Samuel Bateman, a 50-year-old leader of a polygamous sect, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday following his conviction on three counts of child abuse. The charges stem from an August 2022 traffic stop in Flagstaff, Arizona, where authorities discovered three girls confined in an unventilated trailer. Bateman, who represented himself during the trial, was convicted of these state charges while already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for other crimes.
The case began when a witness reported seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors of a moving trailer. Upon inspection, law enforcement found three girls, ages 11 to 14, inside a vehicle that lacked seat belts and air conditioning. The interior was equipped with a makeshift toilet, a sofa, and camping chairs. While Bateman admitted to knowing the girls were in the trailer and that ventilation was poor, he testified that he believed they had exited the vehicle before he was stopped by police.
Bateman is a self-proclaimed prophet of an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). He previously claimed to have more than 20 "spiritual wives," 10 of whom were under the age of 18. The federal sentence he is currently serving relates to orchestrating sex involving children and a scheme to kidnap girls from protective custody. The FLDS sect was formerly led by Warren Jeffs, who is currently serving a life sentence in Texas for the sexual assault of children.
The case also reflects the ongoing legal and social shifts within the border communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, where the FLDS was historically based. These towns were under court-ordered supervision starting in 2017 to remove church influence from municipal governments and police departments. Because of rapid demographic and administrative changes, they were released from this supervision last summer, nearly two years ahead of schedule. Practicing sect members now represent only a small portion of the local population, and Bateman’s group was described by federal authorities as a mobile offshoot operating across Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska.
The outcome of Tuesday’s hearing will finalize the state’s criminal proceedings against Bateman for the 2022 incident. Beyond the immediate prison time, the case reinforces legal precedents regarding the treatment of minors within isolated religious groups and the enforcement of safety standards for child transport. Following the sentencing, Bateman will continue serving his 50-year federal term for coercing minors into sex acts and kidnapping plots. The specific date for his transfer between state and federal facilities for the duration of his sentences has not been reported.