An alleged Arizona 46-year-old polygamist cult leader has as many 20 wives, several of whom are minors, with the youngest 9, and is possibly married to his own daughter, according to the FBI.
Arizona polygamist cult leader has 20 wives, youngest 9, and possibly married own daughter, FBI says
Samuel Rappylee Bateman, 46, served as the leader of a small polygamous group on the Arizona-Utah line. He was a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS.
In a 22-page complaint filed by the FBI on Friday, a special agent described Bateman as a self-proclaimed prophet with “approximately 50 followers and over 20 wives, many of whom are minors, mostly under the age of 15,” Fox News reported.
In recent years, Bateman left the FLDS and started his own small offshoot group, according to Sam Brower, who has spent years investigating the group, Fox 10 reported. Bateman’s group still practices plural marriage with a small following of fewer than 100 people, estimated Brower.
Previously, Bateman was among the trusted followers of the imprisoned FLDS leader Warren Jeffs who is serving a life sentence plus 20 years. Jeffs, who was convicted on two felony counts of child sexual assault, recently denounced Bateman in a written revelation sent to his followers from prison, Brower said.
Federal charges against Bateman
Bateman is accused of child endangerment. Authorities say that, among other allegations, one girl is alleged to have married Bateman when she was only nine years old, according to recently filed federal court documents, Yahoo news reported.
Bateman allegedly tried to take his underage daughter as one of his several wives, but her mother objected and left the cult, as well as sought a restraining order.
Coconspirators facing charges
Bateman’s coconspirators, aiders, and abettors are also accused of engaging in the transportation of minors in interstate commerce to engage in criminal sexual activity and travel interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors.
According to allegations by federal prosecutors, between May 2020 and November 2021, Bateman and several church associates transported underage girls back and forth through Arizona, Utah, and Nevada for the purposes of criminal sexual activity.
Discovery made in late August
Bateman was arrested in late August by a state police agency after someone spotted small fingers sticking out of a gap in the rear door of the trailer he was hauling through Flagstaff, Fox 10 reported.
Inside the trailer, authorities found three girls between the ages of 11 and 14. The trailer had been fitted with a bucket as a makeshift toilet, a couch, camping chairs and no ventilation, court documents state.
The state child welfare agency removed children from Bateman’s home in Colorado City, Arizona, where the FBI had recently served a search warrant.
Attempted to tamper with evidence
Back in September, Bateman was indicted on three counts of destroying or attempting to destroy records, and tampering with criminal proceedings. On September 15, Bateman pleaded not guilty to federal charges of tampering with evidence.
