San Angelo , Texas ( CNN ) -- Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs asked to leave the courtroom Friday and will not be representing himself during the penalty phase of his sexual assault trial . But before being escorted out of the Texas courtroom , Jeffs delivered a message to jurors demanding that the proceedings cease . Deric Walpole , one of the defense attorneys Jeffs had fired earlier in trial , represented him Friday as the penalty phase of the trial continued . Jurors will decide his punishment after hearing additional witness testimony in the penalty phase of the trial . Prosecutors say . this phase of the trial could last several days . The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on his conviction of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old who were his `` spiritual wives . '' The jury convicted him of two counts of sexual assault on a child -- charges filed after a 2008 raid on a ranch his church operates near Eldorado , Texas . Jeffs represented himself during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial . He was silent during most of his 30-minute closing argument Thursday , mumbling at one point , `` I am at peace . '' Texas prosecutors rested their case Wednesday after playing a key piece of evidence for jurors : a 20-minute audio tape that began and ended with a man saying prayer . Prosecutors alleged that the recording was of Jeffs ' sexual assault of a then-12-year-old girl in the presence of three other `` wives . '' The girl had grown up in Jeffs ' Yearning for Zion ranch , authorities said . Prosecutors showed the jury a photo of her with her arms around Jeffs , and a marriage certificate that listed the girl 's age as 12 at the time . Jurors also heard audio recordings that prosecutors said showed Jeffs instructing a 14-year-old and his other young `` wives '' on how to sexually please him in order to win God 's favor . Prosecutors said the 14-year-old was Jeffs ' `` spiritual wife '' and conceived a child with Jeffs when she was 15 . Jeffs could be sentenced to five years to life in prison on the charge of aggravated sexual assault regarding the alleged 12-year-old . For the other count , he could face a sentence of two to 20 years . Jeffs ' breakaway sect is believed to have about 10,000 followers . Their practice of polygamy , which the mainstream Mormon Church renounced more than a century ago , is part of the sect 's doctrine . In Session 's Beth Karas , Jim Kyle contributed to this report .
Jeffs leaves the courtroom during the sentencing phase of his trial . One of the attorneys whom Jeffs had fired earlier represented him Friday . Jeffs was convicted of sexually assaulting to teenage `` spiritual wives ''