A New Mexico judge sentenced a paramilitary religious sect leader Wednesday to more than seven decades in prison after her conviction in a child sex abuse case that authorities say involved a victim who was taken from Uganda as a baby.

Deborah Green's 72-year sentence followed emotional testimony from the victim, who told the judge she had 11 surgeries for broken bones suffered during years of abuse.

She also said she has yet to recover emotionally and physically from what she described as torture by Green.

On Tuesday, a jury found Green, 71, guilty of kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration of a minor and child abuse.

A New Mexico judge sentenced paramilitary religious sect leader, Deborah Green, to 72 years in prison for a child sex abuse case that police say involved a victim who was taken from Uganda

Green's (left) 72-year sentence followed emotional testimony from the victim, who told the judge she had 11 surgeries for broken bones suffered during years of abuse

Authorities said Green (left) and her husband, James Green (right), who is also a leader of the corps, attempted to hide children after the raid of their commune, and both conspired with another person to commit tampering with evidence

'A weaker person would not have survived,' Judge James Sanchez told the victim, according to KRQE-TV. 'That means you can continue on being strong.'

Last year, authorities raided the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps' secluded Fence Lake compound in western New Mexico after a two-year investigation into concerns about child abuse.

Authorities said Green and her husband, James Green, who is also a leader of the corps, attempted to hide children after the raid of their commune, and both conspired with another person to commit tampering with evidence.

The couple has said they've done nothing wrong.

Former sect members said the abuse dated back years, while Cibola County Undersheriff Michael Munk said the former members described leaders treating followers like slaves and physically beating children.

On Tuesday, a jury found Green (pictured in 2017), 71, guilty of kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration of a minor and child abuse

He also said the sect had evaded law enforcement by moving and operating in seclusion.

In Green's defense, her attorney said the accusations against her had stemmed from the vendettas of former sect members, and that the victim in the case had changed her story over the years.

At the sect's compound, some members called Green 'mom' or 'general,' according to authorities. She also was known among followers as the 'Oracle of God'.

When members complained, Green would hold 'trials' against them for questioning her authority, which Green asserted came directly from God, said Julie Gudino, who joined the organization in 1984 in Sacramento, California.

She was a member for 20 years, and was among those who testified this week.

In closing arguments Tuesday, the prosecutor told jurors that the victim had been taken from Uganda, according to the Gallup Independent.

It was Green's daughter who went to the African country in 1997, but Green who ordered that the child be 'obtained' by deception, Assistant District Attorney Brandon Vigil said.

Green still faces a second trial in the death of 13-year-old Enoch Miller. Authorities said he died at the compound in 2014. She has been charged with child abuse resulting in death and tampering with evidence.

The jury selection is scheduled to begin Thursday in that case.

The Cibola County Sheriff's Office began the investigation after Enoch died from a probable infectious disease.

Authorities said the trustees of the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps own thousands of acres of land and benefited from a wealthy high-ranking member who aided them in avoiding law enforcement agencies by hiding children.

Those holdings and regular deceptions by leaders, authorities said, made it difficult for the small Cibola County Sheriff's Office to investigate allegations of child abuse that former members say went on for years.

Last year, authorities raided the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps' secluded Fence Lake compound (pictured) in western New Mexico after a two-year investigation into concerns about child abuse

After the raid, deputies arrested four more members in two vans filled with 11 children. Victoria River, Amos River, Ruth River and Timothy River were arrested after deputies stopped the two vans leaving the compound

After the raid, deputies arrested four more members in two vans filled with 11 children.

Amos River, Victoria River, Ruth River and Timothy River were arrested after deputies stopped the two vans leaving the compound.

The sheriff's office said the members, under investigation for not reporting the birth of children, were seeking to flee to the sect's Colorado location.

A number of members face various charges ranging from child abuse to bribery and not reporting a birth.

All have pleaded not guilty.

The Greens opened Free Love Ministries in 1982 with four communal houses in Sacramento, California.

The Greens had little ministry training but attracted about 50 members and operated a military structure like the Salvation Army.

Maura Alana Schmierer, a former member, later sued the group for locking her in a shed without a toilet and for forcing her to give up legal custody of three of her children.

A judge in 1989 awarded her $1.08million. But the group fled California for Oregon and later resurfaced near El Paso, Texas, and then in western New Mexico.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed the sect as a hate group after it published anti-Muslim and anti-gay stories in pamphlets and on its website.