“I WAS A KIND AND LOVING FATHER WHO TRUSTED GOD EVERY TIME WE HOPPED IN THAT VEHICLE”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AUTHORITIES SAY POLYGAMOUS SECT LEADER SAMUEL BATEMAN SMUGGLED THREE YOUNG GIRLS IN A HOT, UNVENTILATED TRAILER… AND HE HAS NOW BEEN SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CHILD ABUSE.
Samuel Bateman will spend the next several decades in prison.
The 50-year-old polygamous sect leader was sentenced to serve 24 years behind bars during a court hearing on Wednesday, August 26, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.
The penalty was handed down after he was convicted of child abuse.
On June 26, at the conclusion of his trial, Bateman was found guilty on three counts of child abuse.
The charges followed his 2022 arrest in Arizona.
In 2022, Bateman smuggled three young girls through Flagstaff inside a hot and unventilated trailer.
The trailer was missing critical safety features, including seat belts and air conditioning.
Inside the space, investigators found only a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs.
But authorities intervened after a passerby reported seeing small fingers sticking out of gaps in the trailer doors.
Officers then pulled the vehicle over.
During the criminal trial, Bateman chose to act as his own defense.
According to video footage from Hidden True Crime, Bateman claimed in court that he was a “kind and loving father.”
He insisted to the jury that he does not “even spank my children.”
Bateman told jurors that he knew the young girls had been sitting in the hot trailer for hours.
Yet he testified that he believed the conditions inside the trailer were fine.
“I just trusted myself as a driver,” he told the court.
“I asked God to bless me every time we hopped in that vehicle,” he continued.
Bateman also claimed to the jury that he believed the girls had escaped from the trailer prior to the traffic stop.
He testified that he was “shocked as could possibly be” when he discovered the children had not left the vehicle.
The 24-year state term adds to a substantial federal sentence Bateman received earlier.
In 2024, Bateman pleaded guilty to federal felony charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity.
He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for those federal offenses.
According to a news release from the Justice Department, Bateman’s trials followed years of predatory conduct.
Federal prosecutors stated that Bateman spent years “amassing ‘wives’ from his followers in several states … 10 of whom were under the age of 18.”
Bateman first rose to prominence in 2019 after building a large religious following.
He convinced members of his sect to turn over their minor daughters to serve as his “spiritual wives.”
By the time law enforcement arrested Bateman in 2022, he had acquired 15 girls.
At least 10 of his victims came forward with abuse allegations against the sect leader.
His youngest victims were just 9 years old.
Bateman’s criminal actions were documented in the Netflix docuseries Trust Me: The False Prophet, which was released in March.
Support is available for anyone affected by child abuse.
The Child Help Hotline can be reached by calling or texting 1-800-422-4453.
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