Arizona cult leader serving 50 years gets another 24 for hauling young girls in trailer, witness saw fingers desperately poking through gaps in doors

A self-described prophet and leader of a child sex cult has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after being convicted of child abuse. In August 2022, cops stopped Samuel Bateman in Flagstaff, Arizona, and searched his trailer. Inside were three girls aged between 11 and 14 in miserable conditions.

As reported by The Guardian, the trailer was unventilated, contained a “makeshift toilet” and no seatbelts. Cops had been alerted after a concerned person spotted tiny fingers poking through gaps in the door, apparently part of a frantic effort by the girls inside to alert anyone to their plight.

This prosecution follows Bateman’s 2024 conviction for orchestrating sex involving children, for which he received a 50-year sentence. The abuse was facilitated by his leadership of an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which enabled him to gain parents’ trust and be constantly on the move between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska. Promoting himself as a “prophet,” Bateman eventually amassed over 20 “spiritual wives”, with ten of them children.

“Stole my childhood”

Bateman’s group began as part of the polygamous sect once led by Warren Jeffs, whose crimes against children were detailed in the Netflix series Trust Me: The False Prophet, and who is also serving a 50-year sentence.

Judge Joshua Steinlage imposed a consecutive sentence, meaning that once the 50-year sentence has run its course, the 24-year-sentence will begin. If neither is reduced on appeal, this effectively means Bateman will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Bateman represented himself during the case, arguing that he “loved” the little girls locked in his trailer, saying: “I love these dear people with all my heart, and I had no intention in the entire world to harm them”. He went on to claim he was “shocked as could possibly be” when he was told the girls were inside his trailer when he was pulled over, saying he’d believed they’d gotten out.

The victims urged the judge to reject his claims, with the then-14-year-old underlining how Bateman had sexually abused her, that he “stole my childhood,” and that she’d endured “things that should have never happened to me as a child.”

Ammon Barker, the Coconino County attorney, said, “Today’s sentence is about accountability for the harm done to these young victims. It also ensures that Mr Bateman will never again be in a position to harm a child.”