Notorious cult leader had 20 ‘wives’ and still controls followers from prison
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Cult leader Samuel Bateman is serving 50 years behind bars after acquiring 20 “wives” – some as young as nine years old. Despite the depravity of his crimes, he continues to wield his sinister influence from his prison cell.
Indeed, some of his devoted followers have contended that incarceration has only amplified his authority; he is regarded as a “martyr” amongst his disciples, a notion he reinforces through his daily telephone conversations with his “wives”. Bateman’s ascent to power within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been chronicled in the hit Netflix series Trust Me: The False Prophet.
The series is constructed around remarkable footage captured in real time by cult researcher Christine Marie and her husband, videographer Tolga Katas as Bateman established a polygamous breakaway sect that facilitated child sexual abuse.
Their intimate access to Bateman’s inner circle furnished federal investigators with direct evidence of his conduct. This included a recording in late 2021 in which Bateman outlined what he termed an “Atonement” ceremony, which he claimed involved “giving away” his “wives” – nine of whom were minors – to his followers and commanding them to have sex while he observed.
Another filmed encounter shows a perspiring Bateman – donning an Elvis-style white leather jacket – lounging on a sofa, with his wives wearing 19th-century-style prairie dresses, doting on him, caressing his chest, giggling and addressing him as “King”, “Master” and “Father”. Bateman’s rise within the FLDS – a splinter group of the Mormon church – occurred following the conviction of its previous leader Warren Jeffs in 2011 for sexually assaulting two girls, resulting in a life sentence.
With no leadership hierarchy remaining, Bateman declared himself a prophet, claiming that Jeffs was now communicating through him, reports the Mirror. Disciples were urged to show their devotion through testimony, monetary donations, and in certain instances, by offering Bateman their daughters to become his “wives”.
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Content retrieved from: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/notorious-cult-leader-20-wives-37256996.
