Samuel Bateman, a polygamous sect leader, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday on state convictions for child abuse after three girls were discovered in an unventilated trailer in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Bateman, 50, is already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children and for scheming to kidnap girls from protective custody. The state convictions stem from an August 2022 traffic stop where authorities found three girls, ages 11 to 14, inside the trailer, which lacked air conditioning and proper ventilation.
Each of the three child abuse counts carries a mandatory sentence of four to eight years, with a judge to decide if they will be served consecutively or concurrently. Bateman represented himself at trial and acknowledged awareness of the trailer's poor conditions, though he downplayed their severity. He claimed he was unaware the girls remained in the trailer when he was pulled over.
Federal authorities have stated that Bateman led an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, traveling between Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska. He claimed to have more than 20 spiritual wives, including girls under 18. Bateman was a follower of Warren Jeffs, the former leader of the sect who is serving a life sentence for sexual assault of children.
The influence of the polygamous sect in towns like Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, has diminished significantly. These towns were released from court supervision in the summer, nearly two years ahead of schedule, as the population of practicing sect members is now believed to be small.
Bateman was also the subject of the Netflix series "Trust Me: The False Prophet."