Polygamist whose 20 ‘wives’ included minors from Lincoln is sent to prison
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A polygamous sect leader whose victims included girls from Lincoln was sentenced Monday in federal court in Arizona.
Samuel Bateman, 48, got 50 years in prison for conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to transport a minor for criminal sexual activity.
Bateman claimed to be a prophet in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, according to court documents.
In 2019, he started taking his female followers as his “wives,” his plea agreement says.
He ended up more than 20 “wives,” including girls as young as 9.
“None of these ‘marriages’ were legally recognized,” the plea deal says.
Bateman made frequent trips to Lincoln, where some of his underage victims lived, for illegal sexual activity.
Court documents say he and his co-defendants held orgies involving minors at hotels in Lincoln and elsewhere.
By March 2021, Bateman had brought all his followers to live in Colorado City, Arizona.
SEE ALSO: Arizona polygamy case linked to Lincoln
He was arrested in August 2022 when someone saw small fingers in the gap of a trailer he was hauling.
Officers found three girls in the trailer and two victims riding with Bateman in the cab of the truck.
Bateman was released on bond but was arrested again in September 2022, when the FBI searched his compound in Colorado City.
The Arizona Department Child Safety took custody of nine minors who were Bateman’s child “brides” and placed them in group homes.
SEE ALSO: Polygamous ‘prophet’ leader had child brides, documents say
But court documents say while he was in federal custody, Bateman conspired with his adult “wives” to take the children from state custody.
Eight of the nine girls disappeared. They were found in Spokane, Washington, in December 2022.
Seven of Bateman’s adult “wives” have been convicted of helping him carry out his crimes, the Associated Press reports.
