this is "nightline." >> tonight, home safe home. it's a wakeup call. this 13-year-old fighting off an attacker in her own home. break-ins are easier to pull off than you may think. tonight, we are learning the tricks these predators use from someone who knows all the secrets because he's a former criminal himself. how to protect your house, your valuables and your safety. the god squad. leaving this radical sect is no easy fete. ask this mother trying to get her own kids. >> i had a bad feeling. >> after winning the battle she has to win them over. tonight she shares her harrowing story. ♪ sam smith announces an unsuccessful battle to heal his vocal chords and he's not the

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good evening. thank you for joining us. the break ins you are about to

see took seconds showing how easily an unwelcome intruder can enter your home. there are a million of these attacks every year. tonight, we are learning from a career prowler there are a few easy things you can do to protect yourself from becoming the next victim. here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: this is a parent's nightmare. a 13-year-old girl on her way home from school is followed by this man right to her door. he pushes his way in after her and seems to assault her, but the teen backpack still on fights back. >> i tried to get him off of me. >> reporter: the ledged stalking caught on security camera. the teen her identity hidden for protection describing those harrowing moments. >> i push him back and slam my hand in to his face and that's when he decides to get off of me. she texted her father. daddy come home now. some guy tried to rape me. also this week a 63-year-old woman attacked in her rural new hampshire home after cased by two alleged robbers. two men arrive at 9:20 p.m. and

hide. an hour and a half later, christine comes home and turns off her alarm system. she calls the dog, who seems to be agitated in to the house and that's when the ljd thieves take advantage. it takes three seconds for one to get to that unlocked door. >> they zip tied her to a support post, and put a blanket over her head. >> reporter: those suspects getting away with $25,000 worth of rare coins and jewel rhode island she was left bound in the basement for nine hours before rescued. these are the latest in a series of alleged crimes caught on camera. intruders crossing the threshold in to the place where we are supposed to feel safe, our own homes. in san jose california, this homeowner watched on multiple home security cameras as an intruder broke in to her home. even pulling on the door to her bedroom where she was hiding. in central florida, men dressed as ninjas breaking in to this home tying up the homeowner.

there are an estimated 1.2 million break ins every year. a home burglary happening every 16 seconds in the u.s. high-tech security cameras and alarms are little match for a trained criminal. >> while on parole and trying to clean up his act, this convicted thief agreed to strap on a camera for abc news and gives up his secrets. >> all kind of good electronics down here. wow. >> reporter: so you can make your home more secure. chris patterson takes us step by step through the perfect break in using this abc news staff er's house. >> make sure no one is home. >> reporter: once he is sure it is empty. >> walk back here. perfect. >> an unlocked window is invitation. >> i'm in. i'm going to make sure the doors are unlocked in case i need to get out of here quickly. he said this homeowner, like so many of us makes it a snap. >> it doesn't matter race nationality, income bracket,

age, almost every single person puts things in the same place as the next one. >> up to the master bedroom. first place i like to check. >> common knowledge to all burglars master bedroom first. that's where the jewelry's at. that's what a burglar is looking for. >> when i opened her top drawer it was filled with jewelry bags and box. >> they group it together. it is matter of organization or ease for them. if it is easy for you, it's easy for me. >> crime knows no boundaries no demographic. no such thing as a safe neighborhood. you never know who's casing your neighborhood. >> now a security expert, kathleen baty was once the victim. a man tried to kidnap her from her own home. >> i came home from work and was listening to my answering machine and he was in my home behind me with a knife. >> reporter: her attacker went to prison. from that day she never let her guard down. >> i lived the rest of my life

in wait for it to happen again. >> reporter: she wants others to be vigilant too. baty says many houses that appear safe are vulnerable. houses like louisas. >> he can't get in. i'm sure of it. >> something i saw for myself when i spent the day with another convicted criminal. he told us he is reformed and wants to help people protect their homes. >> the window's open. >> reporter: first point of entry the car in the driveway with windows down. >> bingo. >> the garage door opener in plain sight. within 45 seconds he's in the garage and finds the door to the house unlocked. he quickly makes his way upstairs to the master bedroom where with he finds the jewelry box. >> 2 1/2 minutes. you did it in half of the time you thought you would do this. you saw it open. you thought maybe it has a garage door opener in it. >> keys garage door opener. they will leave -- they won't think about it in a hurry to get in the house. just leave it all sitting there.

