Polygamous sect leader gets 50 years in prison in scheme to orchestrate sex involving children

On Monday, a polygamous religious leader who claimed to have over 20 spiritual “wives,” including 10 minors, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Samuel Bateman was found guilty of plotting to abduct females from protective custody and coercing them into performing illegal sexual acts at the age of nine. Bateman took a plea bargain after leading a renegade group from Warren Jeffs’ sect. He received concurrent 50-year terms for both conspiracy counts, admitting guilt to transportation of a minor for sexual conduct and kidnapping.

The case concerned the Colorado City, Arizona-based and Hildale, Utah-based Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). When polygamy was formally abolished in 1890, the FLDS broke apart from mainstream Mormonism. Judge Susan Brnovich heard testimony from three teenage survivors regarding their ongoing anguish during the sentence hearing. The judge emphasized that, considering Bateman’s age of 48, his sentence would essentially be lifetime. The sentencing was preceded by a brief closed competence hearing. A 20-year sentence with psychiatric treatment was what the defense had requested. Members of “Bikers Against Child Abuse” offered support to the survivors, who are currently in foster care, as they talked about how hard it was for them to adjust to normal life.

Among Bateman’s actions were punishing his supporters and requesting admissions in public. He engaged in illegal intercourse with minors while traveling between several states; some of the encounters were captured on camera and sent electronically. When police found three girls, ages 11 to 14, in an unventilated trailer in Flagstaff, Arizona, in August 2022, he was taken into custody.

Following this, eight foster children escaped and were eventually located in the state of Washington. Restitution of up to $1 million per victim is mandated by the plea deal. Another trial is set for January 14 after seven adult “wives” were found guilty of related offenses. Due to their support of Bateman’s actions, two brothers will be sentenced in December. According to court records, a large number of Bateman’s “wives” had problematic religious backgrounds and were either forced or treated like property in their groups.