FX’s Children of the Underground’s trailer opens to the voice of a woman saying, “I caught my ex-husband in the act of molesting my daughter.” Faye Yager cuts in to say, “The judge didn’t believe it.” Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Yager promoted her Children of the Underground network on various daytime talk shows as an organization fighting to save sexually abused children from their parents and women from abusive husbands. The West Virginia native took extreme measures to protect the most vulnerable who were being failed by a justice system that simply would not believe them. Yager started the group after her ex-husband allegedly molested her daughter, Michelle, yet she was the one who lost custody.

Yager married a man named Roger Jones when she was 17. Their daughter, Michelle, allegedly suffered Jones’ maltreatment when she was just two years old and Yager alleged witnessing the violence take place. Despite seeking legal assistance, her husband reportedly committed her to an asylum on the grounds that his wife wasn’t mentally stable. She was eventually able to leave the hospital but reportedly lost the case twice during the years-long custody dispute for her daughter.

Was Faye Yager a God-Send or Another Devil in Disguise?

Although the exact number is unclear, Yager claims to have assisted over 2,000 families going into hiding in 1992. She is accused of setting up fraudulent IDs and giving the women and children new identities. See trailer below:

For her actions, the FBI, local law enforcement and even bounty hunters were on her trail. In 1992, Yager, then 44, was put on trial in Georgia, charged with cruelty to children, interference with custody, and kidnapping and emotionally abusing the very same children she claimed to help. She was eventually acquitted of all charges. Things did come to another threatening turning point after she helped the ex-wife, a wealthy businessman, flee the country with their two daughters. Bipin Shah, who pioneered the ATM, denied all abuse allegations and sued Yager for $100 million in 1998. After Shah’s ex-wife, Ellen, and their children returned to the United States, he dropped the lawsuit, and Yager largely retreated from the spotlight for a time. Faye Yager now lives a quiet life hidden from public view even though she has given an interview for the docuseries off-camera.

Children of the Underground is a five-part documentary series that will premiere on August 12 on FX while streaming on Hulu.