Former Warren Jeff’s FLDS follower Sabrina Broadbent explains why she left her children in the church

Sabrina Broadbent left the FLDS church led by Warren Jeffs eight years ago, but at that time she had to leave her four children behind. Last month, after a grueling 15-hour-standoff with members of the church, she was able to gain custody of them again.

“There was nothing I could do at that point because I didn’t dare go up against the church or anything,” Broadbent told 20/20 about why she had to leave them. “I could never do that. … I didn’t have money for attorneys. I didn’t know anybody back then … never thought I could have a chance.”

“To them, someone leaving the community, it’s like death to them,” Broadbent said. “So once they leave, they’re cut off. They can never see those people again.” Even so, she was able to get court-ordered visitations with the children, ages 8-13.

Broadbent has remarried and has a fifth child, now 3-years-old. When she showed up for one of her visits last month with her husband and brother, the visit turned strange when they were surrounded by “God Squad” vehicles.

“Everybody that was surrounding the van… they’re all for Warren,” Broadbent said. “They kept yelling and they were singing and praying and I’m like, ‘Oh, I have got to get out of here, I feel so uncomfortable with you guys right now.’”

They left, but returned the next day to see the kids. She saw two of them in the yard, but they kept their distance, and one called out to her, “Get away from me, get away from me, you apostate.”

“They called me the devil a few times. ‘You’re the devil,’ you know, ‘You’re going to hell.’ All this stuff,” she said. She tried to talk to her former sister-in-law, who is now taking care of the children, but she kept telling Broadbent that Warren was coming “to deliver the children.” The God Squad showed up and surrounded Broadbeant again, recording her every move with cameras and chanting and praying.

Things go so tense, Broadbent called the cops, showed them her court-order, and the cops escorted the unwilling children into Broadbent’s van. They only got in once they were ordered by the police, and Broadbent took home four children who thought she was the devil.

Find out the rest of Broadbent’s story Friday night on 20/20 at 10/9c on ABC.