A polygamous sect leader who was already sentenced to 50 years in federal prison has now been convicted on child abuse charges after police found three young girls inside a trailer he was towing through Arizona.
Samuel Bateman, the former leader of a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sect, was convicted Friday, June 26, in Coconino County, Arizona, on three counts of child abuse, according to reports.
Bateman represented himself in court during the trial.
The charges stemmed from an August 2022 traffic stop in Flagstaff, when police pulled Bateman over and found three girls, ages 11 to 14, inside the back of his trailer.
Investigators said the trailer was enclosed and had a makeshift toilet and seating inside. Authorities were reportedly alerted after passersby saw fingers reaching through gaps in the trailer doors.
During the trial, Bateman claimed he was a “kind and loving father” and said he did not “even spank my children,” according to video posted by Hidden True Crime.
He also testified in his own defense and admitted that he knew the girls had been sitting in the hot trailer for hours, but he downplayed the danger.
“I just trusted myself as a driver,” he told jurors. “I asked God to bless me every time we hopped in that vehicle.”
Bateman also claimed he thought the girls had gotten out of the trailer by the time police stopped him. He said he was “shocked as could possibly be” when he realized they were still inside.
Prosecutor Eric Ruchensky pushed back hard 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,” Ruchensky said.
Jurors deliberated for about 40 minutes before returning the guilty verdict.
Bateman is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 25. Each child abuse count carries a mandatory sentence of four to eight years. The judge will decide whether those sentences will run at the same time or back-to-back.
The state conviction comes after Bateman was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison in a separate case. In 2024, he pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Bateman’s case was also featured in the Netflix docuseries Trust Me: The False Prophet, which examined his actions and the investigation that helped lead to his arrest.
Federal authorities said Bateman spent years gaining followers across multiple states and taking young girls from families under the guise of “spiritual” relationships. Prosecutors said several of the girls were under 18, with some as young as 9.
According to the Justice Department, Bateman began convincing followers in 2019 to turn over their minor daughters and wards to him. Prosecutors said the abuse involved at least 10 girls.
Federal authorities also said Bateman and his followers moved victims across state lines, including through Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska, to avoid detection and continue the abuse.
Bateman was arrested in 2022, and investigators have described the case as deeply disturbing because of the level of control he allegedly held over his followers and the children involved.
Shoot him that\’s simphi
Let him die in a hot trailer with no ventilation, castrated, with his own member stuffed up his back passage.