CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – She was the leader of a New Mexico cult that preyed on children. Now, the convicted sex offender is pushing to get out of prison.

“He’s pulling it down and that’s the battle cry,” said Deborah Green in a YouTube video.

Dressed in uniform, Green called herself ‘The General.’ She was one of the leaders of a military-style Christian cult in a compound south of Gallup.

In 2018, a jury found Green guilty of child rape, kidnapping and child abuse on that compound.

“Beat her on the legs, beat her on the body to a point where she could barely walk,” said prosecutors during opening statements in 2018.

A judge sentenced her to 72 years for the crimes, but Green is now challenging that. She’s claiming her innocence, saying in part she received insufficient council, and claims the state withheld medical records that would prove she isn’t a child molester. She asks for the courts to exonerate her of all crimes and not list her as a sex offender so she can:

“No longer have to bear the stench of such rotten-ness [sic] over my life,” said Green in her petition.

“You saw the judicial system take its process, but I’m just alarmed that this individual is trying to get out,” said Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace.

Cibola County Sheriff’s Office, which oversaw that investigation, said Green has the right to ask for an appeal, but doesn’t believe she should be out of prison.

“Well, I mean, there were some pretty heinous crimes against children that she was convicted of, and I would hate to see an individual like that be released back into custody and potentially go back and perpetrating on children, or could be put in a position to re-commit those crimes on other individuals,” said Sheriff Mace.

The courts responded to Green’s letters, saying she needs to give more details of her claims.

In 2017, a former cult leader went to the deputies, saying she was sexually abused by Green, which led to the investigation.