Current:Home > reviewsPolygamous sect leader pleads guilty in scheme to orchestrate sexual acts involving children -Golden Horizon Investments
Polygamous sect leader pleads guilty in scheme to orchestrate sexual acts involving children
View
Date:2025-04-16 02:40:39
PHOENIX (AP) — The leader of an offshoot polygamous sect near the Arizona-Utah border has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport underage girls across state lines in what authorities say was a yearslong scheme to orchestrate sexual acts involving children.
Samuel Bateman also pleaded guilty on Monday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix to conspiring to commit kidnapping in a plan to free underage girls who had been taken into Arizona state custody. His plea agreement recommends a sentence of 20 to 50 years in prison, though one of his convictions carries a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.
In pleading guilty, Bateman acknowledged taking underage brides, having sex activity with them and arranging group sex, sometimes involving child brides.
Authorities say Bateman, a self-proclaimed prophet who had taken more than 20 wives, including 10 girls under the age of 18, created a sprawling network spanning at least four states as he tried to start an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which historically has been based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.
He and his followers practice polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it. Bateman and his followers believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.
Bateman was arrested in August 2022 by Arizona state police in Flagstaff after someone spotted small fingers in a door gap on an enclosed trailer. Authorities found three girls — between the ages of 11 and 14 — in the trailer, which had a makeshift toilet, a sofa, camping chairs and no ventilation.
Bateman posted bond, but he was arrested again the next month and charged with obstructing justice in a federal investigation into whether children were being transported across state lines for sexual activity.
At the time of the second arrest, authorities removed nine children from Bateman’s home in Colorado City and placed them in foster care. Eight of the children later escaped, and the FBI alleged that three of Bateman’s adult wives played a part in getting them out of Arizona. The girls were later found hundreds of miles away in Washington state in a vehicle driven by one of the adult wives.
Bateman is accused of giving wives as gifts to his male followers and claiming to do so on orders from the “Heavenly Father.” Investigators say Bateman traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska and had sex with minor girls on a regular basis. Some of the sexual activity involving Bateman was recorded and transmitted across state lines via electronic devices.
He is the second man to be convicted as part of the scheme. Businessman Moroni Johnson of Colorado City pleaded guilty last month to a charge of conspiring with Bateman to transport underage girls over state lines.
Four of Bateman’s wives also previously pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit tampering with an official proceeding, acknowledging that they witnessed Bateman engage in sexual acts with his child brides and that they participated in the plot to kidnap the eight girls from state custody.
Charges also are pending against four other women identified as Bateman’s wives and two of his male followers, both of whom are charged with using a means of interstate commerce to persuade or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity, among other charges. The four women and two men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The FBI said Bateman demanded that his followers confess publicly for any indiscretions and share those confessions widely. He claimed that punishments, which ranged from a time-out to public shaming and sexual activity, came from the Lord, the federal law enforcement agency said. Authorities say Bateman instructed some of his male followers to engage in sex with some of Bateman’s wives to atone for the men’s purported sins against the sect leader.
Authorities said Johnson was pressured by Bateman to give up three of his wives as atonement because Johnson wasn’t treating Bateman as a prophet.
Sentencing for Bateman is scheduled for July 15.
veryGood! (537)
Related
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Caitlin Clark returns to action Sunday: How to watch Fever vs. Storm
- New York's beloved bodega cats bring sense of calm to fast-paced city
- Caitlin Clark scores 29 to help Fever fend off furious Mercury rally in 98-89 win
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Stranded Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams' Families Weigh in on Their Status
- A Florida couple won $3,300 at the casino. Two men then followed them home and shot them.
- How many points did Caitlin Clark score tonight? Rookie shines in return from Olympic break
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Possible work stoppage at Canada’s two largest railroads could disrupt US supply chain next week
Ranking
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Governor declares emergency after thunderstorms hit northwestern Arkansas
- Stranded Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams' Families Weigh in on Their Status
- What is ‘price gouging’ and why is VP Harris proposing to ban it?
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- US Navy helicopter crew members injured in Nevada training mishap released from hospital
- Democrats are dwindling in Wyoming. A primary election law further reduces their influence
- Mississippi poultry plant settles with OSHA after teen’s 2023 death
Recommendation
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Powerful earthquake hits off far east coast of Russia, though no early reports of damage
Russian artist released in swap builds a new life in Germany, now free to marry her partner
Perdue recalls 167,000 pounds of chicken nuggets after consumers find metal wire in some packages
Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
Jailed Chinese activist faces another birthday alone in a cell, his wife says
What to know about 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and championship race
Pumpkin spice: Fall flavor permeates everything from pies to puppy treats