Polygamous sect leader guilty of abuse after girls found in trailer on highway
Summary
Samuel Bateman, a leader of a polygamous sect, was convicted on state child abuse charges after authorities found girls aged 11 to 14 locked inside an unventilated trailer in Arizona. Bateman is already serving a 50-year federal sentence for child sex crimes and has been linked to a group practicing polygamy, a system of having multiple wives.Key Facts
- Police found three girls inside a trailer driven by Samuel Bateman in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 2022.
- The girls were between 11 and 14 years old and were in a trailer with no proper ventilation.
- Bateman was convicted for abusing children and coercing girls as young as nine into sexual acts.
- He is also known for attempting to kidnap girls from protective custody.
- Bateman claims to have over 20 “spiritual wives,” including girls under 18.
- He was a follower of Warren Jeffs, a sect leader serving a life prison term for child sexual assault.
- The sect Bateman belongs to practices polygamy, which mainstream Mormonism banned in 1890.
- Bateman’s case inspired a Netflix series called Trust Me: The False Prophet.
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