December 9, 2024 –
Samuel Bateman, a polygamist religious leader, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for coercing underage girls into criminal sex acts and kidnapping them from protective custody. Bateman, who led a small offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), pleaded guilty to transporting minors for sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. His group, based in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, split from the mainstream LDS Church after it abandoned polygamy in 1890.
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Brnovich sentenced Bateman after hearing statements from three teenage girls about their ongoing trauma. The judge emphasized that Bateman’s actions stripped the girls of their innocence and childhood. A competency hearing was held before sentencing to assess Bateman’s mental health.
The girls, now living with foster families, described their struggles in high school and the support they received from trusted adults. After the sentencing, they were escorted out of court by members of “Bikers Against Child Abuse.”
Bateman’s practice of claiming spiritual “wives,” including underage girls, has long plagued the FLDS. He was a follower of Warren Jeffs, who was convicted of sexual assaults in Texas in 2011. Bateman declared himself a “prophet” and began taking female adults and children from his male followers, proclaiming them as his “wives.”
Bateman made girls recite that there was no adultery, darkness or guilt in the sex acts but rather that they were acts of “obedience,” according to court filings describing video footage.
Federal agents said Bateman demanded public confessions from his followers and imposed punishments ranging from public shaming to sexual activity. He traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska, coercing underage girls into criminal sexual activity. Bateman’s arrest in August 2022 occurred when authorities were alerted by someone who noticed small fingers protruding through the slats of a trailer door that lacked ventilation. State police discovered a makeshift toilet, a sofa, camping chairs, and three girls aged 11 to 14 in a trailer being towed through Flagstaff, Arizona.
Bateman’s plea agreement required all his co-defendants to plead guilty and called for restitution of up to $1 million per victim. Seven of Bateman’s adult “wives” have been convicted of crimes related to coercing children into sexual activity or impeding the investigation. Two Colorado City brothers also face sentencing for charges related to persuading or coercing a child to engage in sexual activity.