>> it turns out windows are criminal catnip. he pops the window screen and tapes the window to minimize glass shatter and noise. some easy fixes can make your house less tempting. first baty says never leave your garage door opener in plain sight. >> they are watching and waiting if that are moment. >> don't make it easy. >> reporter: better yet, lock the garage. >> you want to disengage the motor of your garage door opener and manually shut your garage do it. so no one can open it from the outside. >> reporter: it turns out 73% of home break-ins are by kicking in a door. baty says there is an easy solution for that too. >> you want to install a strike plate, a metal plate that goes all the way down and makes it more difficult. >> in other words you don't want the door to break apart. >> exactly. >> if a burglar manages to break in patterson who has a taste

for tech. >> i want to get the laptop to move quickly. >> don't leave cords attached to electronics. store them separately because it is sure to frustrate a thief that is sure to leave it besgliend people don't realize how valuable those things are. without the cords you can't sell it. >> but since this demonstration, he is back in jail for attempted burglary. hours ago, police arrested the man who they believe attacked that 13-year-old and another woman. >> we have credible evidence which we believe lijs this suspect top those attacks. >> he is charged with burglary attempted sexual assault and false imprisonment. >> the survivors that survived this attack can rest assure ed now that predator is off the streets. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm gio benitez in new york. up next it's certainly an unusual mob scene. these are members of a radical mormon sect trying to prevent a mother from taking her own

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you would think for a radical sect that believes in multiple wives escaping would be the hard part and everything aels breeze.

tonight a mother shares her journey to piece her family back together. why it continues to be so hard for her children to adjust. here's my "nightline" coanchor dan harris. >> reporter: this is the story behind a 22-hour standoff involving a young mom, simply trying to take legal custody of her four children. who ends up facing off against a wall of polygamists, wearing prairie dresses and singing hymns. ♪ you display an enormous amount of calm in the face of all of this. >> i knew my kids were watching and they needed to see me have courage. they did. >> reporter: her name is sabrina broadbent and she was once a loyal member of the flds the fund latter day saints whose ancestors broke with the main stream mormon church for than a century ago over the issue of polygamy.

>> are you warren jeffs. >> yes. >> reporter: even though the prophet of the church, warren jeffs is doing life for sexually abusing two under aged girls he is said to maintain control over every aspect of his followers' lives. >> obey the prophet and you will be blessed. disaway him and it is death. >> when you grow up that's all you know. >> you thought warren jeffs was god's mouthpiece. >> a woman's duty is to bless her husband. >> how old were you when you got married? >> 17. >> was it somebody you wanted to marry. >> they are assigned to you. >> my father is like you belong to jake hole. >> reporter: at 17, sabrina's younger brother quit the church and began getting his family members out, sometimes in commando-style raids as captured

in the documentary "sons of perdition." >> i could see them sad, depressed, hurt scared. i'm like why not try to get them >> reporter: his most adamant opponent, his older sister is a bream nachl you can see the woman that would one day take on the flds literally pulling on one of her sisters to prevent her from leaving. >> she's not going. >> reporter: but then according to sabrina, a bombshell dropped by her husband shook her faith. sabrina's husband. >> wanted another wife. >> reporter: he wanted to marry one of her little sisters. >> and she was 14. >> reporter: she called joe and her other siblings who had left the church. >> we're coming to help you. are you ready. >> reporter: then she says her husband's family insisted on keeping her children. >> there was nothing i could do at that point because i didn't dare go against the church or anything. >> reporter: sabrina who is 32 remarried, with a 3-year-old son and a career as a counselor for

troubled youth never lost touch with her first four children but by this past christmas, she says it became painfully obvious as they are kids viewed her as an evil outsider. here refeuding to accept her christmas gifts. it wasn't long after this, just last month, in fact, that sabrina sought and received full custody. on the night of her victory in court, sabrina, her brother and new husband drive in to the hearth heart of flds country when they show up with a court order at the house where her kids have been staying. >> that's them. >> reporter: that's suddenly more than a dozen vehicles from church security known as the god squad, encircle them. >> backing out. >> the god squad. i got a bad feeling in my gut. i'm like lock the doors. >> reporter: the next morning she returns and spots two of her sons. >> there's isaac. >> my cute little son.

