her in a half-white, half-camouflage wedding dress.

Defenders of Children, a non-profit group that has been aiding Tetzner through her custody battle, said they fear for her safety and are raising money to pay for a security system and new clothes for the woman's children.

Tetzner left the FLDS church eight years ago, about a year after the cult's leader Warren Jeffs was arrested for organizing marriages between men in his cult and underage girls. He is currently serving a life sentence in prison, but continues to head the church from behind bars.

Custodial interference charges are pending against Samantha Holm, the aunt who initially wouldn't hand over Tetzner's children.

FOX 10 News | fox10phoenix.com

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