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

Flagstaff, Arizona (AP) — Samuel Bateman, a polygamous sect leader currently serving a 50-year federal prison sentence, is set to be sentenced on Tuesday for separate state convictions related to transporting girls in an unventilated trailer in northern Arizona. The 50-year-old was convicted of three child abuse counts after an August 2022 traffic stop in Flagstaff revealed three girls, aged 11 to 14, inside the trailer. The trailer had a makeshift toilet, sofa, camping chairs, but lacked air conditioning and seat belts.

Authorities were tipped off when someone spotted small fingers reaching through gaps in the trailer doors. Each child abuse count carries a mandatory sentence of four to eight years, and Judge will have the discretion to run the counts consecutively or concurrently. Bateman, who is part of a sect that originated from Warren Jeffs' polygamous group, is already incarcerated in federal prison for coercing girls as young as nine into sexual acts with him and other adults and for plotting to kidnap girls from protective custody.

In the state case, Bateman admitted that he knew the girls were enduring hot and poorly ventilated conditions inside the trailer for hours. However, he downplayed the severity of the situation in court. Despite claiming he thought the girls had exited when they stopped, Bateman was astonished to learn that they remained inside the trailer when he was pulled over.