Watch Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story

When 15-year-old Alex revealed she was gay to her devout Mormon parents, they feared so deeply for her soul that they took her from their Southern California home and placed her against her will in a conversion therapy home in Utah. Trapped for eight months with strangers, Alex faced horrible punishments and beatings that were intended to cure her homosexuality. After realizing she would have to submit to their rules in order to survive, Alex was eventually allowed to attend school, where she became friends with a boy that was the president of the gay-straight alliance. He helped Alex get in touch with an attorney, who later helped orchestrate her escape.