Self-Proclaimed Prophet and Polygamous Cult Leader Samuel Bateman Had Child Brides, FBI Says

Self-proclaimed prophet and leader of a small polygamous sect on the Arizona-Utah border, Samuel Bateman, is on trial for various crimes. Newly filed federal court documents revealed that he had at least 20 wives, many of whom he married as child brides.

According to the FBI, Bateman claimed it was "God's will" that he has to engage in sexual acts with his wives, including his child brides.

The 46-year-old sect leader was arrested in August and charged in September after he was discovered transporting three children, aged between 11 and 14, believed to be for sexual activity.

He was charged with destroying records and obstructing justice as authorities investigated him for child trafficking and sexual acts with minors.

The Associated Press recently obtained an affidavit filed by the FBI in federal court that noted that Bateman orchestrated sexual acts involving minors and gave wives as gifts to his male followers.

Bateman claimed that these were orders from the "Heavenly Father." His male followers supported him financially and gave him their wives and young daughters so he could take them as his own wives.

Bateman is currently imprisoned in Pinal County, Arizona while awaiting trial, which is scheduled for January. He also faces three counts of child abuse in an Arizona state court.

Who Is the Self-Proclaimed Prophet, Samuel Bateman?

Samuel Bateman was a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a breakaway sect of the Mormon church. After he left the sect, he formed his own offshoot group.

According to the BBC, he later made bail after he was arrested in August. However, he was arrested again over federal charges of destroying records and obstructing justice.

Bateman and his congregation lived in Colorado City, and his community can be found on the Arizona-Utah border. He reportedly had an iron grip on his congregation's members, as he doled out harsh punishments on those who did not treat him as a prophet.

Punishments reportedly ranged from public shaming to sexual activity. Bateman also tried to take his only daughter as a wife. However, his daughter told her mother about the plan, and the two of them moved out, getting a restraining order against the self-proclaimed prophet.

The mother was reportedly his only wife at the time she left, which was around 2019. After this, he started taking more wives, including children.

Three Samuel Bateman Wives Accused Him of Kidnapping

Federal agents raided the sect's community last September, with Arizona social workers removing nine minor girls whom Samuel Bateman took as wives.

The children were taken to group homes around Phoenix. However, eight of them ran away. The girls were eventually found in Spokane, Washington, after an officer reportedly spotted a vehicle driven by one of Bateman's wives.

The FBI said the driver and two other wives of Samuel Bateman had been accused of kidnapping in an ongoing criminal case. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, authorities accused them of plotting to take the girls from child welfare custody. The three wives reportedly await formal federal charges.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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