Man who financed FLDS cult leader to be sentenced in Arizona child sex trafficking case
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The founder of a Utah equipment manufacturer that generated an estimated $2 million in annual revenue was scheduled to be sentenced April 28 for aiding self-proclaimed cult leader Samuel Bateman in transporting children for sex acts in Arizona.
Torrance Bistline, 36, and his brother, LaDell Bistline, 46, were found guilty in 2024 for participating in a yearlong child sex abuse conspiracy that crossed state lines and involved at least 10 children, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“LaDell Bistline had the girls and women. Torrance Bistline had the money,” federal prosecutor Dimitra Sampson said during the trial.
Bistline and his brother became followers of Bateman, who proclaimed himself a prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and through his role as a religious leader raped women and underage girls.
Bateman gathered followers and made women and underage girls his wives between 2019 and 2022. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to transport a minor for sex and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
LaDell Bistline was sentenced in February to life in prison for transporting minors for sex, receiving child pornography, giving obscene material to a minor, coercing someone to travel for sex and using interstate travel to persuade minors to have sex.
Torrance Bistline was the founder and creator of VelociWrapper , a renewable energy equipment company that operates out of Hildale, Utah. He was also the owner of Toro Design and Manufacturing, which was estimated to have made $2 million in annual sales revenue according to a list of Utah companies published by the business data firm Dun & Bradstreet.
According to court records, he gave Bateman gifts, including luxury cars, and paid $215,000 in legal fees.
During his trial, witnesses accused him of raping an underage girl when Bateman commanded the then-13-year-old to “be with Torrance.” Witnesses also said that Torrance Bistline watched videos of Bateman sexually abusing the women and girls.
A jury found Torrance Bistline guilty of coercing a minor using interstate commerce, destroying records, conspiring to destroy records, tampering with an official proceeding and conspiring to tamper with an official proceeding.
Content retrieved from: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2025/04/28/torrance-bistline-to-be-sentenced-in-flds-child-sex-case/83275418007/.
