A polygamous sect leader who is already imprisoned for federal child sexual abuse crimes was found guilty Friday on state charges after authorities discovered three girls locked inside an unventilated trailer he was driving through Arizona in 2022.
Samuel Bateman was convicted on all three counts of child abuse. The conviction stems from an incident when someone spotted small fingers reaching through gaps in the trailer doors as Bateman's vehicle traveled through Flagstaff. Police stopped him and found three girls, ages 11 to 14 at the time, inside the enclosed space equipped only with a makeshift toilet, sofa, and camping chairs.
The jury deliberated for approximately 40 minutes before returning guilty verdicts. During the trial, Bateman testified in his own defense, insisting he would never harm people he loves. He acknowledged knowing the girls had spent hours in the hot trailer with poor ventilation but claimed he believed they had exited during a stop and was shocked to learn they were still inside when he was pulled over.
"I just trusted myself as a driver," Bateman told jurors. "I ask God to bless me every time we hop in that vehicle."
Prosecutor Eric Ruchensky offered a simpler assessment 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."
Bateman is currently serving a 50-year federal sentence for orchestrating sexual abuse involving children and coercing girls as young as nine into sex acts with him and other young adults. Federal authorities documented that he claimed to have more than 20 "spiritual wives," at least 10 of whom were under 18.
The case, which also involved Bateman's scheme to kidnap girls from protective custody, became the subject of a Netflix documentary series titled Trust Me: The False Prophet.
Bateman operated as a self-proclaimed prophet and built an offshoot network of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, traveling extensively across Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska. He was once a trusted follower of Warren Jeffs, who led the sect before being imprisoned for life in Texas on charges of sexual assault of children.
The historically polygamous communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, where the sect was based, have changed dramatically in recent years. The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned polygamy in 1890 and now prohibits it entirely. A 2017 court order removed the sect's influence from local government in those towns, and the communities were released from court-ordered supervision last summer after showing sufficient progress toward normalcy. Practicing sect members now represent only a small fraction of the population in both towns.
Author James Rodriguez: "A self-described prophet who weaponized isolation and control over children gets another day of reckoning, and the speed of that jury verdict speaks volumes about what jurors saw."
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