>> reporter: when sabrina goes to talk to isaac who's 13 it doesn't go well. >> i said isaac let me talk to you and he's like get away from me. get away from me you apostate. >> reporter: she tries to associate with the chief caretaker but the woman seems to be stalling for time. >> she says warren is coming and he will deliver these children. he's coming. >> reporter: this is when scores of church members start to pour in. >> there's like 100 eyes on us right now. everybody is against us. >> reporter: 18 hours in to the standoff perhaps egged on by the faithful sabrina's children become more defiant, they are crying trying to put chickens in their mom's van and give her a hand-written note that reads we will only get in this car if you sign this paper saying we will have visitation with samantha. >> i'm not going to sign anything. it's on my terms. >> reporter: as the standoff approaches the 20th hour

sabrina is losing her patience. she makes a tough call. she decides to give the local sheriffs permission to take her children by force, if necessary. >> i'm going to give them permission to get my children and put them in the van. so here it goes. i'm sick of this. >> as if on cue, the flds women react. >> i started to see them bring their suitcases out. i'm like okay here we go. here we go. >> escorted by their church keepers, the children walk toward sabrina's van crying. but this is when a new logjam develops. scores of church members descend upon the mouth of the van. >> they are like we're not forcing the children. they have to do it on their own. but they are so brainwashed they wouldn't step in the van. they are saying you are leaving with the devil. ♪ >> reporter: people in the crowd are weeping praying. >> going on two hours of sleep. i couldn't eat. i just wanted to get my kids out

of there. they are like oh, we can come back tomorrow. i'm like this is happening today. >> reporter: finally, a sheriffs deputy pokes his head around the corner of the van. >> folks they have got to get going. >> that's does it. the kids get in. the van pulls away with the followers of warren jeffs waving and weeping. but for this beleaguered mom, the ordeal is not over. how were the kids when they got in the van? >> they were crying and cried about a half hour and my youngest was pulling my hair and throwing things at my head and i went back and nuzzled up to them and looked at them like they were my friends. >> reporter: when she gets them home they vandalized their house. >> they packed up their stuff. >>ty they did. they sat out there with their blankets and it was dang hard to

see that in. >> within weeks the kids start to come around. >> they have come alive the last couple of days. we have been going out and doing activities with them and they love it. >> reporter: sabrina knows the road ahead will not be easy. >> they are going to go back and forth but you eventually become like the people you associate. i have been combing the girl's hair every night. they have been hugging me every morning, telling me good morning. last night my daughter actually told me to scoot over on the couch and she snuggled up and put her head on my shoulder. i lost it. i did. all right, kids. go back. >> reporter: for "nightline," this is dan harris along the utah/arizona border. ♪ up next what force lay me down singer sam smith admit the show can't go on for at least now. abc news "nightline" brought to you by macy's.

it is one of the worst diagnosis a singer can hear a l chord injury. tonight, one of the top pop stars in the world is facing the devastating consequences. ♪ ♪ i lay by your side ♪ >> reporter: he's the british superstar with that booming, yet angelic voice with hits like "lay me down." now sam smith laying down the pike the microphone for a few months revealing he needs surgery on his vogue vocal chords.

a. >> people say i blew out my voice, actually it is a vocal chord hemorrhage where a blood vessel break and bleeds in to the vocal chords. ♪ you say i'm crazy ♪ >> reporter: the soulful smith not the only one. ♪ ariana grande day a problem with when she was sidelined by a vocal chord hemorrhage. ♪ >> reporter: someone like you star adele cancelled a u.s. tour for the same reason are. ♪ the hills are alive with the so music ♪ >> reporter: years after the hills were alive with the sound of music, jewelry andrews lost her voice after a tragic vocal chord surgery. >> i have base notes still because i had that miserable operation which i really can't talk about. >> reporter: for smith six to eight weeks recovery. cancelled may and june tour dates. the singer hoping fans will stay

with him through the recovery. ♪ won't you stay with me ♪ >> here's to some rapid healing. thank you for watching abc news. tune in to "good morning america" tomorrow and we are always on-line on our "nightline" facebook page and at abcnews.com. good night, america. have a great weekend. robert let's get a move-on. okay. i said, let's go! i'll meet ya there. what are we, like a freakin' herd? what are you doin'? you gotta go. everybody's goin', man. so just get out. what's the hurry? i'm gonna have sex. since when?

all the pieces are in place-- the kids are at a sleep-over, debra's had a glass and a half of wine and this morning i saw her shavin' her legs. i can't even have a drink? don't you get it? i'm dealing with a very delicate mood here. it like a juggler on a tightrope. the slightest vibration on that wire... dead juggler. so, no, you're not blowin' this for me, man. get out. i hope i'm having sex one day when you need a drink. all right, everybody let's go. i thought you were gonna have a drink first. i'll just get somethin' out of d's liquor cabinet. the hell youill! back to the party. oh, debra, i'd like to take the boys to that happy zone tomorrow. that would