Netflix polygamous sect leader convicted after trailer girls found

A polygamous sext leader who appeared on a popular Netflix series has been convicted on child abuse charges after multiple girls were found in an unventilated trailer he was driving through a US highway. In August 2022, authorities were alerted about the trailer Samuel Bateman, who featured on the Netflix series Trust Me: The False Prophet, was hauling after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors. Police stopped his vehicle as he was driving through Flagstaff and found three girls inside, who were

ages 11 to 14 at the time. Bateman, who is serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children, was found with a trailer enclosed with a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs. In the US federal case, he was convicted of coercing girls as young as nine to submit to sex acts with him and other young adults, He was also found scheming to kidnap girls from protective custody, the story of which is the focus of the Netflix series. Bateman

previously claimed to have more than 20 “spiritual wives,” including 10 girls under the age of 18. He testified in his own defence in the state case, telling jurors he would never harm the people he loves. He acknowledged during cross-examination that he knew the girls were in a hot trailer for hours and the ventilation wasn’t good, but downplayed the conditions. “I just trusted myself as a driver,” he said. “I asked God to bless me every time we hopped in that vehicle.” He

claimed he thought the girls had gotten out when they stopped. Bateman said he was as “shocked as could possibly be” when he learned that they were still inside when he was pulled over. During closing arguments, prosecutor Eric Ruchensky told jurors, “It’s common sense that you don’t carry people in a trailer designed for cargo on a hot day with no ventilation”. Jurors in the state case weren’t supposed to hear about Bateman’s conviction in federal court. The judge barred the evidence from being

introduced, but Bateman mentioned it several times as he represented himself, leading the judge to strike the comments from the record. The jury delivered the verdict in about 40 minutes, convicting him on all three counts of child abuse. Each count carries a mandatory sentence, between four and eight years. The judge has discretion to run the counts consecutively or concurrently and a sentencing hearing is scheduled August 25. The Associated Press left a voicemail and email messages for Bateman’s appointed advisory counsel. Federal authorities

said Bateman, a self-proclaimed prophet, travelled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska as he built an offshoot network of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A community which historically has been based in the neighbouring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah. He and his followers practiced 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 was one of the

trusted followers of Warren Jeffs, who previously led the sect and is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexual assault of children. The influence of the polygamous sect has waned significantly over time in the towns where the sect has historically been based. In 2017, a court order placed the towns under supervision, excising the church from their governments and shared police department. But the area has since transformed so quickly that they were released from court-ordered supervision last summer, almost two years earlier

than expected. Practicing sect members are now believed to account for only a small percentage of the towns’ populations.

Samuel Bateman, Trust Me: The False Prophet, Netflix, polygamy, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, child abuse conviction, unventilated trailer, Flagstaff, sentencing August 25, Warren Jeffs