Sentencing set for polygamous leader convicted of abuse in Arizona after girls discovered in trailer

Samuel Bateman, a 50-year-old polygamous sect leader, is set to be sentenced on Tuesday for separate state convictions related to the transport of girls in an unventilated trailer in northern Arizona. Bateman, already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating child sex abuse, was convicted of three child abuse counts in August 2022 after a traffic stop in Flagstaff led to the discovery of three girls, aged 11 to 14, inside the trailer.

The trailer, which lacked air conditioning and seat belts, had a makeshift toilet and camping chairs. Authorities received a tip-off after a resident noticed small fingers reaching through gaps in the trailer doors. Bateman, a self-proclaimed prophet and a follower of Warren Jeffs, previously claimed to have over 20 "spiritual wives," including 10 girls under the age of 18.

In the state case, Bateman admitted he knew the girls were in the hot trailer for hours, but downplayed the conditions. He claimed he thought the girls had exited the trailer when they stopped, but later realized they were still inside. Federal authorities allege that Bateman traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska to build an offshoot network of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which practices polygamy.