Samuel Bateman, the leader of the polygamist group, was convicted of three counts of torture
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Samuel Bateman, a polygamist leader already serving a 50-year sentence for child sex abuse, has been convicted in Arizona of child abuse charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop where authorities found three girls locked inside a locked trailer.
A Coconino County jury found Bateman guilty Friday of three counts of child abuse. The decision came out after about 40 minutes of discussion. Bateman is scheduled to be sentenced on August 25.
Each count of child abuse carries a mandatory sentence of four to eight years. The judge will decide whether the sentences run concurrently or consecutively.
The case centered on an August 2022 incident in Flagstaff, where police stopped Bateman after a witness reported seeing children’s fingers go through the gaps in the doors of the car he was pulling. Police found three girls, aged 11 to 14 at the time, inside a car with no ventilation. It had a makeshift toilet, sofa and camping chairs.
ALLEGED ‘PROPHET’ WITH LOWER WIVES PASSED AFTER TWO TRUSTEES HELPED UNBREAK ABUSE RING
Samuel Bateman, 50, is already serving 50 years for Conspiracy to Carry a Minor in Criminal Sexual Offenses and Conspiracy to Kidnap. (Coconino County Sheriff’s)
Prosecutors say Bateman deliberately put the girls at risk by dragging them for hours in the hot interior of a carriage designed for cargo, not passengers.
“It’s common sense that you don’t carry people in a cargo van on a hot, windless day,” prosecutor Eric Ruchensky told jurors during closing arguments.
Bateman represented himself in the case, with appointed counsel present. Testifying on his own behalf, he denied that he intended to harm anyone. He admitted when asked that the car was hot and had no fresh air, but it reduced the risk.
“I just felt confident as a driver,” he said. “I asked God to bless me every time we jumped in that car.”
ALLEGED ‘PROPHET’ WITH LOWER WIVES PASSED AFTER TWO TRUSTEES HELPED UNBREAK ABUSE RING
Three girls hug each other before being removed from Samuel Bateman’s home, following his arrest in Colorado City, Ariz., Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Seven were removed from Bateman’s home, and two others from another home as part of the investigation. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
He said he thought the girls had gone out when he stopped. He said he was completely shocked when he heard that they were still inside when he was pulled over.
The Arizona case followed Bateman’s conviction in a broader torture and kidnapping case. Federal prosecutors accused him of using his position as a prophet to force girls, some as young as 9, to have sex with him and others. He was also convicted of conspiring to release the girls from protective custody.
That case has drawn public attention and is featured in the Netflix series “Trust Me: The False Prophet.”
Bateman has previously said he has more than 20 “spiritual wives”, including several teenage girls. Authorities have described him as the leader of a small religious sect linked to communities along the Arizona-Utah border that have long been associated with polygamous cults.
ALLEGED ‘PROPHET’ WITH LOWER WIVES PASSED AFTER TWO TRUSTEES HELPED UNBREAK ABUSE RING
On April 1, 2024, Samuel Bateman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport a child for a sex crime and conspiracy to kidnap. (Netflix)
Federal officials said Bateman traveled through Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska as he built a following linked to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The FLDS church has historically been centered in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.
Bateman was once considered a loyal follower of Warren Jeffs, the former FLDS leader serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual abuse.
The FLDS church has polygamy, a doctrine based on the early teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The mainstream church condemned polygamy in 1890 and now bans the practice.
The influence of the FLDS church has declined significantly in Colorado City and Hildale. A 2017 court order placed the communities under outside scrutiny after finding that church control had infected local government and law enforcement. Cities were exempted from that supervision last year, earlier than expected, after officials unveiled major changes to local governance and public health.
Samuel Bateman declared himself the heir of Warren Jeff. (Netflix)
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Active members of this sect are now believed to make up only a small proportion of the population in those cities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
