Filmmakers Go Undercover Inside a Polygamist Sect Led by ‘Prophet’ Who Abused Girls

Published March 19, 2026 By admin

A self-proclaimed prophet’s grip on his followers began to crack after a pair of undercover filmmakers embedded themselves inside his group, quietly recording what they say was the abuse of girls inside a closed-off world.

Samuel Rappylee Bateman, who led a breakaway sect tied to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was ultimately sentenced to 50 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to transport a minor for sex and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, PEOPLE previously reported.

But long before his case reached a courtroom, the group’s inner workings were being documented from within — an undercover effort now explored in the four-part docuseries Trust Me: The False Prophet, which premieres April 8 on Netflix and makes use of the embedded filmmakers’ footage.

See more https://people.com/trust-me-false-prophet-netflix-samuel-bateman-flds-11929210

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