53 felonies: Polygamist leader Samuel Bateman now charged with sexually abusing girls he’d claimed as wives

After months of investigation and a federal raid of his compound, the leader of a polygamous splinter group on the Utah-Arizona border has now been charged with 53 felonies — including, for the first time, counts accusing him of sexually abusing the underage girls he had claimed as his wives.

A new federal indictment released Wednesday against Samuel Bateman, 47, provides new details about the offshoot that Bateman claimed to be appointed by God to lead — and allegations about the explicit conduct with minors that he said was part of the faith. Ten of his followers were also charged with aiding him.

The charges from a grand jury this week, which were largely anticipated, will replace the more limited federal counts first filed against Bateman last fall.

Bateman is the self-proclaimed leader of a small offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with followers mainly residing in the sister cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, known collectively as Short Creek.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Samuel Bateman leaves the courthouse during the trial of Warren Jeffs in St. George on Nov. 20, 2007. Bateman was present as an observer and supporter of Jeffs.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Samuel Bateman leaves the courthouse during the trial of Warren Jeffs in St. George on Nov. 20, 2007. Bateman was present as an observer and supporter of Jeffs. (Trent Nelson/)

Historically, the place has been a refuge for those who broke off from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known informally as the Mormon church. Those who moved to the towns wanted to continue practicing polygamy after faith leaders had agreed to end plural marriages in 1890.

Once a secluded community, the area has grown more secular in recent years following the incarceration of famed FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who was convicted of sexually assaulting girls he had married. Bateman had been telling residents there that Jeffs died in prison — which is not true — and that he is Jeffs’ successor. Since 2019, Bateman has amassed roughly 50 followers who call themselves “Samuelites.”

He was first arrested in Arizona in August during a traffic stop, when officers discovered Bateman was towing a box trailer with three young girls inside. He faces state-level child abuse charges for that.

The FBI raided his homes in September, as federal agents served a search warrant detailing that they were looking for evidence of underage marriages or sexual contact between adults and children. Several young girls were removed from the properties and placed in state custody.

Bateman faces federal charges for allegedly instructing his followers from jail to delete the messaging app Signal from his phone after he was arrested. He and several of his followers were also charged with kidnapping when they were able to take eight of the nine girls from the homes they were placed in with the Department of Child Safety, before police later found them in Washington state.

So far, Bateman has pleaded not guilty to the federal kidnapping and tampering charges. A trial has been postponed until 2024. He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on the new charges Friday in Phoenix.

The Salt Lake Tribune will update this developing story.



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