Polygamist Prophet Convicted of Child Abuse

Samuel Bateman, a polygamous sect leader previously convicted in a federal child sex abuse and kidnapping conspiracy case, has been found guilty on three state child abuse charges. A Coconino County jury delivered the verdict after determining Bateman knowingly endangered three girls. The incident occurred in August 2022 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Police stopped Bateman after a witness reported seeing children's fingers in the trailer he was towing.

Officers discovered three girls, aged 11 to 14, inside the trailer, which lacked ventilation and contained a makeshift toilet. Prosecutors argued Bateman endangered them by transporting them in hot conditions. Bateman, who represented himself, denied intending harm, though he admitted the trailer was hot and poorly ventilated. He is scheduled for sentencing on August 25 and faces mandatory prison terms for each count.

This conviction follows Bateman's federal sentencing for a broader conspiracy. Federal prosecutors detailed accusations of him exploiting his status as a self-proclaimed prophet to coerce girls into sex acts and plotting to remove them from protective custody. His case gained wider public attention through the Netflix series 'Trust Me: The False Prophet.' Bateman claimed to have had over 20 'spiritual wives,' including underage girls.

Authorities have identified Bateman as the leader of a religious offshoot connected to polygamous communities near the Arizona-Utah border. His past involvement with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) and its former leader Warren Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence for child sexual assault, has also been noted. The FLDS church historically practiced polygamy, a doctrine now disavowed by the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.