A leader of a polygamous sect, already serving a 50-year federal prison term for child sex crimes, was sentenced to an additional 24 years in prison for child abuse related to transporting girls in a poorly ventilated trailer in Arizona. Samuel Bateman, 50, faced three child abuse charges following a 2022 traffic stop in Flagstaff, Arizona, where three girls aged 11 to 14 were found in the trailer. The trailer lacked basic amenities like air conditioning and seat belts, with authorities alerted by a witness who saw small hands reaching through gaps in its doors.
Bateman, associated with a splinter group of the polygamous sect previously led by Warren Jeffs, is already serving a lengthy federal sentence for coercing underage girls into sexual acts and attempting to abduct girls from protective custody. Judge Joshua Steinlage, citing extreme danger to the girls in the trailer, ordered Bateman to serve the state sentence after completing his federal term.
During the sentencing, Bateman, who represented himself, expressed remorse but did not seek leniency. Victims refuted his claims of innocence, with one victim recounting the emotional trauma she endured due to Bateman’s actions, describing how he sexually abused her when she was 12, resulting in lasting psychological scars.
Bateman, who professed to have over 20 “spiritual wives,” including minors, admitted to knowing about the girls being in distress in the hot trailer but downplayed the severity of the situation. Coconino County Attorney Ammon Barker emphasized that the sentence aimed at ensuring accountability and preventing Bateman from harming children in the future.
Federal authorities revealed Bateman’s extensive travels across multiple states to establish his own sect, associated with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The sect’s practice of polygamy traces back to early LDS teachings, despite the mainstream LDS church’s prohibition of the practice since 1890. Bateman, a close follower of Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence for child sexual assault, was a central figure in the sect’s activities.
The influence of the polygamous sect has diminished in the communities where it historically thrived, with court interventions leading to the removal of the sect from local governance. The towns, once under court supervision, were released earlier than expected, signaling a decline in the sect’s presence. Bateman’s story was featured in the Netflix series “Trust Me: The False Prophet.”