Samuel Bateman, a self-proclaimed prophet and polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children, was convicted Friday on state child abuse charges. The charges stemmed from an incident in 2022 when three girls were found inside an unventilated trailer he was hauling through Arizona.
Discovery of the Girls
Authorities were alerted after someone saw small fingers reaching through gaps in the trailer doors. Police stopped Bateman's vehicle in Flagstaff and found three girls, aged 11 to 14 at the time, inside the enclosed trailer. The trailer contained a makeshift toilet, a sofa, and camping chairs with no ventilation.
Bateman was convicted of coercing girls as young as nine to submit to sex acts with him and other young adults, and for scheming to kidnap girls from protective custody. His story is the focus of the Netflix series Trust Me: The False Prophet.
Bateman's Testimony
Bateman previously claimed to have more than 20 “spiritual wives,” including 10 girls under 18. He testified in his own defense, telling jurors he would never harm the people he loves. During cross-examination, he acknowledged knowing the girls were in a hot trailer for hours with poor ventilation. “I just trusted myself as a driver,” he said. “I ask God to bless me every time we hop in that vehicle.” He claimed he thought the girls had gotten out when they stopped and was “as shocked as could possibly be” when he learned they were still inside.
Prosecutor Eric Ruchensky told jurors during closing arguments: “It’s common sense that you don’t carry people in a trailer designed for cargo on a hot day with no ventilation.”
Verdict and Background
Jurors in the state case were not supposed to hear about Bateman’s federal conviction, but Bateman, representing himself, brought it up several times, leading the judge to strike the comments. The jury delivered the verdict in about 40 minutes, convicting him on all three counts of child abuse.
Federal authorities said Bateman traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska as he built an offshoot network of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), historically based in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah. He and his followers practiced polygamy, a legacy of early LDS teachings that the mainstream church abandoned in 1890 and now strictly prohibits.
Bateman was a trusted follower of Warren Jeffs, the former FLDS leader now serving a life sentence in Texas for sexual assault of children. The influence of the polygamous sect has waned significantly; in 2017, a court order placed the towns under supervision, removing the church from their governments and police department. The area transformed so quickly that they were released from court-ordered supervision last summer, almost two years early. Practicing sect members now account for only a small percentage of the towns’ populations.
