Polygamous leader Samuel Bateman: What we know so far
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On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, eight girls under the care of Arizona child welfare officials disappeared from group homes near Phoenix. By Thursday of that week, they were back in custody — and two young women had been arrested, accused of kidnapping them with a third woman, who was arrested the next day.
All 11 women and girls had been taken as wives, the FBI alleges, by self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman, as he led a small offshoot of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Here’s a rundown of seven Salt Lake Tribune stories that explore how Bateman, 46, rose to power in the group, why he was soon on the FBI’s radar and how arrests have scattered his followers.
On Aug. 28, after Bateman was pulled over near Flagstaff, authorities discovered three young girls inside a locked cargo trailer he was pulling, according to Arizona prosecutors. He was charged with three counts of child abuse, but he posted bail and was released.
Then, early on Sept. 13, FBI agents surrounded one of his homes near the Arizona-Utah state border with their guns drawn. According to a copy of their search warrant, which was shared with The Tribune, agents were seeking evidence of any marriages or sexual relationships between adults and children.
As that Colorado City, Ariz., home and another in town was searched, Bateman was arrested, and he has remained in custody since then. In a new indictment, federal prosecutors alleged Bateman had destroyed electronic communications on the messaging app Signal on the day of the traffic stop, “with the intent to impair its integrity and availability for use in a foreseeable criminal proceeding.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2022/12/09/polygamous-leader-samuel-bateman/.
Child sexual abuse has been a repeated charge regarding polygamist groups. Three have also been child labor violations.