Samuel Bateman, a polygamous sect leader already serving a federal sentence for sex crimes involving children, is scheduled for sentencing on state convictions for child abuse. He was found guilty of hauling three girls in an unventilated trailer in Arizona.
The sentencing highlights ongoing legal consequences for leaders of polygamous sects involved in child abuse and exploitation, even after federal convictions.
Samuel Bateman, a polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children, is scheduled to be sentenced on separate state convictions for child abuse in Arizona. He was convicted of three counts related to the discovery of three girls, ages 11 to 14, in an unventilated trailer in Flagstaff in August 2022.
Each state count carries a mandatory sentence of four to eight years, with a judge to decide if they run consecutively or concurrently. Bateman, who represented himself at trial, acknowledged the girls were in a hot trailer but downplayed the conditions. He claimed he was unaware they were still inside when he was pulled over.
Bateman led an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a group historically based in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah. He previously claimed to have more than 20 spiritual wives, including underage girls. Federal authorities stated he traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska. He was a follower of Warren Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexual assault of children.